Parallel Bar Dip

What it is

This compound exercise builds upper body pushing strength using your own body weight. You primarily engage your triceps, with significant involvement from your chest and shoulders. It involves lowering your body between parallel bars and then pushing back up to full extension.

Technique tips

• Begin with your arms fully extended at the top.
• Lower your body until your shoulders are below your elbows.
• Keep your torso upright and avoid any swinging motion.
• Drive up powerfully, extending your arms back to the start.
• Exhale as you push yourself back up to the top.
• Keep your elbows tucked close to your body.

How to track your progress

Log the weight and reps of each set. Straddly turns every set into an estimated one-rep max, so a heavier single and a strong set of eight both count as progress, and it flags a personal record the moment you beat your best.