Dip

The dip is one of the most productive upper-body pushing movements in calisthenics. You support yourself between two parallel bars (or the corners of a kitchen counter, two sturdy chairs, or a pair of parallettes), lower your body by bending the elbows, and press back up. Depending on your torso angle, dips load your chest heavily (leaning forward) or your triceps (upright), which is why they complement push-ups so well.

Dips are also the second half of the muscle-up. You cannot get a muscle-up without being strong in the dip, and a clean set of 8 full-depth dips is the usual checkpoint before even attempting muscle-up work. Bonus: the same dip bars become the perfect home for future tuck L-sits and L-sit presses.

How to do it

Support yourself on two parallel bars with your arms straight and your body between them. Lean your torso slightly forward and bend your elbows to lower your body until your upper arms are at least parallel to the ground (shoulders at or below elbow height). Keep your elbows from flaring wildly outward. Press back up to full arm lockout.

Target

3 sets of 8 reps with full depth (shoulders at or below elbow height).

Key tips

• Lean slightly forward to emphasize the chest; stay upright to emphasize triceps
• Go deep — shoulders at or below elbow height
• Keep your elbows tracking back, not flared wide to the sides
• If 8 reps are too hard, do negatives: jump to the top and lower slowly for 5 seconds
• If your shoulders complain, don't go deeper than you can control

Progression

Before this: own 3×10 Diamond Push-Ups. Also build up support holds — hold the top of a dip with straight arms for 20–30 seconds as a starting milestone.

Next step: once 3×8 dips are clean, shift load to one arm with the Archer Push-Up in Level 5 — a huge step toward one-arm pushing strength.