What you'll gain
Builds serious chest, triceps, and front-shoulder strength with bodyweight only.
Trains a vertical press pattern that complements overhead and bench work.
Develops the body-control needed for advanced calisthenics.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- 1
Grip the parallel bars with palms facing each other and press up to a strong, locked-out start position.
- 2
Brace your core, squeeze the glutes, and cross the ankles to keep the body in a tight line.
- 3
Lean your torso slightly forward to bias the chest, or stay upright to bias the triceps.
- 4
Lower yourself slowly over 2 to 3 seconds until your shoulders drop just below your elbows.
- 5
Pause briefly at the bottom with the chest open and the body still controlled.
- 6
Press back up to full lockout by driving through the chest and triceps in one smooth motion.
Common Mistakes
Letting the shoulders shrug up to the ears at the bottom, which strains the front shoulders.
Cutting the depth short and only doing the easy top half of the rep.
Swinging the legs to use momentum, which removes the controlled loading the dip is meant to deliver.
Flaring the elbows wide on the press, which puts unnecessary strain on the joint.
About This Exercise
Parallel bar dips are one of the most respected bodyweight upper-body exercises in any program. Suspended between two bars, the lifter lowers themselves until the shoulders dip below the elbows, then drives back up to lockout. The movement loads the chest, triceps, and front shoulders hard and exposes any weakness in upper-body strength. For app and content use, this clip is a hero piece for calisthenics programs, bodyweight strength tracks, and gymnastics-adjacent content. It also pairs naturally with pull-up and push-up content as part of a complete bodyweight push-pull library for home, park, or minimal-equipment programming.
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Parallel Bar Dips
A bodyweight dip on parallel bars that builds the chest and triceps — one of the most demanding pure-bodyweight upper-body lifts.
Specifications
Built for
- Calisthenics and bodyweight strength programming in fitness apps
- Park and minimal-equipment workout content
- Push-day inventory for home-and-travel program tracks
- Hero clips and thumbnails for bodyweight strength content
Muscles Worked
Details
License Includes
Bodyweight Elevated Push Up
$4.99A push-up with hands raised on a bench or box that scales the difficulty down — the cleanest beginner push-up regression.
Bodyweight Knee Push Ups
$4.99A push-up done from the knees that drops the load — the first regression that lets beginners actually train the push pattern.
Burpee
$4.99A squat-thrust into a push-up into a jump — the full-body conditioning move that hits everything in one rep.
Decline Push Up
$4.99A push up with feet elevated on a bench or step that biases the upper chest, front delts, and triceps without any equipment.
Incline Push Up
$4.99A push-up performed with hands raised on a bench or box — the easier on-ramp to a full bodyweight push-up.
Push Up
$4.99The most foundational bodyweight push lift — trains the chest, triceps, and front shoulders with a single, scalable pattern.