Floor Dip

Secondary muscles
Pectorals, Delts
Body part
Upper Arms
Position
Supported
Laterality
Bilateral (both sides together)
Category
Strength

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Working from a chair edge with your hips just clearing the seat keeps the range short and the floor close, which makes this the gentlest dip in the family. Use it to groove the elbow-back path in high-rep sets before moving to a full bench dip.

How to do the Floor Dip

  1. Sit on the edge of a chair or bench with your hands next to your hips, fingers pointing forward.
  2. Slide your butt off the front of the chair with your legs extended in front of you.
  3. Straighten your arms, keeping a little bend in your elbows to keep tension on your triceps and off your elbow joints.
  4. Slowly bend your elbows to lower your body toward the floor until your elbows are at about a 90-degree angle.
  5. Once you reach the bottom of the movement, press down into the chair to straighten your elbows, returning to the starting position.
  6. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Tip: Lock the elbows out with the shoulders pulled down and back, never shrugged up.

Muscles worked

Primary

Triceps · Arms

The triceps extend the elbow to lock out the top, and they take over completely when you stay upright with the elbows tucked.

Secondary

  • Pectorals — The lower chest gets loaded when you lean forward and let the elbows flare a bit, especially in the bottom stretch.
  • Delts — The front delts assist every rep and are the first thing to complain if you go too deep.

Common mistakes

  • Diving too deep — going far below the point where the upper arm is parallel to the floor stresses the front of the shoulder; stop when you feel a stretch across the chest and press back up.
  • Shoulders rolling forward — keep the shoulder blades pulled back and down, and stop the descent before they rotate forward.
  • Not choosing a target — leaning forward with elbows out hits the chest, while staying upright with elbows tucked hits the triceps; pick one and hold that position for the whole set.
  • Hands too far behind — this pushes the shoulders into a bad position; keep the hands close under the shoulders or use parallel bars instead.

Where it fits in a workout

Dips go early in a push session as a main pressing movement, or after bench press for extra chest and triceps volume. They superset naturally with pull-ups or chin-ups on the same station.

How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.

Variations and alternatives

Similar exercises

Without bodyweight

Easier and harder

When to talk to someone

  • Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
  • Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
  • Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.

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More exercises

Sources

  1. ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
  2. ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
  3. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
  4. CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)

Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.

Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.