Exercise guide · Advanced · Compound

Impossible Dips: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

Impossible dips are a challenging bodyweight exercise performed between two parallel bars, focusing on the triceps while also engaging the chest and shoulders. The movement requires significant upper body strength and control, as well as experience with dip variations.

Primary muscles
Triceps
Secondary muscles
Chest , Shoulders
Equipment
Body Weight
Level · type
Advanced · Compound
Demonstration of the impossible dips
Front view: muscles worked by the impossible dips. Primary: triceps. Secondary: chest and shoulders.
Back view: muscles worked by the impossible dips. Primary: triceps. Secondary: chest and shoulders.
Primary Secondary

How to do the impossible dips

  1. Step 1: Position yourself between two parallel bars with your arms fully extended and your body suspended in the air.
  2. Step 2: Bend your knees and cross your ankles.
  3. Step 3: Lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are parallel to the ground.
  4. Step 4: Pause for a moment, then push yourself back up to the starting position by straightening your arms.
  5. Step 5: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the impossible dips by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Impossible Dips alternatives

More exercises that train the triceps as their main target:

More triceps exercises

See the best tricep exercises, ranked →

Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.