Exercise guide · Beginner · Compound

Triceps Dips Floor: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

A bodyweight exercise targeting the triceps, performed using the floor or a stable surface like a chair or bench. It also engages the chest and shoulders as secondary muscles.

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

How to do the triceps dips floor

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

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the triceps dips floor 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.

Triceps Dips Floor alternatives

More exercises that train the triceps as their main target:

More triceps exercises

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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.