Dip Bar Calisthenics - 9 Exercises For Arms, Chest, Back, and Abs

Dips 101

Dips are some of the most important upper body exercises. There’s a reason why Body Building Legend Mike Mentzer called this exercise the upper body squat. Few exercises can provide as much growth stimulus while being so simple that anyone can master them. Working everything from grip strength, triceps, and chest, to the back as well. It all depends on the range of movement and how you position yourself. You can achieve a surprisingly advanced level of fitness relying on just dip bar calisthenics.

This is why we have created the Ultimate Dip and Row Bar attachment accessory. We aimed to maximize the number of exercises our customers could do with one home gym. This guide is here to provide our customers with inspiration on how to use their accessories to get the best workouts.  

Unlike weight lifting barbell exercises, this bar takes no time to set up, so you can focus on getting results. Set the SoloStrength Training Station adjustable bar to the desired height in seconds. Then clamp on the Dip and Row Bar attachment. It's that easy.

It works at any height, adapting to your workout and body type needs. Making the dip bar adjustable was one of the most important considerations when developing it. We wanted a dip bar that could be used reliably to do a variety of exercises, at different skills levels and body types. When attached, there is no need to worry whether it's strong enough to hold you. We’ve tested it with 500lbs to make sure it lasts.

Table Of Contents:

• Arm and Chest Dip Bar Exercises

• Back Dip Bar Exercises

• Dip Bar Ab Exercises

Arm and Chest Dip Bar Exercises

Triceps Dips

The first exercise is, of course, has to be the classic - Tricep Dips. These mainly target the triceps, but there are many other muscle groups affected: the forearms for gripping, the biceps to keep the triceps tight, the entire shoulder girdle and surrounding stabilizing muscles - the deltoids, 4 muscles of the rotator cuff, pectoralis major and minor, the trapezius & rhomboids, and the serratus anterior. The abs are engaged to provide stability and the muscles of the neck are involved when exerting.

This exercise is a staple and should be part of all lifting routines. Practice varying aspects of the movement, such as speed, depth, and body angle.

Chest Dips

This is the first variant of Dips that targets the same muscles, but puts more emphasis on the chest muscles. To do this one, you want to shift your weight so your body is leaned forward at more of an angle than the upright tricep dip. Bend your knees so your feet are further behind you and flare out your elbows at an angle. Your chest will face a downward angle and you should feel strong muscle engagement in the pecs.

Assisted Dips

When the standard exercises are too difficult, there should be no shame in making them easier to complete. Lowering the bar so you can aid yourself with your legs will help. Remember, you are not competing with others and therefore you should not compare yourself to others. You are competing with the you from yesterday. So long as you are better than him/her, that should be considered a win.

Neutral Grip Triceps Dips

For another variant, you can rest part of your body weight on your heels. This time your are not so much assisting your body with the strength of your legs. Rather, you are offloading some of your body weight from your arms to your feet. Think of it like lowering the weight on a machine to make it easier.

Back Dip Bar Exercises

Neutral Grip Inverted Rows

Need an exercise that target the back and biceps more? Try the neutral grip inverted rows. This targets your biceps in a way similar to hammer curls and helps develop your rhomboids and lats, as well as your traps to an extent. Regardless of your skill level, this is one exercise that will always demand everything you have to complete.

Neutral Grip Pull Ups

Ready to try a different position? Move the adjustable bar on the training station to maximum height. We’re now going to do dip bar pullups with a neutral grip. Just like the inverted rows, these have similar activation of the biceps as a hammer curl would, but this time we are working the lats even more.

Dip Bar Ab Exercises

Knee Ups with Dip Bar

The first of the ab workouts is the easiest and most straightforward. Although you will engage your arms and upper body to maintain your position, it's the abs that are in focus here. You will bring your knees up towards your chest, engaging your rectus abdominis and hip flexors.

Alternating Leg Lifts

Alternating leg lifts are next. These mainly work your hip flexors but also recruit your abs for stabilization. Not much to say about these except some exercises are good to include to stimulate muscles in different ways so you don’t get used to doing the same thing over and over. It will make progressing easier.

L Sits

Finally, we have L sits. This exercise can be tough for many. If thats the case, just bend at the knees and raise your knees instead. Being able to hold L sits are a big milestone for some, as its not an easy exercise.

What’s Next?

That should be enough to get you started with your Dip and Pullup Bar attachment for the SoloStrength Training Station. We’ve covered a complete arm and chest workout, a back workout, and ab workout. The only thing that wasn’t included was training legs, though if you’re creative, you might be able to figure something out.

Check back soon as we will have another series covering exercises you should do with our Wide Grip Pull Up Bar accessory.

• View more SoloStrength SpeedFit® Training Here.

Don't forget to check out our Complete Body Weight Training Series as well:

1. Glutes

2. Calves & Anterior Tibs

3. Quads & Adductors

4. Hamstrings

5. Abs

6. Back

7. Chest

8. Shoulders

9. Arms

Posted: February 15, 2023

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