Impossible Dips

TricepsBody WeightIntermediate
Place your hands on parallel bars or sturdy elevated platforms, shoulder-width apart. Move your body slightly forward so that your arms create a slight angle with your torso. Lower your body by bending your elbows until your upper arms are about parallel to the ground. Push through your hands and extend your elbows to lift your body back up to the starting position. Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

How to perform the Impossible Dips

  1. Set up. Set up in a stable, balanced starting position appropriate for the Impossible Dips using your body weight.
  2. Brace and execute. Brace your core, control the descent, and move through a full pain-free range of motion while emphasizing your triceps.
  3. Reset. Reverse the movement under control and reset between repetitions, keeping your form crisp on every rep.

Coaching cues

  • Move with intent — every rep should feel deliberate, not rushed.
  • Drive force through your triceps rather than momentum.
  • Keep your breathing steady: exhale on the hard part, inhale on the reset.

Common mistakes

  • Using too much weight and losing positional control.
  • Cutting the range of motion short and missing the target muscle.
  • Letting your spine round or hyperextend instead of staying neutral.

Detailed cues, common mistakes, and demonstration video are available in the Fitly app.

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