How to do the Triceps Dips Floor
TricepsBodyweightIntermediate
Floor triceps dips strip away any assist from momentum or machines, forcing your triceps to own every inch of the movement under pure bodyweight load. Master this and you build the pressing strength and elbow stability that carries over to every push pattern you train.
Add this to my personalized plan →Muscles worked
Primary
Triceps
Secondary
Front deltsChest
Step-by-step
- Sit on the floor with knees bent, feet flat, and hands planted behind your hips with fingers pointing toward your body
- Press through your palms to lift your hips clear of the floor, arms nearly straight but elbows soft
- Lower your hips by bending the elbows directly behind you, keeping them tracking narrow and parallel
- Drive back to full extension by squeezing the triceps hard at the top before beginning the next rep
Common mistakes
- Flaring the elbows out wide, which shifts stress to the shoulders and off the triceps — keep elbows pointing straight back throughout the entire range
- Sinking the hips too low and letting them touch down between reps, which bleeds tension out of the muscle — stay elevated and under load for the full set
- Placing hands too far behind the body, which overloads the wrists at a painful angle — keep hands just behind your hips so the wrist is stacked under a manageable load angle
Pro tip — At the top of each rep, actively externally rotate your upper arms slightly as you lock out — this engages the long head of the triceps more fully and protects the elbow joint from repeated valgus stress over high-volume sets.
Sets & reps by goal
Build muscle3–4 sets × 10–15 reps
Get stronger3–4 sets × 6–8 reps
Lose fat / tone3 sets × 12–20 reps
Rest: 60–90 sec between sets.
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