Chest Dips Alternative for Powerful Chest & Triceps

The dip is often called the “squat of the upper body” for a reason. With small changes in torso angle, you can bias the movement toward your pecs (chest-focused dip) or your triceps (more upright, triceps-focused dip), and your front delts are always along for the ride. Compared to push-ups, dips put more of your bodyweight in play because you’re suspended, which usually means a bigger challenge and faster strength gains for most people.

That said, dips are not a perfect match for every shoulder. The bottom position places the shoulder in a deep range (shoulder extension with the upper arm behind the torso), which can irritate the front of the shoulder for some lifters, especially if you drop too low, flare your elbows, or already have a cranky shoulder.

So this list is for three kinds of people: (1) dips bother your shoulders, (2) you don’t have a dip station or parallel bars, or (3) you just want to rotate variations without losing the chest-triceps payoff.

Quick Answer + Key Takeaways

Table of Contents:

• What makes for a great dip alternative?
• Why you may not want to replace the dip
• Benefits of training the chest and triceps as a unit
• 9 best dip alternative exercises
• How to choose which dip alternative to do
• FAQ

What Makes For a Great Dip Alternative?

A good dip alternative should check most of these boxes:

• Trains the same “big three” – triceps, chest, and front delts (two out of three is still a win).
• Doesn’t aggravate your shoulder – friendlier angles, less deep shoulder extension, and less cranky bottom positions.
• Scales easily – you can add load, reps, sets, tempo, or range of motion over time.
• Matches the dip “feel” – a press that challenges the lockout and asks your triceps to finish hard.

Also, remember that “dip” isn’t one exercise. A forward lean tends to emphasize chest and shoulders, while a more upright posture shifts more work to your triceps. That’s why the alternatives below cover both chest-leaning and triceps-leaning dip styles. If you want a deeper dive on form and variations, see: different types of dips.

Why You May Not Want to Replace the Dip

If you’re replacing dips because your shoulder hates them or you’re still building strength, cool. Use the alternatives below and keep training.

But if you’re only skipping dips because you can’t get the station at the gym or you train at home without equipment, it might be worth reconsidering.

• If you train at the gym: ask to work in, or run dips earlier in the session when equipment is less crowded.
• If you train at home: a dip station can be one of the best “small footprint, big payoff” pieces you add.

A power tower is a great home option because it opens up dips, pull ups, leg raises, and more. To keep things simple, our recommendation is the SportsRoyals Power Tower. It’s sturdy, versatile, and often priced in the “worth it” range for what you can do with it.

Best Power Tower

Sports Royal Power Towers

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Benefits of Training the Chest and Triceps as a Unit

If your goal is size, strength, and better pressing, pairing chest and triceps makes sense. It’s also practical: most pressing patterns train both anyway. A few extra perks:

• Better pressing performance: Strong triceps help you finish reps, especially near lockout where many presses turn into “triceps time.”
• Shoulder stability support: Balanced strength around the shoulder girdle can help keep pressing mechanics cleaner when paired with solid upper-back work.
• Posture carryover: Strong pressing is great, but it works best when it’s balanced with pulling volume so your shoulders don’t drift forward over time.
• Sports and daily-life transfer: Throwing, pushing, bracing, getting up off the floor, and contact sports all lean on chest + triceps strength.

If you want a full plan that pairs them well, see: chest and triceps workout.

9 Great Dip Exercise Alternatives

Below are 9 of the best alternatives to dips. Like dips, these can build serious strength and muscle, and most are easy to progress with load, reps, or tempo.

Quick safety note: If dips cause sharp pain (not normal muscle burn), don’t try to “stretch through it.” Use a shoulder-friendly option (landmine press, floor press, neutral-grip dumbbell bench), keep your pressing range pain-free, and build back up gradually.

1. Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press

Best for: triceps-focused dip replacement and bench lockout strength.

A close grip shifts more load to the triceps while still training chest and anterior delt. For many lifters, it also feels friendlier on the shoulders than a wider grip, especially when elbows stay tucked.

It’s also a strong accessory for building your regular bench press lockout, and it’ll hammer the triceps while still giving the chest plenty of work. If you want more inner-pec emphasis, see: inner chest exercises.

How to Do the Close-Grip Barbell Bench Press:

1. Set yourself up like a flat bench press, but with your hands set inside shoulder-width and your elbows tucked in.
2. Pull the bar out of the rack and stabilize it over your chest.
3. Lower the bar under control, keeping elbows angled in (not flared).
4. Press through the palms, feel the triceps engage, and press back up.
5. Reset and repeat.

Programming Suggestions:

Best as an accessory lift. Train 2-4 sets of 8-15 reps.

2. Floor Press

Best for: shoulder-friendly pressing with a strong lockout focus.

Floor pressing limits range of motion, which can reduce stress on the shoulder in deep positions. It’s a go-to for building lockout strength and triceps drive without forcing an aggressive bottom stretch.

How to Do the Floor Press:

1. Lay down in front of a power rack and extend your arms. Adjust the hooks so the bar sits where your hands reach.
2. Get under the bar, plant your feet firmly, and set your upper back.
3. Grip the bar with your preferred bench grip and lift it out.
4. Lower the bar under control to the sternum area, keeping elbows tucked around 45 degrees.
5. Press to lockout, reset, and repeat.

Programming Suggestions:

Excellent as a dip replacement for pressing strength. Train 3-5 sets of 8-15 reps.

Related: Best Chest Exercises Without a Bench

3. JM Press

Best for: triceps mass and lockout strength when you want something heavier than skull crushers.

The JM Press blends a close-grip press with a skull crusher pattern. Because your chest contributes, you can usually use more weight than pure elbow-extension moves, making it a serious triceps builder.

How to Do the JM Press:

1. Set up like the close-grip bench press, with the bar above the upper chest.
2. Use a narrow grip (around 16 inches) with your preferred grip style.
3. Keep elbows around 45 degrees from the torso as you lower the bar toward you.
4. Lower until your forearm touches your bicep.
5. Let the bar roll back slightly so elbows stay pointed forward and up.
6. Press up, reset, repeat.

Programming Suggestions:

Accessory movement. Train 2-4 sets of 6-12 reps. This can be tough on elbows, so rotate it in for 4-6 weeks, then swap to another triceps option.

Related: Best Barbell Triceps Exercises

4. Unilateral Landmine Press

Best for: pressing when shoulders do not love deep ranges or overhead work.

Unilateral landmine pressing tends to feel smooth on the shoulders because the path is arcing and the grip is more neutral. It also challenges scapular control and core stability, which is a nice bonus if you’re trying to keep your shoulders happy long-term.

How to Do the Unilateral Landmine Press:

1. Get into a half-kneeling position with your stance about hip-width. Hold the end of the barbell in front of your front shoulder.
2. Brace your core and keep the bar tight.
3. Press to lockout by extending the elbow. Reach slightly forward at lockout.
4. Slowly lower back down, reset, repeat.

Programming Suggestions:

Great for muscle and pain-free volume. Perform after your main press for 2-4 sets of 6-12 reps.

Related: Best Landmine Exercises

5. Diamond Push Up

Best for: triceps-heavy pressing at home with no equipment.

Close hand placement increases triceps demand and forces extra core stability. You’ll probably do fewer reps than standard push-ups, but that’s kind of the point.

How to Do the Diamond Push Up:

1. You don’t have to make a perfect diamond, just keep hands close.
2. Adjust hand position so it’s pain-free for wrists and shoulders.
3. Push up while keeping core and glutes tight so your spine stays neutral.
4. Keep elbows tucked near the ribcage rather than flaring.

Programming Suggestions:

Regress with an incline or progress with a decline. Perform 2-3 sets of 10-25 reps after your main press.

Related: Increase Push Up Difficulty with Bands

6. Decline Bench Press

Best for: chest-focused dip replacement, especially lower chest emphasis.

Decline pressing changes the pressing path and often shifts emphasis toward the lower chest while still training triceps and anterior delts. Many lifters find it comfortable on the shoulders compared to certain flat pressing setups, and it’s easy to progressively overload.

How to Do the Barbell Decline Bench Press:

1. Secure your feet into a decline bench.
2. Lie down and lock your upper back and hips to the bench with eyes underneath the bar.
3. Unrack and lower the bar toward the sternum while keeping shoulder blades pulled together.
4. Press to lockout without letting elbows flare excessively.

Programming Suggestion:

Strength: 3-5 sets of 3-6 reps. Hypertrophy: 3-6 sets of 6-12 reps.

7. Dumbbell Neutral Grip Bench Press

Best for: shoulder-friendly chest and triceps work with built-in left-right balance.

Dumbbells let you press with a neutral grip, which many lifters find easier on wrists, elbows, and shoulders. The unilateral nature also helps one side catch up if you have imbalances.

How to Do the Dumbbell Bench Press:

1. Sit upright on a flat bench and hinge forward to pick up each dumbbell.
2. Place each dumbbell on a knee and lean back, then drive the dumbbells into position with your knees.
3. Press the dumbbells over your chest with palms facing each other.
4. Lower the dumbbells with elbows tucked until elbows break 90 degrees.
5. Press to lockout, reset, repeat.

Programming Suggestions:

Better for hypertrophy than absolute strength. Program 3-4 sets of 6-15 reps after your main press.

Related: Best Dumbbell Chest Exercises

8. Svend Press

Best for: chest squeeze and pump with minimal setup.

You squeeze two plates together and press out. It looks easy until your pecs light up. The triceps do work, but chest is the headline here. Great as a finisher or on days when you want chest volume without heavy loading.

How to Do the Svend Press:

1. Press two small plates together in front of your sternum.
2. Press the plates out to lockout.
3. Keep squeezing the plates together as you bring them back to the sternum.
4. Keep shoulders down and chest up.
5. Repeat, staying tight the entire time.

Programming Suggestions:

Hypertrophy finisher. 2-3 sets of 12-20 reps.

9. Chaos Push Up

Best for: at-home or gym pressing with instability and rotator cuff recruitment.

Resistance bands can be a great way to hit chest, triceps, and shoulders when dips are not an option. One underrated variation is the chaos push-up: loop a heavy resistance band around a rack and do push-ups with hands on the band. The instability ramps up time under tension and lights up stabilizers.

How to Do the Chaos Push Up:

1. Loop a heavy-duty band around two squat rack attachments. Higher is easier, lower is harder.
2. Place hands on the band about shoulder-width apart.
3. Step legs back, squeeze glutes, brace core, keep spine neutral.
4. Lower under control, then push up and reset.
5. Repeat.

Programming suggestions:

Perform 2-4 sets of 10-20 reps.

How to Choose Which Dip Alternative to Do

You don’t need all of these in your program at once. Pick 1-2 main alternatives and 1 finisher, run them for 4-8 weeks, then rotate. A simple way to choose:

• If dips hurt your shoulders: start with landmine press, floor press, or neutral-grip dumbbell bench press.
• If you want triceps-heavy carryover: close-grip bench, JM press, diamond push-ups.
• If you want more chest emphasis: decline bench, neutral-grip dumbbell bench, Svend press.

Also, some pairings are not redundant because they hit the muscles differently. Close-grip bench plus decline bench is a good example (more triceps-focused plus more lower-chest-focused).

Simple dip-free push day example:

• Main press: Close-grip bench press or neutral-grip dumbbell bench press – 3-4 sets of 6-12
• Secondary: Floor press or decline bench press – 3 sets of 8-15
• Shoulder-friendly press: Unilateral landmine press – 2-3 sets of 8-12 per side
• Finisher: Svend press or diamond push-ups – 2-3 sets of 12-20

FAQ

Are dips bad for your shoulders?

Not automatically. Many people tolerate dips well. Problems usually show up with deep range, elbows flaring, shrugged shoulders, and pre-existing shoulder irritation. If dips cause sharp pain, swap in a shoulder-friendly alternative and build strength in pain-free ranges.

What is the closest exercise to dips?

For most lifters, close-grip bench press and floor press provide the most “dip-like” triceps and lockout carryover because they’re heavy presses you can load progressively.

What dip alternative can I do at home?

Diamond push-ups are the cleanest starting point. If you have bands and an anchor point (like a rack), chaos push-ups add a new stimulus that hits chest, triceps, shoulders, and stabilizers.

Final Note on Dip Alternatives

If you’re replacing the dip simply because you don’t have access to a station, consider the cost-to-reward tradeoff. The dip, along with the pull up, is hard to replicate perfectly. A power tower can give you dips, pull ups, and more whenever you want, which is a strong long-term play if you train at home.

Best Power Tower

Sports Royal Power Towers

Comes with a 14-gauge heavy square steel frame constructed with scratch-resistant coat finish...

CHECK PRICE