Get Healthy on GOOD DAY: Dips and Pull Ups
Posted: 12.02.2011 at 11:15 AM

Pull ups and dips are both compound exercises used for strength training.  These pull-pull movements work your chest, shoulders and arms without any fancy equipment.

“You’re using your own body weight, everybody has that so now you have access to apply more resistance or less resistance to your movements such as pull ups and dips,” said Kris Morrill, fitness coach.

For pull ups get your chin over the bar and a dip is like a reverse pull up.  For both exercises, remember to fully extend your arms.

“You don't want to over extend meaning like on the dip you don’t want to go too far down because then we're getting into that shoulder or you could stand a chance of tearing a rotator cuff or something like that,” said Morrill.  “A lot of stuff goes on in the shoulder but as long as you've got the wide resistance band or some sort of scaling the movements so you lighten the load just a little bit you’re totally safe.”

For an additional exercise, change your grip from forward facing to backwards.

If a regular pull up or dip is too difficult, add a resistance band up help hold up your weight.