Exercise Challenge : Dips

I have recently begun doing dips on a counterbalance machine (makes it easier to lift your weight and work up to just using your own body weight). This is an amazing upper body exercise. It works the traps, lats (to a lesser degree), chest (wow!) and arms (especially triceps and forearms). Start with three sets of 10 and over the next 6 weeks add a set every week, so it should look like this.

Week 1 - 3 sets of 10
Week 2 - 4 sets of 10
Week 3 - 5 sets of 10
Week 4 - 6 sets of 10
Week 5 - 7 sets of 10
Week 6 - 8 sets of 10

Do them on a day by themselves when you are not doing your weight training. Incorporating them before cardio is a great idea as you will need all of your strength! Once you hit week 6 you will need to shock the body a little and lower the amount of help you are getting from the machine.

If you need 100lbs of assistance, drop to 90 and start the cycle over at the week 2 level and continue through week 6. Then drop to 80 lbs of help and do the cycle. You will soon be using your own body weight and your strength will be through the roof. You should be increasing definition and adding a little muscle on your upper body!

Good luck and have fun!

A.J. McAlendin