The 8 Best Dip Bars and Parallettes for Your Home Gym Workouts

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Take a dip to build upper body strength and muscle.

When you're looking to build muscle and strength without much gear, your options can be limited. But if you have a dip bar, a set of parallettes, or even a bench or sofa, you can give your triceps and/or chest a true bodyweight challenge by pumping through sets of dips. The exercise is simple, but the gains you can make are the real deal.

The biggest challenges that come with dips are how exactly you'll perform the reps and where you'll do the exercise. For the first point, you'll have to be intentional in your movements. The dip can be done with your whole body elevated, using parallettes or a dip bar, or using an elevated platform like a bench or couch. Just be careful of your shoulders, which can be placed in a compromising position.

"Before you do a rep, squeeze your shoulder blades together, then push your torso up high. Again, we're working to avoid as much shoulder pinching as possible, so pulling your shoulder blades back will help drive your shoulders open and also open your chest in the process," advises Men's Health fitness director Ebenezer Samuel, C.S.C.S. (If you are prone to shoulder injury, Samuel says exercises like close-grip pushups, skullcrushers, and triceps pressdowns all offer chances for you to grow your triceps with less shoulder risk.)

You can cobble together a dip station using the gear you have around your house—you can set up on your couch or ottoman for bench dips, place two (stable) chairs next to each other and support yourself by placing your hands on the seats, or head to a park or playground and use the gear available there. But your best bet is to just get yourself a reliable, dedicated dip station.The dip station can come in many forms, from power towers to attachable bars for racks to parallettes. You can use them for countless moves, from knee raises, leg raises, back rows and more.Looking to add some dip bars to your home gym? Here are 7 great equipment options to help you get in some dip training.

This heavy-duty rig isn't cheap—but it's a sturdy reliable station that can support your dips, pullups, and more.

This Sportsroyals Power Tower is a number 1 best seller on Amazon. It comes with a 14-gauge heavy square steel frame that's made with a scratch-resistant coat finish. It also has a weight capacity of 400 pounds.

Rubberbanditz's Parallettes Bars are made of a lightweight stainless steel that makes them super portable. Each one has a measurement of 16 x 8.5 x 9 inches with a 1.3 inch diameter tube. They have foam-covered handles and square slip-resistant caps on the bottom of each one.

Amazon's dip bar is super affordable and made of durable steel and has tons of safety features, including foam slip-free grips and foam floor pads for a reliable stay-in-place performance.

These dip stands made of heavy duty steel and support up to 300 pounds. But the best thing about them is they're adjustable. You can make them taller or shorter. And they have adjustable foot covers to prevent shaking or sliding.

BalanceFrom's dip station is made of heavy duty steel and has an impressive weight capacity 500 pounds. It also has foam padded grip handles to increase friction and minimize your hand fatigue.

ETEK's Parallettes Bars are made from thick gauge steel with strong rounded 1.25" tubingbars that are 19" long and 14.5" tall,. They also have rubber end caps on the feet allow for stability. Plus, the bars are also coated in a matte powder coating for nonslip gripping.

This steel attachable set from Fitness Reality includes dip, pull up, and push-up handles. It features 3 different hand grip positions (Angled, Parallel and Linear) for building different muscle groups.

Emily Shiffer is a former digital web producer for Men's Health and Prevention, and is currently a freelancer writer specializing in health, weight loss, and fitness. She is currently based in Pennsylvania and loves all things antiques, cilantro, and American history.

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