Floor Triceps Dip
What Is the Floor Triceps Dip?
Floor Triceps Dip is an isolation exercise that primarily targets the triceps and also engages the anterior deltoids, the chest and the glutes as hip stabilizers. It is a beginner-level movement performed with nothing but body weight and a flat surface, which makes it one of the easiest ways to load elbow extension when no bench, bar or machine is available.
The setup is a reverse tabletop position. You sit on the floor with the knees bent and the feet flat, place the hands on the floor just behind the hips with the fingers pointing toward the heels, then lift the hips off the floor. From there the elbows bend and straighten to lower and raise the torso. Because the hands are on the ground rather than on a raised edge, the range of motion is shorter than a bench dip, and the shoulders sit in a less extended position. That shorter, shallower path is exactly why the exercise suits beginners, older trainees and anyone returning from shoulder discomfort.
Load is adjusted through leg position rather than added weight. Keeping the feet close to the hips and pushing more through the heels takes load off the arms, while walking the feet further out and lifting the hips higher shifts more body weight onto the triceps. Since the movement is scaled by geometry instead of by plates, it works well as a high-repetition finisher at the end of a pressing session, as a warm-up before heavier triceps work, or as part of a home or travel circuit.
The main coaching focus is keeping the elbows tracking straight back over the hands instead of flaring out to the sides. A narrow, backward elbow path keeps tension on the long head of the triceps and keeps the shoulder joint in a safer position. Holding the hips actively lifted throughout the set also recruits the glutes, so the exercise trains the arms without letting the torso collapse toward the floor.
Once Floor Triceps Dip becomes easy for sets of 15 to 20 clean repetitions, the natural progressions are Bench Dips, Feet Elevated Bench Dips and eventually a full Triceps Dip on parallel bars.
Muscles Worked
- Triceps Brachii (Long Head)
- Primary
- Deltoid
- Medium
- Gluteus Maximus
- Medium
- Pectoralis Major
- Medium
- Erector Spinae
- Minimal
Instructions
- Sit on the floor with the knees bent and the feet flat, about hip width apart.
- Place the hands flat on the floor just behind the hips, shoulder width apart, with the fingers pointing toward the heels.
- Press through the hands and lift the hips off the floor until the arms are straight and the torso is stacked over the hands.
- Squeeze the glutes to hold the hips up and set the shoulders down and back.
- Bend the elbows and lower the hips toward the floor under control, keeping the elbows pointing straight back.
- Stop when the upper arms are roughly parallel to the floor or when the hips lightly touch down.
- Press through the palms and extend the elbows to return to the starting position.
- Lock the arms without shrugging, then begin the next repetition.
- Keep the hips lifted for the whole set rather than resting on the floor between reps.
Common Mistakes
Flaring the elbows outward
Letting the elbows drift wide shifts load off the triceps and forces the shoulder into an unstable position.
Dropping the hips between reps
Resting on the floor at the bottom of each repetition removes tension from the triceps and turns the set into a series of separate lifts.
Placing the hands too far behind the body
Hands set well behind the shoulders overstretch the front of the shoulder and load the wrists unnecessarily.
Pushing with the legs
Driving hard through the heels at the bottom lets the quadriceps and glutes complete the rep instead of the arms.
Shrugging at lockout
Letting the shoulders rise toward the ears at the top shortens the range of the triceps and loads the upper traps.
Rushing the descent
Dropping quickly and bouncing off the floor removes the eccentric portion where most of the training effect comes from.
Injuries
Floor Triceps Dip is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The hands are fixed on the ground and the shoulders travel through a short range, so the joint stress is much lower than on a parallel bar dip. The most common complaints are wrist discomfort from the loaded extension position and a pinching feeling at the front of the shoulder when the hips are allowed to sink too far.
The wrists carry body weight in full extension, so warm them up first and spread the fingers wide to distribute pressure across the whole palm. If the wrists still ache, turn the hands slightly outward, place the palms on a rolled towel or use fists on the floor to keep the joint closer to neutral. Anterior shoulder pain usually means the descent is going too deep or the elbows are flaring outward, both of which force the shoulder into excessive extension.
To keep the movement safe, stop the descent while the shoulders are still above elbow height, keep the elbows brushing close to the ribs and avoid bouncing the hips off the floor. Trainees with existing shoulder impingement or wrist injuries can regress by moving the feet closer to the hips or by pressing from an elevated surface such as a step, which reduces the shoulder extension angle. Progress by walking the feet further out, adding a pause at the bottom or moving to Bench Dips.
Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the front of the shoulder, numbness or tingling in the hands, or a pulling sensation at the elbow tendon. Persistent elbow soreness usually responds well to switching temporarily to a lighter triceps movement such as Cable Triceps Pushdown (Rope).
- Primary Focus
- Triceps
- Equipment
- Body weight
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Beginner
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: How is this different from a bench dip?
The hands are on the floor rather than on a raised edge, so the torso cannot travel below hand level. That gives a shorter range of motion and far less shoulder extension, which is why it is a gentler starting point than Bench Dips.
- Q: How do I make Floor Triceps Dip harder without weights?
Walk the feet further away from the hips so more body weight sits over the arms, or raise the hips higher and pause for two seconds at the bottom of each repetition. Straightening the legs completely is the hardest floor variation.
- Q: How many sets and reps should I use?
Because the load is fixed by body position, this exercise works best in the higher repetition range, around 3 to 4 sets of 12 to 20 reps. Use it after your main pressing work rather than as the first exercise of the session.
- Q: My wrists hurt during the set. What should I change?
Reduce the wrist extension angle by rotating the hands slightly outward, propping the heel of the hand on a folded towel, or gripping small parallel handles instead of pressing flat palms into the floor.
- Q: Can I do this every day?
Since it uses only body weight and a short range, it recovers quickly and can be trained two or three times per week. Daily high repetition work tends to irritate the elbow tendons over time, so keep at least one rest day between hard sessions.