Substitute for Weighted Chest Dips

Dip Machines

When searching for an alternative to weighted chest dips at a gym, stop looking when you see a chest dip machine. It mimics the movement of weighted chest dips, but it provides additional support for your body and alleviates the strain that comes from holding yourself in a suspended position. Dip machines come in two different versions. One provides support from a knee platform and the other allows you to sit in a padded seat and push down on a weighted lever.

Decline Bench Press

If you want a substitute that offers the support of a weight bench, choose decline bench presses. These moves, which can be done using either a barbell or set of dumbbells, allow you to isolate the chest muscles more effectively than the ever-popular flat bench press. They also reduce the strain on your shoulders, which can be a problem during weighted chest dips.

Push-ups

One of the most basic of all strength exercises -- the push-up -- is also an excellent chest-strengthening workout that can help you replace weighted chest dips in your routine. As one of Bodybuilding.com’s top five chest exercises, push-ups can be as challenging as you want them to be and they are practical to do if you don’t have access to a gym. You can do traditional push-ups or change your hand position to increase the difficulty. Use wide-grip, diamond or staggered-arm push-ups or up the challenge even more by adding a clap in front of or behind your back in between reps.

Pec Flyes

Another alternative to weighted chest dips is the pec fly, which isolates the chest muscles more than most other moves. Just like bench presses, pec flyes offer the support of a weight bench and reduce the strain of self-suspension associated with dips. They can also be done on incline benches or stability balls to add variety to the movement. Incline pec flyes shift more of the burden to your shoulders and reduce the pressure on your lower back while stability ball flyes work your core in addition to your chest and arms.