The Push Up Vs. The Dip – Vertical and Horizontal Pressing Exercises
Bodyweight exercises can be a great way to work your chest, shoulders and triceps as well as your core.
And two of the best bodyweight exercises you can do to work your chest, shoulder, triceps and your core are the Push Up and the Dip.
While both pressing moves may work the same muscle groups, they work them in different ways, which is why a good exercise program should include both movements.
If you include both pressing movements in your workout routine, it is also important that you include a variety of pulling exercises in your workouts as well.
Because we sit in flexion all day at a desk, it is important that we do enough pulling movements (aka work our back) and don’t simply focus on pressing exercises. If we only focus on pressing movements, we are going to further imbalances caused by sitting all day at a desk, which could lead to pain and injury.
To prevent injury as you include both the Push Up and the Dip in your workouts, make sure to also include Pulling Exercises, such as Rows and Pull Ups, as well as a proper foam rolling and stretching routine.
