Dips

Dips in bodybuilding and fitness are an exercise used primarily to increase muscle mass on your chest and triceps and are one of the best ways to gain muscle fast. This is an exercise that any athlete can include in his/hers training regimen , regardless of their training experience. Performed on parallel bars or other specialized "dips" devices. The distance between the two bars is the determining factor of the focus of the exercise. Upon closer parallel bars the burden shifts to the triceps, and in a wider - to the chest.In the dip exercise the most load goes to the chest muscles and the inner heads of the triceps. The deltoids (shoulders) participate the least in the dip exercise.

Variations

The width of the grip -

• Shoulder width : (narrower grip) emphasizes the triceps. 
• In a wider grip, the target switches to the chest.

According to the slope of the body -

• If you bend your body forward (bend your knees, cross them at the ankles and bend your body forward slightly) accentuate the chest, when the body is upright (straight, legs are not crossed), a greater load is subjected on the triceps .

According to the position of the elbow - 

• If you move your elbows close to your body, the more load on the triceps. If your elbows are out, the more it involves the chest.
• With added weight - If the exercise is getting too easy for you(you can do more than needed for hypertrophy), you can try adding additional weight attached to the waist belt or with a dumbbell between your ankles.

Method of execution

1.  Go down slowly by bending arms allowing the elbows to flare to the sides until you feel a painless stretch in your chest and triceps.
2. Return to starting position.

• Dips put a big load on your elbows, especially when weighted dips are performed with improper form. 
• Warm up your elbows prior to the exercise. This will reduce the risk of injury of the joins.
• Perform the movement in its full amplitude, rather than half. Lower your body until you feel a painless stretch in your triceps and chest (here the individual feeling is very important due to the small limit of optimum stretch and hyper extension).
• Try not to swing your body while performing the exercise. Movement should be done only at the elbow and shoulder joints.
• Beware of sore elbows - elbow injuries in the joints are not desirable.
• Try to keep your head up and look forward when performing dips.
• Do not extend your arms completely during the positive part of the exercise(do not lock out your elbows). This will unnecessarily increase the load on the elbows, and will take away from the stress on the triceps.

Relevancy

The main function of the dip exercise in bodybuilding and fitness is increasing the mass of the chest and triceps. It is therefore advisable to include them in your workout, regardless of you're a beginner or an advanced fitness enthusiast.It's a great way to gain muscle without weights. If you are a beginner, include dips as your second exercise on chest/triceps day. If you are more advanced, it is best to perform dips at the end of your chest/triceps workout.If your goal is mass gain try to stay into the 6-12 rep. range.If you are able to do more than 15 then i suggest adding additional weight so you stay in the hypertrophy rep. range.