How to Do a Russian Dip: Step-by-Step Guide

The Russian dip looks simple until you try to get off your elbows and press back up. That's where most people get stuck.

It's also called the elbow dip, and it carries over to explosive push skills like the muscle-up, clapping dip, and freestyle moves. The move gets easier when you break it into parts and train the right strength.

Why the Russian Dip Matters

The Russian dip is basically a dip where you move from your elbows back to a regular dip and push all the way up. Besides being a cool move, it's a good exercise for explosive pushing strength.

If you want stronger bar transitions, this skill is worth learning. It teaches you how to handle a deep position, create momentum, and press out with control.

How the Russian Dip Works

Start in a regular dip position and keep your scapula elevated. From there, go all the way down into a deep dip, as deep as possible, and then lower until your elbows rest on the bars.

That elbow-supported position is where the Russian dip ends before you press back up. When you're first learning the move, create momentum instead of trying to muscle through it. Your upper body goes backward, your lower body goes forward, and that swing helps your elbows come up automatically.

So the sequence is simple: start position, deep dip, drop to the elbows, create momentum, then press back to the top. Once you can do it with a swing, start cleaning it up and work toward doing the Russian dip without the swing.

Exercises That Build the Strength

Three exercises have the biggest carryover here, because they strengthen the shoulders and triceps in the exact positions you need.

Deep dip

The first one is the deep dip. Do a regular dip, but go as deep as possible, with your shoulders as close to your hands as possible. Go down under control and come up explosively.

Keep the reps low, about 3 or 4 strong reps, and focus on speed on the way up. This builds the strength you need to push out of the bottom.

Advanced tricep extensions

The second exercise is the advanced tricep extension. Start with a bench-dip style version on parallettes. When you can do 8 to 10 reps, walk your feet backward while keeping your hands in the same place.

Focus on bringing your elbows backward. That builds the tricep and shoulder strength needed for the transition.

Jumping muscle-ups on parallel bars

The last exercise is a jumping muscle-up on parallel bars. Use your legs to help you get on top of the bars, but try to lift yourself with your upper body as much as possible.

Aim for 8 to 12 reps. When that gets easy, jump with one leg or reduce the jump so your triceps do more work.

Getting the Skill

If you master those three exercises, the Russian dip comes faster. Most importantly, practice the move in pieces instead of forcing the full transition.

Build the deep dip first, use momentum while you're learning, and then remove the swing over time. That's when the Russian dip starts to click.