client who cannot do tricep dips after two years!
I’ve been working with a client for over two years. She is 47, still quite overweight due to poor food choices, but her strength is pretty good and she is proud of herself for all her gains. We do mostly free weight exercises with dumbbells, kettle balls, HIIT, circuit training. She CANNOT do tricep dips. She keeps her fingers tented and just cannot bend her elbows. Some of it might be fear of falling, but I just can’t figure this out. She is able to do other tricep exercises without problems. Any ideas on how I can help her? thanks
Hi Robin,
the triceps dip has as much to do with shoulder stabilization as with the triceps. After all, the long head of the triceps attaches to the scapula. I would begin looking there for instability. The body often protects itself by not doing what it cannot.
On the other hand: you describe her as ‘quite overweight’, and that can mean that even the portion of her body weight is still too much for her. In that case, there is really no reason to frustrate her by asking something that is not a good option yet.
Personally, I rarely have my clients do triceps dips because of the impact on the shoulder. To me, it’s one of those exercises that are not for every body.
Karin Singleton
www.KarinSingleton.com