I've been trying to research this but alls I come up with is dips as and answer but no actual reason. I love dips but haven't done much decline bench so I have tossed it in my routine. My understanding is they are both pretty much a decline bench but dips may be harder on your shoulders. I know during failure dips are easier to bail out than decline bench if you don't have a spotter. I can push way more weight ona dip than a decline press but which is better or are they both close to the same?

My pure personal opinion is I prefer dips. While they can be hard on the shoulders, when done properly and with proper shoulder stretching they give you more bang-for-the-buck. Being a compound movement, they hit more muscles than just the targeted triceps. I am not against decline benching I just prefer dips.

John

They are both quite different chest exercises. If you were to look at both movements you would see that the dip offers more upper chest stimulation than the decline bench due to the superior angle of shoulder extension you get. Due to this the dip also offers more chest engagement prior to full triceps activation (although this is only minimal). The dips however, do put a lot of anterior pressure through the shoulder joint which can be detrimental to the intra-articular structures in the shoulder. The decline bench is a safer option from a structural point of view. Overall, I would if I had to choose one it would be dips but there's not much in it at all.

Dips for sure, it is an exercise that activates many muscle fibers in different muscle groups. It is one of my favorite exercises !

Dips provide the advantage of being able to modify the emphasis of muscle groups you wish to focus and / or also providing a full developmental spread on the trifecta (detls, pecs, triceps).

The mind-muscle connection and the ability to nearly isolate the triceps in the movement, or change the angle of your body ascension / descension etc.. lets the dip change the muscular engagement potential and shoulder stress depending on the particular body articulation of each person (someone with a 'bad shoulder' may still be able to dip at another angle).

Honestly, I wouldn't really compare the two movements. A dip is a completely different exercise to rotate in. While I'd use the decline bench press as well - my bench press or variant thereof.

Thanks guys! Those were the answers I was pretty much looking for, makes it easier to see the 2 as different exercises so I will just make sure and keep them both in my routines and not single one out.

yeah man i was just about to say that. If i were you i would incorporate them into your routines for the week so you can do both!

Do both but keep in mind theres a difference between a chest dip and a tricep dip. For a chest dip you have to lean forward