Dips vs. Bench for elbows

[FROGGBUSTER]

hey mark, my elbow has been injured for a few weeks, but it's almost good to go.

for the healthiness of elbow joints, which exercise you would consider better? i was thinking dips might take strain off the elbows because shoulders are involved much more in the movement.

of course i'm going to try both to assess my tolerance to each, but i'd like to get your input on this because you write in SS that dips are good substitutes for the bench press during injuries.

thanks a lot.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I don't think there's any reason to assume that dips are easier on the elbows that the equivalent resistance on the bench press. Note that this means that bodyweight dips will have to be accurately gauged against the weight you're using on the bench. If you're benching 300 and you weigh 185, bodyweight dips are not equivalent to your bench, and so might very well be less stress on the elbows.