Floor Y Raise

How to do it

1. Lie face down with your legs extended and your forehead supported on a thin folded towel.
2. Extend both arms diagonally overhead to form a Y shape.
3. Position the arms approximately 120–135 degrees from the torso rather than directly out to the sides.
4. Keep your elbows straight and point your thumbs upward.
5. Lightly brace your abdomen and keep your lower ribs and pelvis in contact with the floor.
6. Reach your hands forward and away from your body.
7. Lift both arms a small distance from the floor while keeping your neck neutral.
8. Allow the shoulder blades to rotate naturally as the arms lift; do not force them together.
9. Pause briefly, then lower the arms slowly to the floor.

Form cues

• Think, “reach long before lifting.”
• Keep the arms in a clear Y position; arms placed directly sideways turn the movement into a T raise.
• Keep the shoulders away from the ears and avoid shrugging.
• Keep the forehead supported and do not lift the head to create additional range.
• Avoid lifting the chest, flaring the ribs or arching the lower back.
• Use a smaller range or perform one arm at a time if both-arm lifting causes compensation.
• Begin without weights; the Y raise is more demanding than the T raise.
• Stop for shoulder pinching, neck discomfort, numbness, tingling or radiating arm pain.

Muscles worked

Strengthens: lower trapezius, serratus anterior, rotator cuff

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