Chest-Supported Y-Raise
Builds the upper back postural muscles most lifters never train directly.
Setup
- Chest on an incline bench, light dumbbells hanging, thumbs up.
- Head off the pad, neck neutral.
How To Do It
- Raise the arms overhead into a Y shape.
- Lead with the thumbs and stop when the arms are in line with the torso.
- Lower slowly — this is a small muscle doing precise work.
Breathing
Exhale as the arms rise.
Common Mistakes
- Going heavy. This trains the lower traps, and they are not strong.
- Shrugging the shoulders toward the ears at the top.
Programming It
Two to three sets of 12-20. Very light.
Why This Exercise Works
The Y position loads the lower trapezius, which sits under the shoulder blade and pulls it down and back. Almost nothing else trains it directly, and it is usually the weak link in a shoulder that shrugs whenever it presses. Light weight, high intent.
Where You Should Feel It
A small burn low between the shoulder blades. That is the lower trap, and almost nobody has trained it. Feeling it in the upper traps or neck means the weight is too heavy — and it is almost always too heavy.
Where It Fits in a Program
Builds the upper back postural muscles most lifters never train directly. Put it late. Nothing here needs you fresh, and the reps are cheap to recover from.
Progressing and Regressing It
To progress the chest-supported y-raise: add reps and a two-second hold before adding weight. To regress it: go weightless; bodyweight is genuinely enough here for most.
Who It's For
Anyone who presses overhead, and anyone told their shoulder blades do not move well. Bodyweight is genuinely enough for most people here.
Equipment and Substitutions
The version shown uses an incline bench and dumbbells. No dumbbells? A kettlebell of similar weight works for almost all of this, and the cable and machine versions below cover the rest.
Related Exercises
- Bent-Over Lateral Raise — Rear Delts, Traps
- Prone Y-Raise — Lower Traps, Rear Delts
- Band Pull-Apart — Rear Delts, Upper Back
- Half-Kneeling Face Pull — Rear Delts, Upper Back
- Face Pull — Rear Delts, Upper Back
- Rear Delt Fly — Rear Delts, Upper Back
- Chest-Supported Row — Back, Lats, Rear Delts
- Renegade Row — Back, Core, Shoulders
Common Questions
What muscles does the chest-supported y-raise work?
The chest-supported y-raise primarily trains the rear delts, lower traps.
How many sets and reps should I do?
Two to three sets of 12-20. Very light.
What are the most common chest-supported y-raise mistakes?
Most often: going heavy; shrugging the shoulders toward the ears at the top.
Do I need an incline bench and dumbbells to do this?
This version uses an incline bench and dumbbells, and it trains the rear delts, lower traps. Kettlebells substitute directly here. So does a cable, if you would rather have constant tension than a free weight.
Is this safe if I have an existing injury?
The chest-supported y-raise puts the shoulder and elbow under load through a range many people have lost, so a cranky shoulder usually objects here before anything else does. Pain that pinches at a specific point is worth assessing; ordinary training discomfort is not. Not medical advice.