How to do the Prone Y Raise
Step by step
- Lie face down with your forehead resting down and arms reaching overhead in a Y shape, thumbs up.
- Gently draw your belly in so your low back stays quiet.
- Lift both arms a few inches off the floor while keeping them in the Y line.
- Feel the effort between your shoulder blades, not in your neck.
- Lower slowly back to the floor and reset before the next rep.
The thing people get wrong
Keep the lift small and do not shrug - a low, clean raise beats a high one that hikes the shoulders.
Coaching cue
Reach your arms long away from you as you lift rather than just hauling them up.
Make it easier or harder
- Easier: Lift one arm at a time.
- Harder: Pause for two seconds at the top.
Muscles worked
- Primary: Upper Back, Rear delts
- Secondary: Core
What to do instead
Same job, different movement — useful if you don't have the equipment or it doesn't feel right today.
Daily Coach builds this into a real weekly plan. It picks the exercises for your equipment and experience, swaps around injuries you tell it about, and tracks what you actually lifted.