Prone Y raise
The prone Y raise strengthens the muscles that hold your shoulder blades back and steady on your rib cage (lower and middle trapezius). Lying face down, you lift straight arms off the floor in a Y shape. It turns up often in shoulder and upper back programs.
How to do the prone y raise
- Lie face down on a mat, forehead resting on a small folded towel, legs straight and relaxed.
- Take your straight arms up past your head and out to the sides, so they point diagonally away from you and make a Y shape with your body.
- Rotate your forearms outward until your thumbs point at the ceiling.
- Squeeze your shoulder blades gently together and lift both arms off the floor. Your chest and forehead stay down on the mat.
- Hold for a few seconds, then lower your arms and let them relax fully before the next lift.
What you should feel
Work between and just below your shoulder blades, plus some effort at the back of the shoulders. You should not get a pinch at the front of the shoulder or strain in the neck.
Common mistakes
- Lifting your head or chest to get the arms higher. A small lift is enough.
- Shrugging up toward the ears, which moves the work into the neck.
- Bending the elbows as the arms tire.
How often
Many programs start with 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 lifts, holding each one for 3 to 5 seconds, once a day. Your physio will set the numbers for you.
Stop and check with your physio if
- Lifting brings on a sharp pain or a catch in the shoulder.
- You get tingling or pain down an arm.
- Pins and needles in your arm or hand that do not go away after you stop, or part of your arm or hand goes numb. Get medical advice the same day. If one side of your face or body suddenly goes numb or weak, or your speech becomes slurred or muddled, call emergency services, even if it goes away.
- Lying face down brings on neck or lower back pain that does not ease when you rest.
- A sudden pop or tearing feeling in the shoulder that brings sharp pain, new weakness or trouble lifting the arm. Stop and contact your surgical team the same day, or get medical advice the same day if you have not had surgery.
- The shoulder feels as if it has slipped out of place, looks a different shape or suddenly locks so you cannot move the arm, or your hand turns cold, pale or blue. Go to an emergency department straight away, without driving yourself, and do not try to put the shoulder back in yourself.
From the clinic
Of the face-down shoulder blade lifts, the Y is usually the hardest. Long arms reaching past your head ask a lot of the muscles low down between the shoulder blades. If your arms will not leave the floor without your chest coming up too, take a smaller lift for now.
Some programs start with the prone T raise, arms straight out to the sides, and add the Y once that feels steady.
Lying face down gets uncomfortable in pregnancy, usually from the middle months on. If that is you, ask your physio for a version done leaning forward or sitting instead.
After shoulder surgery, including a rotator cuff repair, or after a shoulder fracture or dislocation, follow your surgeon's or physio's plan, and do only the movements and range they have cleared. Many plans allow only passive movement at first, where the arm is moved for you and its muscles stay relaxed. An overhead lift against gravity like this is usually kept for later in rehab.
Reviewed by the PocketPhysio by VirtueLife expert physiotherapy team. Last reviewed 2026-09-25.
This page is general education, not a diagnosis or a personal treatment plan. If you have pain, an injury or a health condition, see a physiotherapist or doctor before starting new exercises.
