Incline Bench Y Raise

The incline bench Y raise is a shoulder stability exercise: lying chest down on a bench, you lift both arms overhead into a Y shape with the thumbs pointing up. It trains the lower and middle traps along with the infraspinatus, the rotator cuff muscle that keeps the ball of the shoulder centered. Who needs it? Anyone whose training is heavy on pressing, and anyone who spends the day at a desk. Balancing pushing volume with this kind of pulling work is one of the simplest ways to keep the shoulders healthy and the upper back from rounding forward. How much weight should you use? Very little. Most people get more out of a pair of 2 kg dumbbells, or no weight at all, than out of anything heavier, because the goal is a clean position and a hard squeeze at the top. Sets of 12 to 15 reps work well.