Y T Raises

Y T Raises

This exercise is great for those of you looking to improve your posture. It also serves as a warm up for the bench press as keeping your shoulders pinned back is important for proper benching. By working on scapular retraction, Y T raises help to stabilise the shoulders.

This can help for anyone suffering with anterior shoulder pain. As most people lack good posture or work in a rounded position all day (desk workers, hair dressers, therapists etc) this exercise works to prevent the shoulders being in a rolled forward position.

Lay prone on an inclined bench and grab a pair of light dumbbells or plates and perform a Y motion, followed by a T motion. Be sure to keep your thumbs up to make sure the humerus is rotated allowing for a greater retraction and improved movement.

Perform this exercise for 2-3 sets of 5-10 repetitions of each. If using a weight is too much, then you can still benefit greatly from using no weight and maximising the hold at the top of each rep.

Tag a mate with poor posture and share to help others benefit from this great but simple exercise!