Cable Incline Single Arm Y Raise Wrist Straps with Back Support

How to do the Cable Incline Single Arm Y Raise Wrist Straps with Back Support

1. 1Set an incline bench facing a low cable pulley and attach a single-handle wrist strap to the low cable.
2. 2Lie chest-down on the bench so the support pad braces your torso, and slip your working hand through the wrist strap so the cable runs along your forearm.
3. 3Let your working arm hang down and slightly across your body toward the pulley, with a soft bend in the elbow and your shoulder relaxed.
4. 4Brace your core and set your shoulder blade down and back to start from a stable base.
5. 5Raise your arm up and outward at roughly a 45-degree angle from your torso, forming one half of a "Y" with your thumb leading and pointing up.
6. 6Lift until your arm is in line with your body, pausing briefly at the top as you feel the rear and side shoulder contract.
7. 7Lower the arm slowly back along the same path until your shoulder is fully stretched at the bottom.
8. 8Complete all reps on one side, then switch the strap to the other arm and repeat.

Form tips

• Lead the movement with your thumb pointing up and out so the rear and side deltoid do the work instead of the front shoulder.
• Keep the elbow only slightly bent and fixed — this is a raise, not a row or a press.
• Move slowly and under control, and let the cable provide steady tension through the full range rather than swinging the arm.
• Keep your chest pinned to the support pad so your torso can't twist or rock to help lift the weight.
• Use a light load: the Y raise is a small, isolated movement, so quality of motion beats heavy weight.

Common mistakes

• Using too much weight, which forces you to swing or shrug and shifts the work off the deltoid you are trying to isolate.
• Bending the elbow and pulling instead of raising, which turns the movement into a row and removes tension from the shoulder.
• Letting the thumb rotate down or in, which recruits the front shoulder instead of the targeted rear and side delt.
• Lifting the chest off the support pad and rocking the torso, which uses momentum and defeats the purpose of the back support.
• Cutting the bottom of the range short, which skips the stretch and shortens the contraction the muscle works through.

Frequently asked questions