StrengthIn review

Dumbbell Y Raise

A bent-over dumbbell raise with both arms reaching forward and out in a Y.

This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.

Pattern: Shoulder raise
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Beginner
Mechanic: Unknown
Force: Unknown
Laterality: Bilateral
Impact: Low
Trains where: Gym, Home
At home: Yes

How to do it

Set up

Stand with a light dumbbell in each hand and bend the knees slightly.
Move the hips back until the torso is near horizontal. Let the arms hang and turn the thumbs forward.

Do the rep

Keep the elbows nearly straight and lift both arms forward and out into a Y with the thumbs up.
Lift only as far as the torso stays still and the shoulders stay comfortable.
Lower both dumbbells under control.

What counts as a rep

A rep counts when both arms form a Y in line with the torso and return below the shoulders without lifting the trunk.

Breathing

Exhale as you lift; inhale as you lower.

Cues

Reach forward and out.
Keep the neck long.
Use very light dumbbells.

Common mistakes

Lifting the trunk
What you seeThe chest rises with the dumbbells.
FixUse less load and keep the trunk angle fixed.
A fixed trunk keeps the movement in the shoulders and upper back.

Stop the set if

Stop if you feel sharp pain.
Stop if the shoulder pinches or you cannot keep the trunk still.
End the set when you cannot meet the stated rep standard under control.

General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.

Muscles worked

Prime movers

Trapezius · moderate confidence

Assisting

Rear deltoids · moderate confidence
Rotator cuff · moderate confidence
Front deltoids · moderate confidence

Equipment

Dumbbell

Optional: Bench

Stand with a light dumbbell in each hand and bend the knees slightly. Move the hips back until the torso is near horizontal. Let the arms hang and turn the thumbs forward.

In the app

You log this by hand. The camera coach does not watch this movement yet.

Tracking: Manual

How this page was checked

Draft. A editorial reviewer has not signed this off yet.

Draft text is original copy for Wave 2 batch 9, written from the blueprint CSV row and the owner rules approved 2026-10-12 in #340. No human review is complete.
Technique, cues, rep standard, breathing, stop cues, and error corrections need independent sources and the assigned review tier (blueprint two-source rule).
Programming roles, skill tier, failure cost, timed use, goal fit, and equipment follow the owner rules; the switch-on PR must confirm them.
Legacy relations and engine edges stay empty until the progression ladder lane and S2-CAT-005.
Timed use and goal fit copy ex_prone_y_raise. The copied timed-use state is disallowed; no review evidence is claimed for this draft.
Rule 1 gives home yes because every required picker item is a dumbbell or bench. The CSV says home false. Environment and programming location constraints include gym and home.
Dumbbell load uses kg with load-and-reps and the allowed metrics of ex_dumbbell_shoulder_press (rule 1).
Rule 2 gives this movement secondary_pull + isolation_target.
Failure cost low: a failed rep lowers a light dumbbell, as ex_dumbbell_lateral_raise and the Wave 1 dumbbell curls. This is the approved exception to the general rule 3 dumbbell cost of moderate.
Home yes differs from ex_dumbbell_lateral_raise (home false). The Wave 1 record stays unchanged under the owner ruling.
Skill tier beginner: a new user can perform one clean rep in the first session, as the owner ruled (rule 3).
Two dumbbells move together and count as bilateral_rep, as ex_dumbbell_shoulder_press (rule 1).
The Y raise takes secondary_pull + isolation_target from ex_prone_y_raise under the owner ruling, while keeping the CSV shoulder-raise pattern and dumbbell load-and-reps.
Anatomy refines the CSV family hints for this movement: primary traps; secondary rear-deltoids, rotator-cuff, front-deltoids. The assigned review tier must confirm these draft lists.
The CSV does not specify a Y-raise position. This draft uses a standing hip hinge so the bench stays optional; coach review must confirm the variant and finish range.

All instruction and editorial text in this record is original draft copy written for Allena. Planning metadata comes from the internal Wave-2 blueprint CSV.

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