Prone W Raise
A face-down upper-back exercise that lifts the bent arms into a W while the shoulder blades squeeze together.
This page is a working draft. A coach has not reviewed it, so read it as a starting point, not as checked instruction.
- Pattern
- Trunk extension
- Modality
- Calisthenics
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- Mechanic
- Unknown
- Force
- Unknown
- Laterality
- Bilateral
- Impact
- Low
- Trains where
- Gym, Home
- At home
- Yes
How to do it
Set up
- Lie face down with the legs straight and the elbows bent near the sides, so the arms make a W.
- Turn the thumbs up and rest the forehead on the floor or the mat.
Do the rep
- Squeeze the shoulder blades together and down, and lift the elbows and hands off the floor.
- Hold for two seconds.
- Lower the arms under control.
What counts as a rep
A rep counts when the elbows and the hands lift off the floor with the shoulder blades squeezed, hold for a moment, and return to the floor.
One rep starts face down with the elbows bent in a W, lifts the arms off the floor, holds for a moment, and lowers.
Breathing
Exhale as you lift; inhale as you lower.
Cues
- Squeeze the shoulder blades down and together.
- Lift the hands as high as the elbows.
- Hold each lift longer when the reps get easy.
Common mistakes
Lifting the chest
What you seeThe chest and the head lift with the arms.
FixKeep the chest on the floor and lift only the arms.
The arms, not the lower back, should do the lift.
Dropping the hands
What you seeThe hands stay on the floor while the elbows lift.
FixTurn the thumbs up and lift the hands with the elbows.
Lifting the hands trains the rotator cuff as well as the upper back.
Stop the set if
- Stop if you feel sharp pain.
- Stop if you feel a pinch in the shoulder.
- End the set when you cannot lift the arms with the shoulder blades squeezed.
General educational content, not individual coaching or medical advice.
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