Superman plus a Y reach to fire the back and shoulders.
Keep your thumbs pointing up and lift the arms toward a Y. That's where the upper back works.
Lifting chest, arms and legs off the floor makes the muscles along your lower back extend the spine against gravity, and reaching the arms into a Y turns them into long levers that make the lift substantially harder to hold. That thumbs-up Y reach also drags the whole back line of your body into the effort. It earns its spot as an equipment-free posterior chain drill, useful for desk-bound lifters and anyone whose lower back folds under fatigue.
The Y-angle arm reach. Instead of arms straight ahead, they go out at roughly 45 degrees with thumbs up, which lengthens the lever and forces a harder squeeze between the shoulder blades at the top of every lift.
Usually you are yanking to maximum height and holding your breath. Lift smoothly to a moderate height, exhale at the top, lower slowly. Cramping often fades as the muscles get used to working through this range.
A few inches of honest lift beats a violent arch. The target is a smooth extension with everything rising together and a controlled pause, not maximum height. If your hips rock, you are swinging, not lifting.
