Lower back exercise
Seated Good MorningHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Lower back, Hamstrings
- Also works
- Glutes
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
How do you do the Seated Good Morning?
- Sit tall on the end of a flat bench with the bar on your upper back.
- Place your feet wide and flat, toes slightly out.
- Brace and hinge forward from your hips with a flat back.
- Lower your chest until your trunk is about halfway to the floor.
- Drive your hips into the bench to sit back up tall.
Cues
- Hinge, don't round.
- Chest proud.
- Hips stay glued to the bench.
Common mistakes
- Rounding the upper or lower back.
- Going too low too soon.
- Using a weight you can't control.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
The version in our demo
A good morning done sitting on the end of a flat bench, feet wide. Sitting takes the hamstrings mostly out of it (the knees are bent and the hips fixed), so the spinal erectors and glutes do the work.
Starting position
Sit tall on the front end of a flat bench, feet flat and wide (about 1.4 × shoulder width), toes out, knees about over the ankles. Bar high on the upper back (on the traps), grip just outside the shoulders, elbows down, neck in line with the trunk.
The movement
Brace and hinge forward from the hips with a flat back, chest leading, the trunk passing between the knees, to about 50° from vertical. The hips stay on the bench. Lift back up to sitting tall by driving the hips into the bench.
Breathing
Breathe in and brace before the hinge, hold through the bottom, breathe out near the top.
Tempo
About 1.8 s down, a 0.2 s pause, about 1.4 s up, 0.6 s upright.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trunk from vertical at the bottom | 50° | 40–60°, back flat | |
| Hips | still on the bench (0 cm movement) | no sliding or lifting | |
| Stance | 1.4 × shoulder width, toes out 20° | 1.2–1.6 × | |
| Knees | 70–85° flexion, the shins about vertical | 65–100° | |
| Bar | high on the traps all the rep | never on the neck | |
| Neck | in line with the trunk (head turns down with it) | no cranking up |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Seated Good Morning is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
Sources
- Motra, "Barbell Seated Good Morning" (seated, bar on the upper back, hinge at the hips while the legs stay still; the spinal erectors do most of the work)
- Fitness Volt, "Seated Good Mornings vs Stiff Leg Barbell Good Morning" (seated, the erectors are the main movers; excessive trunk flexion or an uncontrolled load adds lumbar shear: start light, control the lowering)
- NSCA, Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed. (2016), ch. 15
- ACE Exercise Library, "Good Morning" (hip hinge with a neutral spine; neck in line)
