• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Generation Iron

Generation Iron Fitness & Strength Sports Network

  • Movies
  • Original Content
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Pre-Workout
      • Fat Burners
      • Testosterone Boosters
      • Creatine
      • Protein
      • BCAAs
      • Multivitamins
      • Omega-3
      • Joint Supplements
      • Super Greens
      • Meal Replacement
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Foam Rollers
      • Best Massage Guns
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
  • Equipment
    • Cardio
      • Treadmills
      • Best Exercise Bikes
      • Best Stair Climbers
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Best Apparel
      • Best Gym Bags
      • Weightlifting Shoes
    • Strength
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Weightlifting Belts
      • Best Home Gym Equipment
      • Complete Home Gyms
    • Training
      • Best Knee Sleeves
      • Best Wrist Wraps
      • Best Weightlifting Wraps
      • Best Weightlifting Gloves
  • More
    • About Us
      • Our Team
      • Our Experts
    • Advertise
    • Franchise With Us
    • Exercise Guides
    • Athlete Profiles
    • Podcasts
    • Power 30
    • Bodybuilding Awards
    • Supplement Awards
  • Shop
Bodybuilding

Seated Good Mornings Exercise Guide: How to, Tips, Benefits, and Alternatives

by Terry Ramos Published on Jul 24, 2023

good morning squats hinge exercise
This post may contain affiliate links (disclosure policy).

Learn everything you need to know about seated good mornings, including how to do them and the benefits. 

There’s one exercise that will activate your lower back like no other. This exercise is none other than seated good mornings. The origin of the name comes from the path of motion, as it looks like you’re taking a proper bow to say “good morning.” However, do not let this gesture fool you, though. This exercise isn’t for the faint of heart! 

Seated Good Morning Overview

Seated good mornings are an excellent posterior chain, lower back, hamstrings, and glute, exercise that improves your hip extension power. And it also enhances the isometric position of your back arch, which helps with Olympic lifts such as cleans and snatches. But, of course, performing this exercise with the proper form and technique is essential so you don’t risk injury or improper muscle development. 

Let’s dive into a step-by-step guide on how to do them and their benefits. Plus, if you stick around, you’ll learn tips and alternative exercises to do as well. 

Seated Good Mornings Technique and Muscles Worked

Good mornings are excellent for your posterior chain, putting an emphasis on your lower back, hamstrings, and glutes (1). The seated variation helps to keep weight off problematic areas, such as your knees, so you can focus more directly on using proper form when doing this movement correctly without worrying about falling over. In addition, it emphasizes more of your lower back than standing since it requires less activation from your glutes and hamstrings. 

How to do seated good mornings:

  1. Sit on a bench with your feet flat on the floor with a barbell across your upper back, holding it at shoulder width.
  2. Lean forward and lower your body using your hips, not your lower back. You want to hinge forward as your flexibility allows while trying to get your torso parallel with the floor (and without going past that). 
  3. Slowly extend your hips to raise your torso back to the starting point. 

Training Tips

The seated good mornings can cause injury (especially to your lower back) if you don’t do them correctly. So here are some tips to keep in mind when performing them to get the most out of them and reduce your chances of injury. 

Proper Warm Up

You should maintain a flat back throughout the exercise. While seated, keeping your back flat may be difficult if you have tight hamstrings and glutes that need longer to loosen up. So a proper warm-up is critical before performing them. For example, light cardio for 5 minutes increases your muscle’s temperature. And doing bodyweight squats and good mornings with just bodyweight. 

Don’t Let Your Knees Go Past Your Toes

When doing the exercise, try not to let your knees bend past your toes, as this will put unnecessary pressure on your lower back. Also, keep your head and eyes forward throughout the movement. And don’t let round your back during the exercise. 

Keep Your Back Flat 

When performing seated good mornings, you should maintain a flat back and keep your gaze forward. If you don’t, several things can happen.

Allowing your hips to move forward during the exercise can cause the lower back to arch excessively, which is terrible for your spine health. Additionally, if your upper body does not stay completely upright during the movement (e.g., if it leans too far forward) or if it leans too far backward (e.g., when looking down), it will put unnecessary stress on the muscles in both areas of the body—again leading to potential injuries such as pulled muscles or strained ligaments.

Benefits of Seated Good Mornings

As aforementioned, seated good mornings are an expectational posterior chain exercise. It requires an extensive hip extension, which will carry over into other big compound exercises, such as squats, deadlifts, and Olympic movements, such as power cleans. 

  • You’ll strengthen your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. 
  • Seated good mornings are effective for increasing balance and hip and lower body flexibility.
  • Seated mornings can help improve posture by strengthening the lower back muscles. This will reduce stress on your spine and reduce the potential for injury during other activities, such as running or jumping.
  • Strengthening your posterior chain will help back pain. And this exercise targets it without putting excessive pressure on your knees, like deadlifts or squats may (2). However, if you have back pain, the weight should be light, or use just your bodyweight! 

Seated Good Mornings Alternatives

Here are a few alternative exercises that work similar muscles. 

Good Mornings 

Of course, there’s always the option of the standing variation. This alternative will engage less of your lower back and more your glutes and hamstrings since standing activates them more than sitting. You may also have to use less weight to complete the lift. 

Barbell Romanian Deadlift

The barbell Romanian deadlift is another good exercise for engaging your posterior chain. The movement pattern is similar to good morning, but it’ll place less strain on your back and allow you to use a heavier load. 

Stiff Leg Deadlift

This alternative movement follows a similar movement pattern to seated good mornings and engages the same muscles—glutes, hamstrings, and back. But the stiff leg deadlift will also allow you to use a heavier weight. 

FAQs

Below are frequently asked questions (FAQs) and things to note when performing this movement. 

  • Are seated good mornings good for your lower back? 

This movement can strain your lower back, so it’s best to avoid or use light weight if you experience back pain. However, if you aren’t experiencing any pain, it’s a good movement for strengthening your lower back. 

  • How much weight should you use for seated good mornings? 

This will vary from person to person. But it’s recommended to keep the weight light for this movement for precautionary measures to protect your back. 

  • What’s the difference between good mornings while standing versus sitting? 

The standing variation will engage your glutes and hamstrings, while sitting will strengthen your lower back more. 

More Exercise Guides

Seated good mornings are no doubt an excellent movement worth trying to strengthen your posterior chain. And below, we have more exercise guides we recommend checking out to engage other muscles in your body: 

  • Dumbbell Clean: How to and Exercise Guide 
  • How to and Exercise Guide: Pendulum Squat

Seated Good Mornings Wrap Up

Overall, seated good mornings are an exercise that can truly build up strength and size in your posterior chain.

Will you be giving them a try?

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more exercise guides!

References 

  1. Vigotsky, A. D., Harper, E. N., Ryan, D. R., & Contreras, B. (2015). Effects of load on good morning kinematics and EMG activity. PeerJ, 3, e708. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.708
  2. Schellenberg, F., Lindorfer, J., List, R., Taylor, W. R., & Lorenzetti, S. (2013). Kinetic and kinematic differences between deadlifts and goodmornings. BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation, 5(1), 27. https://doi.org/10.1186/2052-1847-5-27

About Terry Ramos

As a personal trainer and writer, Terry loves changing lives through coaching and the written word. Terry has a B.S. in Kinesiology and is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and ISSA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He enjoys playing music, reading, and watching films when he's not writing or training.

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Get the Latest

Stay informed with the latest news, product reviews, & expert advice.

Popular Reviews

  • best protein powders

    The Best Protein Powder Supplements of 2025 (Tried and Tested)

  • Best Creatine Supplements For Bulking & Muscle Growth of 2025 (Personally Tested)

  • top x pre workout

    The 14 Best Pre-Workout Supplements of 2025 (MD Reviewed)

  • Performance Lab SPORT BCAA

    The Best BCAA For Bodybuilding Health & Performance Goals

Trending Articles

  • female fitness models

    18 Best Butts On The Internet (Updated 2024)

  • ronnie coleman the king workout

    Ronnie “The King” Coleman’s Complete Bodybuilding Workout

  • The Ultimate Mike Mentzer Workout and Diet

  • Chris bumstead's 2024 workout and diet plan

    Chris Bumstead’s 2025 Complete Bodybuilding Workout & Diet Plan

Popular Now

  • best protein powders

    The Best Protein Powder Supplements of 2025 (Tried and Tested)

  • Best Creatine Supplements For Bulking & Muscle Growth of 2025 (Personally Tested)

  • top x pre workout

    The 14 Best Pre-Workout Supplements of 2025 (MD Reviewed)

  • female fitness models

    18 Best Butts On The Internet (Updated 2024)

  • best citrulline supplements

    The Best Citrulline Malate Supplements for Performance and Pump

  • ronnie coleman the king workout

    Ronnie “The King” Coleman’s Complete Bodybuilding Workout

Generation Iron

Generation Iron is the first and only digital network delivering health, fitness, bodybuilding, and strength sports content. We deliver premium content with the biggest names in fitness and provide expert coverage, reviews on top brands, workout tips and trends in the worlds of fitness, health and strength sports.

Strongman Corporation
Vladar

Sections

  • Trending News
  • Original Movies
  • Original Content
  • Supplement Reviews
  • Equipment Reviews
  • Exercise Guides
  • Nutrition Guides
  • Athlete Profiles

More

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Our Experts
  • Advertise
  • Franchise With Us
  • Podcasts
  • Power 30
  • Shop

CONTACT

Generation Iron Brands LLC
134 West 29th Street Suite 902
New York, NY 10001
Email: [email protected]

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • X / Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2025 · Generation Iron · Disclaimers · Privacy Policy · Accessibility