Seated Good Morning
Sitting down removes the hamstrings' hip contribution and the leg drive, isolating the spinal erectors and hips as you hinge forward and back up against the bar with a braced spine. It builds a resilient, strong lower back and carries directly to deadlift and squat torso stability. The load is small compared with standing versions, so respect the leverage and progress slowly.
- Type
- Strength
- Browse by muscle
- Erector Spinae, Gluteus Maximus
- Browse by movement
- Hinge
- Target
- Erector Spinae, Gluteus Maximus
- Secondary
- Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus, Abdominal External Oblique
- Tertiary
- Trapezius Middle
How to do it
- 1
Sit tall at the end of a flat bench with the bar racked across your upper traps.
- 2
Plant your feet wide for a stable base and brace your abs.
- 3
Hinge forward from the hips, lowering your chest toward your thighs.
- 4
Keep the movement controlled and stop at a range you can own with a braced spine.
- 5
Drive your torso back to upright by extending the hips while the spine stays braced.
- 6
Reset your brace before starting the next rep.
Tips
- Keep the bar pinned to your traps; never let it ride up your neck.
- Move slowly and use light weight, as the seated leverage is unforgiving.
- Brace hard and control the descent to protect the lower back.
Variations
Common mistakes
- Loading it like the standing version is the quickest way to get hurt here: with the legs out of the picture the erectors carry the bar alone, so your working weight is a fraction of what you use on your feet.
- A narrow foot position gives you nothing to push against, so the torso wobbles and the bar drifts off line; plant the feet wide before the first rep as the setup describes.
- Speed is the problem in the bottom half, where rushing the torso back up flings the bar and leaves the spine to catch it. Come up at the pace you went down.
- Between reps the brace goes soft because there is no standing reset to remind you, and the back half of the set gets done on a hollow trunk.
- Chasing chest-to-thigh depth usually costs you the flat back in the last few inches, which is the exact range where the seated leverage is least forgiving.
Frequently asked
- How many reps of the seated good morning should you do when you are new to the exercise?
- Two to three sets of 10 to 12 reps, and for the first month the bar should be empty or close to it. Progress in the smallest plates the gym has, 1.25 kg a side, because the seated position magnifies what a small jump feels like. A useful rule: if you cannot pause for a second at the bottom with a flat back, you are not ready for more weight.
- What can I use instead of the seated good morning at home?
- Sit on a chair, stand on the middle of a resistance band and loop the ends behind your neck, then hinge forward the same way; the band supplies the load without a bar or a rack. A 45-degree back extension machine trains the same erectors with the torso supported if you have gym access. Holding a light dumbbell at your chest while seated and bowing forward slowly works too, though the load stays small.
- What is the seated good morning for, and when is it the wrong exercise?
- It builds the spinal erectors and the ability to hold a braced torso when the hips cannot help, which shows up as a chest that stays up under a heavy squat. Skip it if you are after hamstring size, since sitting removes their hip contribution and a standing hinge does that job better. It is also a poor pick on the same day as heavy deadlifts, and not a lift to attempt while your lower back is complaining.
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