Single-Leg Good Morning
Standing on one leg turns the good morning into a demanding single-leg hinge that overloads one hamstring, glute, and the hip stabilizers at once. It exposes side-to-side imbalances and builds the balance and control that carry to sprinting and single-leg deadlifts. Keep the bar light because balance, not maximal load, is the point.
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Type
- Balance, Strength
- Browse by muscle
- Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus, Erector Spinae
- Browse by movement
- Hinge
- Target
- Gluteus Maximus, Biceps Femoris, Semitendinosus, Erector Spinae
- Secondary
- Gluteus Medius, Abdominal External Oblique
- Tertiary
- Adductor Magnus
How to do it
- 1
Rack a light bar on your upper traps and shift your weight onto one leg.
- 2
Let the free leg extend behind you as a light counterbalance.
- 3
Push the standing hip back and hinge your torso toward parallel.
- 4
Keep the standing knee softly bent and your hips level, resisting rotation.
- 5
Drive the standing hip forward to return to tall and balanced.
- 6
Finish all reps, then switch legs and repeat.
Tips
- Fix your eyes on a point ahead to steady your balance through each rep.
- Keep the hips square; do not let the free-leg side rotate open.
- Start with bodyweight or an empty bar until the balance feels automatic.
Variations
Common mistakes
- The free leg kicks back hard to launch the torso down, turning the rep into a pendulum; let it trail behind you so the standing hamstring has to do the lowering.
- The standing knee locks straight, which turns the hinge into a passive hamstring stretch you cannot brace against and pushes the load into the lower back.
- Balance runs out well before the hamstring does, and reps five onward become a wobble; end the set at the last rep you controlled rather than the last one you survived.
- Rep counts drift apart between sides because the steadier leg lasts longer, so the imbalance this exercise is meant to expose only gets rehearsed.
- One shoulder dips as the torso tips and the bar slides toward the low side; reset it across the traps between reps rather than hinging under a crooked load.
Frequently asked
- How many reps of the single-leg good morning should you do per leg when you are new to the exercise?
- Two to three sets of 6 to 8 reps per leg is plenty, and the first few weeks should be body weight or an empty bar. Progress in this order: steadier reps, then a little more depth, then a pair of 2.5 kg plates. If you are putting the free foot down to catch yourself, cut the load or the rep count rather than pushing on.
- What can I do instead of the single-leg good morning without a barbell?
- A single-leg Romanian deadlift with one dumbbell or kettlebell trains the same one-sided hinge, and holding the weight in the opposite hand makes it easier to keep the hips square. If balance is the sticking point, a B-stance Romanian deadlift with the back toe down as a kickstand gives most of the per-side loading with far less wobble. Body weight with your hands on your hips works as a starting version.
- What is the single-leg good morning good for, and who should avoid it?
- It builds one-sided hamstring and glute strength plus the hip control that carries into sprinting and single-leg deadlifts, and it shows you which side is weaker. It is a poor choice for building maximal posterior chain strength, since balance caps the bar long before the hamstrings do. Anyone unsteady on one leg should not have a bar on their back for it; run the pattern with a dumbbell in hand first, where you can step out of a missed rep.
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