How to Perform the Seated Good Morning
Key insights: 60-second read
- The seated good morning is a pure hip hinge – it condenses movement down to one joint, taking your back out of the conversation and placing the load through your hips.
- Sitting creates hip restrictions – prolonged sitting can stiffen your hips, forcing your back to compensate when you bend. This exercise can help restore lost hip mobility.
- It builds strength and flexibility simultaneously – using the contract-relax technique at the end of your range can improve mobility, while the exercise in general is fantastic for strength.
- Master the pattern, not just the exercise – the real benefit is retraining how you move throughout the day, keeping your back safe during everyday activities.
If you deal with lower back pain, hip pain, hamstring tightness, or even groin issues, the seated good morning might be one of the most valuable exercises you can add to your routine.
This simple movement has a unique ability to improve your range of motion, strength, and movement quality – all while helping to protect your back from unnecessary strain.
Let us dig into why this exercise is so effective and how you can perform it correctly.
On this page
1. Why the Seated Good Morning Works
The good morning – also known as a basic hip hinge – is very similar to what is required of you when you perform things like a deadlift or just picking things up off the ground. These movements are valuable because they condense movement down to one specific joint: the hip.
"The real benefit of mastering a good morning, especially in sitting, is that it allows us to move in a way that takes your back out of the conversation and puts the majority of the load and movement through your hip joints."
If you spend a lot of time sitting throughout the day – whether due to work, travel, or relaxing – you'll appreciate that prolonged sitting can stiffen your hips. We get stuck in this position, making it hard to explore the full depth of our hip flexion or extension range. As the saying goes, move it or lose it.
The net result is often restricted hips. Then, when we get up and exist in the world, picking things up or being active, the knees below and the back above may start to compensate for that lack of hip function.
Furthermore, if you perform a task that requires more hip range than you currently have, your back is often asked to pick up the slack - to its potential detriment over time.
Key Concept: While most back pain isn't a "one and done" event, it's traditionally a death by a thousand cuts – something becomes vulnerable enough that the time you cough, sneeze, or bend over to pick up a cushion, you finally breach your tissue's threshold for coping. Your ability to keep your back out of the conversation can be heavily influenced by how your hips feel and function.
2. How to Perform the Seated Good Morning
Step-by-Step Guide
- Starting position: Sit up nice and tall with your belly drawn in. Place one hand on your sternum and one hand just above your pubic bone. This helps you sense if your back is bending as you hinge forward.
- Set your feet: Place your feet relatively wide apart, facing forwards. Turn your knees out as wide as you feel comfortable to create space for your trunk to bend through.
- Initiate the hinge: Imagine you have a rod going through your hip joints. As you hinge forwards, rotate around that point. Your gluteal muscles should feel like they are essentially lifting off the back of your thighs.
- Go as far as comfortable: Do not worry about how far you can go. What matters is how far you can go until you feel you have run out of hip range of motion – this may be a sense of tightness at the top of your thighs, or you might feel you are just starting to lose that hand position.
- Return to start: Come straight back up again with control.
- Aim: 10-15 repetitions, 2-3 sets.
Another benefit of the seated good morning is its ability to improve your hip and hamstring flexibility. When you get to the end of your range and hang there for a second, you can use an isometric contraction – similar to the PNF stretching we promote all the time – to get deeper into the stretch.
3. The Contract-Relax Technique
If you tense a tight muscle at the end of your range for 5-10 seconds, when you relax, that tissue gives a little bit, which means you might be able to go that little bit further again. By the end of your 10th or 15th repetition, you might find that where you have ended up is actually a little bit further than where you began.
"One of the great hidden benefits of performing a seated good morning is its ability to help retrain how you move and ensure your back can stay out of the conversation for longer."
Practice this movement pattern at any opportunity throughout the day – whether picking a pillow up off the ground, picking up your shoes, or even just sitting down on a chair. Continually refine it to make sure you can take the hinge away from your back and put it where it's more readily designed to go.
The seated good morning is one of those exercises that delivers far more than it promises. It strengthens, it mobilises, and – most importantly – it retrains ideal movement patterns to optimise your back during everyday activities.
If you have been dealing with back, hip, or hamstring issues, I strongly urge you to give the seated good morning a try. Start with the technique, focus on the pattern, and let the results speak for themselves.
If you found this helpful, please consider subscribing to the Your Wellness Nerd YouTube channel for more content like this.
- Grant
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a seated good morning and a standing good morning?
The seated version is more specific. It asks less of your hamstrings and neural tension, allowing you to focus more completely on the simple hip hinge. This can be especially helpful if you're new to the movement or have lower back issues, as it helps you isolate the hips and keep your back out of the movement.
Can the seated good morning help with lower back pain?
Yes, it has the potential to. By improving hip mobility and strengthening the hip hinge pattern, it helps reduce the load on your lower back during everyday bending activities. Clinically, patients find that better hip function translates to less back pain over time.
How do I know if I am doing the seated good morning correctly?
Place one hand on your sternum and one just above your pubic bone. As you hinge forward, your hands should stay roughly the same distance apart – if they move closer or further apart, your back is bending. Also, you should feel the stretch primarily in the back of your hips and thighs, not in your lower back.
How often should I do this exercise?
You can do the seated good morning daily as part of your warm-up or mobility routine. Aim for 2-3 sets of 10-15 repetitions. The real benefit comes from practising the pattern throughout your day – when picking things up or sitting down – to reinforce the movement habit.
One key insight from this video
"The seated good morning condenses movement down to the hip joint – taking your back out of the conversation. By restoring hip mobility and retraining the hip hinge pattern, you can protect your back and move better in everything you do."
Living With Back or Hip Pain?
If you are struggling with back pain, hip pain, or movement issues, we can help. Learn more about our back pain physiotherapy services in Port Macquarie.
Want personalised guidance?
If you would like help making sense of your aches, pains, or ongoing symptoms, you can book with Grant either in Port Macquarie or via an online telehealth consultation.
