Seated Good Mornings
How to do the Seated Good Mornings with correct form, the muscles it works, and where it fits a training plan you actually stick to.
Lower Back
Glutes
Barbell
How to do the Seated Good Mornings
- 1
Set up a box in a power rack. The pins should be set at an appropriate height. Begin by stepping under the bar and placing it across the back of the shoulders, not on top of your traps. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and rotate your elbows forward, attempting to bend the bar across your shoulders.
- 2
Remove the bar from the rack, creating a tight arch in your lower back. Keep your head facing forward. With your back, shoulders, and core tight, push your knees and butt out and you begin your descent. Sit back with your hips until you are seated on the box. This will be your starting position.
- 3
Keeping the bar tight, bend forward at the hips as much as possible. If you set the pins to what would be parallel, you not only have a safety if you fail, but know when to stop.
- 4
Pause just above the pins and reverse the motion until your torso it upright.
Log it, see it on your body.
Every Seated Good Mornings set you log feeds Ascend's anatomy heatmap, so your lower back volume is visible at a glance, and counts toward your bodyweight-strength tier.
More lower back exercises
Seated Good Mornings: common questions
What muscles does the Seated Good Mornings work?
The Seated Good Mornings primarily works the Lower Back. It also recruits the Glutes as supporting muscles.
Is the Seated Good Mornings suitable for beginners?
The Seated Good Mornings is an intermediate-level exercise. It's best once you've built a base of general strength and movement control, beginners can work up to it.
What equipment do I need for the Seated Good Mornings?
To do the Seated Good Mornings you'll need a barbell.
Is the Seated Good Mornings a compound or isolation exercise?
The Seated Good Mornings is a compound exercise, it moves multiple joints and works several muscle groups at once, which makes it efficient for building overall strength.
How do I do the Seated Good Mornings with correct form?
Set up a box in a power rack. The pins should be set at an appropriate height. Begin by stepping under the bar and placing it across the back of the shoulders, not on top of your traps. Squeeze your shoulder blades together and rotate your elbows forward, attempting to bend the bar across your shoulders. Follow the full step-by-step above for the complete movement.
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