Good Morning
Hip hinge with an upright torso — stretches and strengthens the posterior chain.
Execution
- Shoulder-width stance, hands behind the head, on the shoulders (or a bar across the upper back).
- Knees minimally bent, push the hips back slowly.
- Tilt the torso forward under control with a flat back — until the hamstrings tell you they're working.
- Drive through the heels back to standing.
Tips
- Mobility limits depth — never force a lower-back arch or rounded back.
- 3-1-1 tempo (3 s down, 1 s pause, 1 s up) maximises stimulus with little weight.
Learning the hip hinge pattern
The hip hinge is one of the six fundamental movement patterns and also the worst mastered. Most people pick things up off the floor with a rounded back instead of sending the hips back. The good morning is the exercise where this pattern is easiest to learn without any load.
It trains the posterior chain: hamstrings, glutes, and the spinal erectors, which work isometrically here to keep the spine straight.
Execution
Stand tall, feet hip-width, hands at the temples or in front of the chest. The knees stay slightly bent and hold that angle throughout. The hips push back, and the torso lowers forward as a result — the movement comes from the hips, not the back. Go to roughly horizontal, or as far as the back stays flat, then return by driving the hips forward.
Common mistakes
- Rounded back. The stop signal. As soon as the lower back rounds, you've gone past the limit.
- Squatting instead of hinging. Bending the knees along with it makes a bad squat. The knee angle stays constant.
- Going too deep. Hamstring flexibility sets the limit, not ambition.
Programming
Three sets of 10 to 15 slow reps, great in a warm-up. A stick or broom handle held along the spine — it should touch the head, upper back and sacrum at the same time — makes any rounding instantly obvious.