full body focus
Bodyweight Good Morning
Teaches the hip hinge pattern.
Key cue: Hinge at the hips with a long spine and soft knees, and feel the back of the thighs.
Area
full body
Level
beginner
Volume
3 × 10
Goal
mobility
How to do it
- 1Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees soft, with your hands behind your head or crossed on your chest.
- 2Breathe in and push your hips straight back, as if closing a car door with your buttocks.
- 3Keep your back long and your chest proud as your body tips forward, until you feel your hamstrings tighten. Stop before your back starts to round.
- 4Breathe out and squeeze your buttocks to drive your hips forward and stand tall. Do 10 reps.
Easier and harder versions
- Easier
- Hold a wall or the back of a chair and hinge only a short way, or practise with a stick along your back (see Hip Hinge with a Stick).
- Harder
- Hold a light weight at your chest, take 4 seconds to lower, or progress to the Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift.
Helps with
Commonly used for:
Posterior chain strengthHip hinge techniqueLate-stage back rehab
Benefits
- Teaches safe hip hinge
- Builds posterior chain
- Reduces low-back injury risk
Muscles worked
Strengthening. Strengthens your hamstrings, glutes and spinal erectors.
HamstringsGlutesSpinal erectors
Form tips
- Keep a slight bend in your knees: the movement is at the hips, not the knees.
- Imagine a broomstick along your spine, with your head, upper back and buttocks all touching it.
Common mistakes
- Rounding your back or dropping your chin.
- Squatting down instead of pushing your hips back.
When to avoid or modify
- Back pain as you hinge: reduce the depth, or stop
- Balance problems: hold the back of a chair
- Recent spinal surgery, unless your surgeon has cleared it
- Dizziness as you stand up: rise slowly
- New numbness around your groin or inner thighs, or changes in bladder or bowel control: get urgent medical help straight away
If in doubt, check with a qualified physiotherapist before continuing.
Where to go from here
The ladder