Barbell Seated Good Morning
- Secondary muscles
- Hamstrings, Spine
- Body part
- Upper Legs
- Position
- Seated
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
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Sitting on a bench changes what a good morning trains: with your legs mostly out of the picture, the short forward hinge concentrates on the spinal erectors and glutes rather than the hamstring stretch the standing version is known for. Range is small, so it works best as a light accessory for hinge positioning and back endurance.
How to do the Barbell Seated Good Morning
- Sit on a bench with your feet flat on the ground and a barbell resting on your upper back.
- Keep your back straight and your chest up.
- Slowly hinge forward at the hips, lowering your torso towards the ground.
- Pause for a moment at the bottom, then push through your heels to return to the starting position.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Brace the abs and keep the bar pulled tight to the back so it cannot roll onto the neck.
Muscles worked
Primary
Glutes · Legs
The glutes finish the rep by driving the hips forward and should be squeezed at the top.
Secondary
- Hamstrings — The hamstrings lengthen as the hips go back and should feel a strong stretch at the bottom before they pull the torso back up.
- Spine — The spinal erectors work isometrically to keep the back flat, and they will feel it more the further forward you go.
Common mistakes
- Bending at the waist — push the hips straight back as the torso comes forward so the shins stay vertical; if the bar moves forward instead of the hips back, the lower back takes the load.
- Rounding the upper back — keep the chest up and the shoulder blades back as you hinge, and stop where the back starts to round.
- Going too heavy — a good morning loads the lower back hard, so treat it as an accessory with weights well under your squat.
- Locking the knees — keep a soft bend in the knees so the hamstrings can lengthen without locking the joint.
Where it fits in a workout
Good mornings go after squats or deadlifts as a posterior chain accessory, never first. Superset them with leg extensions for a hamstring and quad pair, or run them as straight sets after the main lift.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
Without barbell
Easier and harder
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
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Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.