Bodyweight Good Mornings (Step-by-Step Instructions)

Bodyweight Good Mornings are a simple yet highly effective exercise for training the hip hinge movement and strengthening the posterior chain. With no equipment required, this move targets the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back while reinforcing proper form and posture.

It’s a great warm-up drill, mobility tool, or light activation exercise for lower-body training days.

Primary Muscles Worked: Hamstrings, Glutes
Secondary Muscles Worked: Erector Spinae (Lower Back), Core
Equipment Needed: None

How To Do Bodyweight Good Mornings

Step-by-Step Instructions

Set-Up:
- Stand tall with feet about hip-width apart.
- Place your hands beside your ears or across your chest, elbows out wide.
- Slightly bend your knees and engage your core.
Execution:
- Hinge at the hips by pushing your hips back while keeping your spine neutral and chest up.
- Lower your torso until it’s nearly parallel to the ground or until you feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
- Keep your weight in your heels and your back flat throughout.
- Drive your hips forward to return to the starting position, squeezing your glutes at the top.
Tips for Proper Form:
- Think “hips back, not chest down” to maintain the correct hinge pattern.
- Keep your head in line with your spine—don’t crane your neck.
- Avoid rounding your back—maintain a slight natural curve.

Key Benefits

Reinforces proper hip hinge mechanics, which carry over to deadlifts and squats.
Activates the hamstrings and glutes without loading the spine.
Can be done anywhere—perfect for warm-ups, bodyweight circuits, or recovery work.

Modifications and Variations

Easier Option: Reduce range of motion and keep reps slow and controlled.
Harder Option:
- Add tempo (e.g., 3 seconds down, 1 second pause).
- Perform on one leg at a time for balance and stability work.
- Add a band or light weight (like a plate or backpack) for resistance.

Common Mistakes

Rounding the Back: Maintain a flat back by bracing your core and keeping your chest up.
Bending the Knees Too Much: It’s a hinge, not a squat—knees should stay slightly bent but mostly fixed.
Letting the Weight Shift Forward: Keep your weight centered over your heels.

Reps and Sets Recommendations

For Warm-Up/Activation: 2–3 sets of 10–15 reps.
For Mobility & Patterning: 3 sets of 12–20 slow, focused reps.
In Circuits: 30–45 seconds of continuous reps with good form.

BW Good Morning Variations

If you’re looking to mix up your routine a bit, here are a couple of variations that you can try out.

Single-Leg BW Good Morning

Single-Leg Bodyweight Good Mornings will work to warm-up the same areas as regular Good Mornings, but will add an element of balance as well. You can even increase the balance challenge by incorporating an Airex Pad or Bosu Ball into the exercise.

SL Good Mornings can take a while to complete so I usually like to stick to 5 or 8 (at most) each side instead of the typical set of 10. Doing 10 reps on each leg can seem like forever and can bog down the energy of a warm-up.

Single-Leg Anti-Rotational RDLs

This is another single-leg variation. Single-Leg Anti-Rotational RDLs are a mouthful to say and can sound intimidating, but they’re really quite simple to do.

Wrap a thin resistance band to the upright of a squat rack, or something similar. Stand perpendicular to the rack, grab the band and pull it to your midline. From this position, it’s the same movement as a Single Leg Good Morning.

By using a band, the glutes and core have to work to keep the body from rotating while you hinge (hence anti-rotational).