Good Morning Workout: Muscles Worked, Benefits, and Correct Form

The good morning workout routine has been gaining increasing popularity due to the benefits it provides through functional movement patterns by hinging at the hips and maintaining a neutral spine.

In this article, we will provide you with details about the good morning workout, ranging from the correct form you should adopt to the benefits that they provide.

Weighted lunges (Image via Unsplash/Sam Moghadam Khamseh)

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How to Do The Good Morning Exercise?

Here are the step-by-step instructions that you should properly follow to perform the good morning exercise:

• Start this exercise in a standing position with your feet apart at the hip distance, knees softly bent, and toes pointed to the front.
• You can either position your hands at the back of your head or cross over your chest for better posture.
• Brace your midline before hinging at the hips and driving your butt to the back with your lower legs angled perpendicular to the ground.
• Make sure that your back remains straight throughout. Reverse the movement and repeat.

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Correct Form for Good Morning Workout

Good morning exercises tend to provide numerous benefits, but only if they are performed correctly. If done with poor posture, they increase the risk of injury, especially when done using weights. That is why it is recommended to start with un-weighted good morning exercise before moving towards the weighted variation.

• Make sure that you do not round your back, and it remains straight throughout the movement.
• Perform the exercise in a slow and controlled motion rather than getting into it suddenly.

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Muscles Worked

The good morning workout tends to engage numerous muscles besides your posterior chain. It will also help in working your core muscles, including the pelvic floor, oblique, and transverse abdominis, which will keep your spine protected and safe from injuries.

The weighted good morning workout will additionally build strength in your trapezius, shoulders, biceps, and triceps. Overall, this workout can be considered full-body and will effectively engage major muscle groups throughout the body.

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Benefits of Good Morning Workout

1. Engages Posterior Chain

Good morning exercise primarily builds the strength of your hamstrings and glutes along with also working your calves, lats, and upper back. This exercise will effectively engage and strengthen your posterior chain muscles, which will enable you to lift heavier and work better.

Good morning exercise is especially required in modern culture since working desk jobs, driving cars, and sitting in front of televisions do not engage or activate your posterior chain, thereby weakening them. This also negatively impacts your athletic potential.

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2. Prevents Injury

Good morning workout is an ultimate move to reduce the chances of getting injured, which is especially true for the posterior chain. This is because weak posterior chains force your other muscle groups to compensate, which increases the risk of injuries like pulled hamstrings, plantar fasciitis, knee, and back injuries. In fact, good morning exercise will strengthen your posterior chain muscles.

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3. Enhances Functional Fitness

Good morning exercise will also help in enhancing the functional fitness of the body by mimicking the motions of everyday tasks. It is also highly beneficial for reducing the chances of lower back injury, with movements like tying your shoelaces, putting groceries away, and more.

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Variations of Good Morning Exercise

1. Seated Good Morning Exercise

Here's how to do a seated good morning exercise:

• Start this exercise in an elongated seated manner on the exercise table with feet planted on the ground and barbell resting on your shoulders.
• Brace your core muscles with your glutes and feet grinding to the ground.
• With your core muscles engaged, lower your torso so that it is parallel to the ground while keeping it straight.
• Activate hamstrings to reverse the initial position. Repeat.

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2. Back Loaded Good Morning Exercise

Here's how to do the back loaded good morning exercise:

• Start this exercise in a straight standing manner with a barbell positioned on your shoulders and feet apart at hip distance.
• With engaged core muscles, hinge at the waist by pressing your butt back and lowering your torso to the ground.
• Your chest should be parallel to the ground, and you should feel a stretch in your hamstrings.
• Reverse the movement and repeat.

Barbell squats (Image via Pexels/Li Sun)

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Overall, good morning workout tend to be highly beneficial for your body as you can even perform a warm-up exercise that will engage your core muscles as well as the posterior chain. Regularly performing this exercise will also help in building the strength of the lower body.