Seated Good Morning
The seated good morning isolates the lower back and removes the legs. It works mainly the lower back, hamstrings and glutes, with help from the adductors.
In Flawless, a man aged 23–39 reaches Gold, the third of eight ranks, at 1.2× bodyweight (95 kg at 80 kg). For a woman it is 0.85× (50 kg at 60 kg).
How to do Seated Good Morning
- Sit on a bench with the feet wide and the bar on your upper back as for a squat, core braced.
- Hinge forward from the hips with a flat back until the torso approaches the thighs, or as far as the back stays flat.
- Pause briefly at the bottom; the seated position takes the hamstrings partly out and puts the lower back in charge.
- Come back up by extending the hips and lower back together. Start very light; this is a small-muscle exercise with a long lever.
These are the same steps you see in the exercise guide in the Flawless app.
Muscles worked
| Role | Muscle | Anatomical name |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Lower back | Erector spinae |
| Primary | Hamstrings | Biceps femoris |
| Primary | Glutes | Gluteus maximus |
| Secondary | Adductors | Adductores |
Muscle data from StrengthLog.
Why do it
- The hip hinge under load, learned properly
- Hamstrings and lower back working together
- Better squat and deadlift positions
Strength standards for Seated Good Morning
| Rank | Men | Women | Man, 80 kg | Woman, 60 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | start | start | – | – |
| Silver | 0.8× | 0.55× | 65 kg | 32.5 kg |
| Gold | 1.2× | 0.85× | 95 kg | 50 kg |
| Platinum | 1.6× | 1.1× | 127.5 kg | 65 kg |
| Diamond | 2× | 1.4× | 160 kg | 85 kg |
| Obsidian | 2.5× | 1.75× | 200 kg | 105 kg |
| Painite | 3× | 2.1× | 240 kg | 125 kg |
| Antimatter | 4× | 2.8× | 320 kg | 167.5 kg |
Ratios are one-rep max ÷ bodyweight for ages 23–39; kilograms are rounded to 2.5 kg.
Flawless takes your best set of Seated Good Morning, estimates your one-rep max with the Brzycki formula (reps are capped at 12) and divides it by the bodyweight in your profile, so you never have to test a true max. Women’s limits are 30 % lower than men’s. For other ages the app lowers every limit: by 8 % under 23 and from 40 to 49, by 18 % in your 50s, 28 % in your 60s and 38 % from 70.
Similar exercises
Questions
What muscles does Seated Good Morning work?
It works mainly the lower back, hamstrings and glutes, with help from the adductors.
How do you do Seated Good Morning?
Sit on a bench with the feet wide and the bar on your upper back as for a squat, core braced. Hinge forward from the hips with a flat back until the torso approaches the thighs, or as far as the back stays flat. Pause briefly at the bottom; the seated position takes the hamstrings partly out and puts the lower back in charge. Come back up by extending the hips and lower back together. Start very light; this is a small-muscle exercise with a long lever.
What is a good Seated Good Morning for my bodyweight?
In Flawless, Gold starts at 1.2× bodyweight for men aged 23–39 and 0.85× for women, Diamond at 2× and 1.4×. For an 80 kg man that is a 95 kg and a 160 kg one-rep max.
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