Resistance Band Good Morning Exercise Guide

The resistance band good morning is a fantastic hip hinge posterior training exercise. It’s a simple banded variation of the classical good morning (which is usually done with free weights). It’s a good movement to train your hips, hamstrings, and your lower back.

What makes it such a great exercise is the fact that it can be done virtually anywhere, be it at home, at the gym, or even while traveling. The only piece of equipment you are going to need is a resistance band.

Muscles worked

The resistance band good morning works and trains a wide range of muscles along your posterior chain. The posterior chain muscles are all the muscles located on your backside from the back of your head all the way to your heels.

This versatile and compound hip-hinge exercise, primarily targets your lower back muscles, your hamstrings, and your glutes. It’s also a great exercise for your core and hips in general.

All the muscles worked:

Glutes
Hamstrings
Spinal Erectors
Hips
Core
Stabilizer muscles

Resistance band good morning benefits

It trains multiple muscles at the same time! The resistance band good morning is somewhat of a complex and compound exercise. Meaning it trains many different muscle groups at the same time. The exercise focuses mainly on your posterior core muscles, such as your lower back, spinal erectors, your abs, hamstrings, and your glutes.

It will improve your posture. This exercise can be an effective tool to help you improve your posture and straighten that slack out of your back. It’s all because the exercise focuses on your posterior chain, which is directly responsible for your posture.

It’s great for your lower back. It’s an overall great lower back exercise that will help you strengthen your whole lower back (especially your spinal erectors) and really develop your muscles there. It does so both isometrically (statically) and isotonically (by movement). It will increase your isometrical strength throughout your back. Not only is it great for strengthening your lower back, but it’s also actually a great way to improve your lower back health and help you avoid any possible future injuries.

Less stress on your spine. Doing the good morning exercise with bands instead of free weights will place a lot less stress on your spine. That means it’s a great replacement for people with prior lower back injuries or just bad backs.

How to do the resistance band good morning

How to do:

Start by standing with your feet about shoulder-width.
Take your looped resistance band, and place one side of it under your feet. It should stay between your heel and the arch of your foot.
Now squat down and take the other side of the resistance band and place it on the back of your neck. The band should stay more on your traps, more precisely where your neck and shoulder line meet. After that, stand back up.
Next, grip the band with both of your hands and bring them to your shoulders. Doing so will help you reduce the stress and direct tension on your neck.
Tighten and embrace your whole midsection (your core muscles).
Pull your shoulders back and slightly push your chest up.
Keep your back flat and your head in a neutral position.
Next, push your hips back and hinge your upper body forward.
While maintaining a flat back, lower your body until you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings or until you are nearly parallel to the ground. Once you are low enough, hold your position for a second.
To finish the banded good morning, push your feet into the ground and drive through your hips in order to reverse the movement and stand up.

Tips and recommendations

Keep your core and abs tight. You should keep your whole midsection tight and engaged for the entire exercise. This way, you can maintain better form and, at the same time, minimizing the risk of injuring yourself.
Don’t place the band directly on your neck. Do not place the resistance band directly on your neck or too high on your neck. Doing so would place a lot of unnecessary strain and stress on it and can cause you a lot of harm and could even lead to injuries. It has to set on the neck where your shoulder line begins. The less it’s on your neck, the better it is.
Keep your head in a neutral position. For the whole lift, keep your head in a natural and neutral position, to reduce the stress on your neck and spine. When performing the exercise, don’t look up directly up or down.
Keep your back flat for the whole exercise. Avoid rounding or arching your back. A flat back will reduce stress on your spine and lower back.
Use your hips! This exercise is a hip hinge movement. You shouldn’t initiate the movement with your upper body by leaning forward. The exercise should start by pushing your hips backward.
Choose the right resistance band! When doing the resistance band good morning for the first time, start with a lighter band and progressively work your way up from there. This way, you will let your body get used to the new movement, and you can master the right form and technique before you go heavier.
Don’t bend too far! How far down you can go will depend a lot on your flexibility across your posterior chain. If you aren’t the most flexible person, then don’t go too low. Try to increase your range of motion gradually, slowly going lower and lower.
Warm-up. Before starting the exercise, be sure to get warmed up. A proper warm-up can drastically reduce the risk of injuries.
Keep your knees slightly bent! Throughout the exercise, keep a slight bend in your knees. That will help you get lower down without overstretching your hamstrings or glutes. Also, it will allow you to use your hips more.
Pull your shoulders back! When doing this exercise, pull your shoulders backward. Pushing your shoulder blades together will help you maintain the right form throughout the movement.
Place a towel on your neck. Placing the band on your bare neck and skin, in general, can be very uncomfortable, and it might leave bruises. A good way to fight this is to place a towel on the back of your neck below the resistance band while doing the good morning exercise.