Good Mornings for Single Parents: Save Your Back
Count how many times you bent forward today. Loading the washing machine, wiping a sticky face, picking up shoes, clipping a car seat, tying a lace, lifting a toddler who refuses to walk. When you are the only parent at home, that is dozens of bends a day with nobody to take a turn. If your lower back aches by evening, the problem is often not the bending itself but how you bend. This guide to good mornings for single parents teaches one simple exercise, done with a broomstick, that trains your body to bend from the hips and protect your back.
What is a good morning exercise?
A good morning is a hip hinge. You stand tall, push your hips back and tip your chest forward with a long, flat back, then squeeze your bum to stand up again. The name comes from the way it looks like a polite bow. It trains the hamstrings, the glutes and the muscles that run up either side of your spine.
In the gym it is often done with a heavy barbell on the back. For a tired parent at home, that is not the point. The point is to learn and groove the pattern: hips move, spine stays still. Once your body knows that pattern, you start using it automatically when you lift kids, laundry and shopping.
Why the hinge matters so much for parents
When people bend by rounding their back over and over, with no strength in the hips to share the work, the lower back takes the strain. A good hinge spreads the load into the biggest muscles in your body, your glutes and hamstrings.
If you already have back pain, the NHS advice on back pain is to stay as active as you can and to see a GP if pain is severe, does not improve, or comes with symptoms such as numbness or problems peeing. Please check with a GP or physio before starting new back exercises if you are in pain now, have had a recent injury or have sciatica. My post on back pain from lifting kids goes into the everyday causes in more detail.
Good mornings for single parents: the broomstick method
You need a broom, mop or any light pole about as long as you are tall. It is not there for weight. It is a feedback tool that tells you when your back rounds.
Step 1: set the stick
Hold the stick behind you, running down your back. One hand holds it behind your neck, the other behind your lower back. The stick should touch three points: the back of your head, between your shoulder blades and your tailbone.
Step 2: hinge
With soft knees, push your hips back as if closing a car door with your bum. Let your chest tip forward. Keep all three points touching the stick.
Step 3: find your depth
Stop when you feel a strong stretch in the back of your thighs, or when any of the three points starts to lift off the stick. For most beginners this is somewhere between 45 degrees and parallel to the floor. Do not chase depth.
Step 4: stand up
Drive your hips forward and squeeze your bum to stand tall. Do not lean back at the top.
Common mistakes: bending the knees too much (it turns into a squat), looking up at the ceiling (crunches the neck), and rushing. Take three seconds down, one second up.
Stop if it hurts. You should feel the back of your legs working, not a pinch or sharp pain in your back. If you do, reduce the depth or stop and get it checked.
A 10-minute hinge routine for busy evenings
Do this two or three times a week. It needs a broom and a patch of floor, and it is silent, so it is fine after bedtime in a flat.
- Broomstick good mornings: 3 sets of 10, slow
- Glute bridges: 3 sets of 12, with a 2-second squeeze at the top
- Wall hip hinge drill: stand a foot in front of a wall and push your bum back to touch it, 2 sets of 10. Move a little further away as you improve.
- Bird dog: on hands and knees, reach opposite arm and leg, 2 sets of 8 per side
- Standing hamstring stretch: heel on a low step, hinge forward gently, 30 seconds each leg
Rest 30 to 60 seconds between sets. After three or four weeks, you can progress by holding a backpack with a few books in it against your chest, or a light kettlebell, as long as the stick test still passes without the stick.
Take the hinge into real life
This is where good mornings pay off. Practise the same hip-back, flat-back pattern during the day:
- Loading the washing machine: feet wide, hips back, chest forward. Or drop to one knee.
- Picking up a child: get close, feet either side if possible, hinge and bend your knees, hug them in to your chest, then drive up through your legs.
- Brushing teeth at the sink: hinge slightly with soft knees instead of hunching over.
- Bath time: kneel by the bath rather than bending over it from standing.
When you are ready to add proper load (rather than a heavy barbell, which most parents do not need), the next step is the kettlebell deadlift for beginners, which uses the exact same pattern with a weight in your hands.
Where a bootcamp class fits
The hinge is one of the movements I check most closely in class, because small changes in where you bend make a big difference to your back. My SYP Unlock hip and back mobility class spends a lot of time on hinging, hip mobility and back-friendly strength, with someone watching your form the whole time. If you are a solo parent figuring out how to fit training in at all, start with my single parent fitness guide.
FAQs
Are good mornings bad for your back?
Light good mornings with a flat back are a back-friendly way to strengthen your hips and hamstrings. Problems usually come from heavy weights, rounding the spine or going too deep too soon.
What is the difference between a good morning and a deadlift?
Both are hip hinges. In a good morning the weight (or stick) sits on your back. In a deadlift you hold it in your hands. Deadlifts are usually easier to load safely as you get stronger.
Can I do good mornings with back pain?
Check with your GP or physio first. Many people with everyday aches do well with gentle hinging, but it depends on the cause of the pain.
Book your first class
Want your hinge checked by a coach? SYP Bootcamp runs 45-minute small-group classes indoors in a church hall in Archway N19, max 10 people, £15 a class, with an easier and harder option for every exercise. Book your £15 class here or call or WhatsApp me on 07301 512215 and I will send you the timetable. If your back needs more careful, one-to-one attention, read about injury-safe personal training at SYP Fitness.
About the author
Artem Olekhnovych is a personal trainer in Archway and the founder of SYP Fitness and SYP Bootcamp. He has coached clients in Archway, Highgate and across North London for over 10 years, and runs small-group bootcamp classes for busy mums and dads. Read reviews from his 1-1 clients.
