PVC Good Morning
A fundamental mobility drill using a lightweight PVC pipe to teach the hip hinge pattern. It targets the hamstrings and lower back, helping beginners master spinal alignment before adding heavy load.
While this is often a low-intensity technique drill, AI analysis tracks your recovery metrics like HRV and sleep to determine if your posterior chain is ready for heavy loading or requires extended mobilization. If you consistently log lower back tightness or pain, the system remembers this association and prioritizes this movement as a prep drill or suggests floor-based alternatives. It also monitors completion times to ensure you aren't rushing through essential warm-up patterns, optimizing safety for your main lifts.
Form Cues
- Place the PVC pipe across your upper traps, keeping your chest open
- Unlock your knees slightly before initiating the movement
- Drive your hips straight back toward the wall behind you
- Keep your spine neutral and your core braced throughout
- Squeeze your glutes firmly to return to a standing position
- Don't round your lower back as you hinge forward
- Don't lock your knees completely straight
- Don't squat down; this is a hip movement, not a knee movement
- Don't look straight up; keep your neck in line with your spine
- Don't rush the descent; focus on feeling the hamstring stretch
Common Mistakes
- Rounding the lumbar spine
- Turning the movement into a squat
- Hyperextending the neck
- Placing the pipe too high on the neck
- Not engaging glutes at the top
Muscles Worked
This exercise primarily targets the erector spinae and hamstrings, teaching these muscles to lengthen under tension while maintaining a rigid spine. The glutes act as the primary mover to extend the hips back to the starting position, making it an excellent activation drill for the entire posterior chain.
Primary
Secondary
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