You've probably seen it. Some guy at the gym is bent over with a barbell on his back, looking like he's about to snap his spine in half, and you’re wondering why on earth anyone would do that on purpose. That's the good morning. It’s easily one of the most misunderstood, feared, and butchered exercises in the history of strength training. But here’s the thing: if you want a posterior chain that can move mountains, you kind of need to know how to do good morning correctly.
It’s a hinge. That’s it. Or at least, that's what it should be. Most people treat it like a weird standing crunch or a back extension gone wrong, but when you strip away the ego and the heavy plates, it's the ultimate developer for your hamstrings, glutes, and spinal erectors. It’s about as functional as it gets. Think about picking up a heavy box or leaning over to grab a toddler; that's the movement pattern we're talking about.
Honestly, the name itself is a bit polite for how much this move can kick your butt. It’s named after the way people used to bow when greeting someone in the morning, but don’t let the formal origin fool you. If you mess this up, your lower back will let you know immediately. Let’s get into the weeds of why this move is actually essential and how to stop doing it like an amateur.
The Mechanics of the Perfect Hinge
To understand how to do good morning without ending up in a physical therapist's office, you have to master the hip hinge. This isn't a squat. If your knees are moving forward, you’re doing it wrong. Period.
Start by standing with your feet about shoulder-width apart. You want a "soft" knee—not locked out, but not bent into a squat either. Imagine there’s a wall about a foot behind you. Your goal isn't to lean forward; it’s to touch your butt to that wall. As your hips shift back, your torso will naturally start to tilt forward. This is where most people panic. They feel the stretch in their hamstrings and think they need to round their back to get lower. Don’t do that. Your spine needs to stay like a steel rod.
The depth of your good morning is determined entirely by your hamstring flexibility. Some people can get parallel to the floor. Others get about thirty degrees down and their hamstrings scream "stop." Listen to them. Forcing range of motion in a good morning is a recipe for a disc issue. According to experts like Dr. Stuart McGill, a leading authority on spine biomechanics, maintaining a neutral spine under load is non-negotiable for long-term back health. When you reach the end of your natural range, squeeze your glutes and drive your hips forward to stand back up.
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Why Your Lower Back Might Be Screaming
If you feel this exercise primarily in your lower back rather than your hamstrings, something is off. Usually, it’s one of two things. Either the bar is sitting too high on your neck, or you’re losing tension in your core.
When you place the bar, it should sit on your rear deltoids, much like a low-bar squat. If it’s resting on your C7 vertebra (that bony bump at the base of your neck), the lever arm becomes too long. It puts massive shear force on your neck and upper spine. Pull the bar down into your back. Create a shelf with your muscles. By "pinning" the bar, you turn your entire torso into a single, rigid unit.
Bracing is the secret sauce here. You’ve got to breathe into your belly—not your chest—and create internal pressure. Think about someone is about to punch you in the stomach. That's the tension you need. Without that "intra-abdominal pressure," your spine is basically a wet noodle trying to support a steel bar. That’s how injuries happen.
Variations That Actually Make Sense
You don't always have to use a barbell. In fact, if you’re just learning how to do good morning, a barbell might be the worst place to start.
- The Seated Good Morning: This is a favorite of the Westside Barbell crew. By sitting on a bench, you take the hamstrings out of the equation and put the focus almost entirely on the lower back and adductors. It’s an incredible builder for a heavy squat.
- The Zercher Good Morning: Instead of putting the bar on your back, you hold it in the crooks of your elbows. This shifts the center of gravity forward, forcing your upper back to work like crazy to keep you from folding. It’s uncomfortable, but it works.
- Band-Resisted Good Mornings: These are great for high-rep burnout sets. The resistance increases as you stand up, which matches the strength curve of the movement perfectly.
- Dumbbell or Kettlebell Goblet Style: Hold a weight against your chest. This is the safest way for beginners to learn the hinge because the weight acts as a counter-balance, making it easier to sit the hips back.
Westside Barbell founder Louie Simmons often championed the good morning as a primary builder for the deadlift. He argued that if your back is strong enough to handle a heavy good morning, it will never be the weak link in a pull. However, even Simmons cautioned that form must be "tight." Loose form in this movement is a death sentence for progress.
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Common Mistakes That Kill Progress
Stop looking at yourself in the mirror. Seriously. When you crane your neck up to look at your reflection, you're breaking the neutral alignment of your spine. Your head should follow your torso. If you’re bent over, you should be looking at a spot on the floor a few feet in front of you, not the wall.
Another huge mistake is the "squat-morning." This happens when your hips drop too low and your knees track forward. You're basically doing a bad squat instead of a good hinge. Remember: hips back, not down. If your shins aren't vertical, you've missed the point.
And let's talk about weight. This is not an exercise where you should be chasing a one-rep max every week. It’s a supplemental lift. If you can't control the descent for a full two or three seconds, the weight is too heavy. The eccentric (lowering) phase is where all the muscle building happens anyway. Chasing numbers with sloppy form in a good morning is an ego trip that usually ends in an MRI.
The Science of the Posterior Chain
Why bother with this over, say, a Romanian Deadlift (RDL)? It comes down to the moment arm. In an RDL, the weight is in your hands, hanging directly under your shoulders. In a good morning, the weight is on your back, significantly further away from the axis of rotation (your hips).
This means that even with less weight, the "torque" required to move the load is much higher. You can get a massive training effect for your spinal erectors with 135 pounds on a good morning that might require 225 pounds or more on an RDL. For athletes trying to manage overall fatigue, being able to get a high training stimulus with less absolute weight is a huge win.
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A study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research highlighted that the good morning specifically targets the semitendinosus and biceps femoris (the hamstrings) differently than a leg curl because it involves hip extension rather than knee flexion. You need both for a complete physique, but the hinge is what builds "functional" power.
Practical Steps to Mastering the Movement
Don't just jump into the rack and load up three plates. Start small and build the neurological pathway first.
- Master the Bodyweight Hinge: Stand against a wall and practice touching your glutes to it without falling over. Do this until it feels like second nature.
- Use a PVC Pipe: Place a light pipe on your back. It should touch three points: the back of your head, your mid-back, and your tailbone. If it loses contact with any of those points during the movement, your spine is out of alignment.
- Incorporate "Good Morning" Isometrics: Go down to the bottom of the movement and hold it for 5-10 seconds. This builds incredible stability and teaches you where your "edge" is.
- Keep the Reps Moderate: Aim for sets of 8 to 12. This allows you to focus on the mind-muscle connection without the fatigue that leads to form breakdown during high-rep sets or the crushing intensity of low-rep heavy sets.
- Film Yourself: Perception is often different from reality. You might think your back is flat, but a quick video from the side will tell the truth. Look for rounding in the lower back especially.
The good morning is a tool, not a test of manhood. Treat it with respect, and it will reward you with a back like a suit of armor and hamstrings that can handle anything. Treat it with ego, and it'll sideline you faster than almost any other lift in the gym.
Focus on the stretch. Feel the hamstrings load up like a bowstring. Keep your core so tight it hurts. When you master how to do good morning, you aren't just building muscle; you're building a body that is resilient to injury and capable of moving serious weight in the "big" lifts like the squat and deadlift. It’s time to stop fearing the bow and start using it to your advantage.
Begin your next lower-body session by performing 3 sets of 10 unweighted good mornings focusing solely on hip displacement. Once the movement feels fluid, add a light kettlebell in the goblet position before moving to the barbell. Consistency in the hinge pattern is more important than the weight on the bar for the first month of training.