Barbell Good Morning

1. Set a barbell in a rack and take it on your upper traps as you would for a low bar or high bar squat, then step back.
2. Stand with feet hip to shoulder width apart and a soft bend in the knees.
3. Take a big breath, brace your core, and lock your lats down to pin the bar in place.
4. Push your hips straight back and let your torso hinge forward, keeping the spine neutral.
5. Lower until your torso approaches parallel to the floor or until your hamstrings stop the movement, whichever comes first.
6. Drive the hips forward to return to standing, exhaling through the ascent.
7. Re-brace at the top before each rep and keep the weight over midfoot the entire time.

Common Mistakes

• Rounding the back: letting the spine flex under load is the cardinal error here; if you cannot hold neutral, the weight is too heavy.
• Treating it as a heavy lift too soon: this movement punishes ego loading; start with the empty bar or 20 to 40 kg and progress slowly.
• Bending the knees too much: turning the hinge into a squat shortens the hamstrings and removes the stretch that makes the exercise work.
• Hinging with a fast drop: diving down quickly makes the bottom position hard to control; lower over two to three seconds.

Programming Tips

The good morning is a hinge with the bar on your back instead of in your hands, which makes it one of the best builders of the hamstrings, glutes, and spinal erectors, and one of the least forgiving lifts to rush. Program it as an accessory, not a max-effort lift: 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10 controlled reps after squats or deadlifts, once a week, is the productive dose for most lifters. Powerlifters lean on it because the position mirrors what happens when a heavy squat tips forward, training exactly the back strength that saves those reps.

Load it far lighter than it feels like you should; something around 25 to 40 percent of your squat is a sensible ceiling for quality reps, and many strong lifters never exceed 60 kg on it. Push the hips back with soft knees until the hamstrings stop the descent, usually with the torso near parallel, and stand up by driving the hips forward. Adding weight faster than technique allows is the one reliable way to make this lift bite.

Common Questions

Are good mornings dangerous for the lower back?

Performed with a braced neutral spine and modest loads, they strengthen the very structures people worry about. They become risky the same way any hinge does: rounding under a load too heavy to control.

How deep should I bend over?

Until your hamstrings reach a firm stretch and the hips cannot travel further back, typically a torso just above parallel. Depth beyond what your hamstring flexibility allows comes from spinal rounding, which is exactly what to avoid.

Good mornings or Romanian deadlifts?

They train the same muscles from different ends. The RDL loads heavier through the hands and grip, while the good morning puts the lever against the spine and hits the erectors harder per kilogram. Most programs are well served keeping the RDL as the main hinge accessory and rotating good mornings in for variety.