Exercise Library
Dumbbell Good Morning
Stand with feet hip-width apart holding a dumbbell (either in front of your chest or resting across your upper back/shoulders depending on variation). Keep a slight bend in your knees, chest up, and core braced. Initiate the movement by pushing your hips backward while keeping your spine neutral. Lower your torso forward in a controlled hinge until you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings or your upper body is near parallel to the floor. Pause briefly, then drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to return to a standing position. Avoid rounding your back or bending your knees further during the descent.
Primary muscle
Primary: Hamstrings
Secondary muscles
Glutes Secondary: Lower Back (Erector Spinae), Core, Upper Back stabilizers
Equipment
Dumbbell
Category
Hamstrings
How to Do the Dumbbell Good Morning
- Stand with feet hip to shoulder width apart, holding one dumbbell vertically against your upper chest with both hands, or a dumbbell on each shoulder.
- Set a soft bend in your knees and brace your core.
- Push your hips straight back while hinging your torso forward, keeping your back flat.
- Lower until your torso is close to parallel with the floor or until your hamstrings reach their stretch limit.
- Pause for a moment without rounding the spine.
- Drive your hips forward to return to standing, squeezing the glutes at the top.
- Repeat, keeping the dumbbell tight to your body throughout.
Common Mistakes
- Rounding the lower back: letting the spine flex under load moves stress from the hamstrings to the discs. Stop the descent when you can no longer keep a flat back.
- Bending the knees too much: turning the hinge into a squat lets the quads take over. Keep the knees softly bent and send the hips backward, not down.
- Going too deep too soon: range should be earned as hamstring flexibility improves. Depth past parallel is unnecessary for most lifters.
- Lifting with the back instead of the hips: coming up by straightening the torso first strains the erectors. Lead the ascent by driving the hips forward.
Track This Exercise in the App
Log your dumbbell good morning sets in 1RM.fit and watch your estimated 1RM update automatically as you get stronger.