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Barbell · Hamstrings

Good Morning: A Posterior Chain Exercise That Demands Respect

The good morning trains your hamstrings and lower back through a hip hinge with the bar on your shoulders — a genuinely useful exercise that punishes a rounded back more than most.

· 2 min read

Good Morning demonstration

The good morning is a hip-hinge exercise for your hamstrings and glutes performed with the bar across your upper back — it looks simple and is unforgiving of anything less than a flat spine.

How to do it

  1. 1Set the bar like a squat — across your upper back, not your neck, with a comfortable grip holding it in place.
  2. 2Soft knees, hips back — a slight bend in your knees that stays roughly constant, then push your hips straight back.
  3. 3Keep your back flat — chest up and spine neutral as you hinge forward — this is the part that matters most.
  4. 4Lower until your torso is near parallel — or as far as your hamstring flexibility and a flat back allow, whichever comes first.
  5. 5Drive your hips forward to stand — squeeze your glutes and hamstrings to return to standing.

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Sets and reps

3 sets of 8–10 reps with a light weight — this exercise rewards a conservative approach to load far more than most.

Common mistakes

  • Rounding the back. A rounded spine under this kind of load is the single biggest risk with this exercise. Stop the descent the moment your back starts to round.
  • Bending the knees too much. Turning this into a squat with a forward lean removes the hamstring stretch that's the point of the exercise. Keep the knee bend minimal and roughly fixed.
  • Loading up too fast. This is not a lift to progress quickly on. Add weight in small increments and only once your form is completely solid.

Safety note

Start with just the empty bar or a light training bar until your hip hinge and flat back are consistent — this exercise punishes ego lifting more than almost any other.

Respect this exercise's reputation. A good morning done light and clean builds real hamstring and lower-back strength; done heavy and rounded, it does the opposite.

Train it as part of a real plan

A single exercise is a start, not a programme. WO Buddy builds the rest of the plan around it, based on your goal and schedule.

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