Quick answer: A good morning is a hip-hinge exercise. You rest a barbell across your upper back, keep a slight bend in your knees and push your hips back until your torso is close to parallel with the floor, keeping your back flat. Then you drive your hips forward to stand up. It trains your hamstrings, glutes and lower back. Use a lighter weight than you would for a deadlift, and start with an empty bar or just your body weight.
The name comes from the movement, which looks like bowing to say “good morning.” This guide is for you if you want to strengthen your hamstrings and lower back, improve your hip hinge or add variety to your leg and back training. You’ll learn what it works, what the research says, how it compares with the Romanian deadlift and how to do it safely.
What muscles do good mornings work?
- Hamstrings: the muscles on the back of your thighs. They control the lowering and help drive you back up.
- Glutes: help push your hips forward to stand tall.
- Lower back (erector spinae): works hard to keep your spine from rounding under the bar.
- Upper back and core: hold the bar steady and keep your torso braced.
What the research says
- Heavier loads work your hamstrings and back harder. In 15 trained men lifting 50% to 90% of their max, hamstring and lower-back activity rose as the weight went up. Hamstring activity leveled off between 80% and 90%. The men also bent their knees more as the load got heavier (Vigotsky et al., 2015).
- The RDL works the hamstrings a bit more. In 12 trained men comparing four hamstring exercises at 85% of their max, hamstring activity was highest in the Romanian deadlift and the glute-ham raise (McAllister et al., 2014).
Both studies measured muscle activity during single reps, not muscle growth over weeks. They show what the exercise works, not whether it builds more muscle than other exercises.
Good morning vs Romanian deadlift
| Good morning | Romanian deadlift (RDL) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the weight sits | On your upper back | In your hands, in front of your thighs |
| How heavy | Lighter | Heavier |
| Lower-back demand | Higher, because the weight is further from your hips | Lower |
| Hamstring activity | High | A little higher in research |
| Grip needed | None | Yes |
| Best for | Back strength, hinge practice, variety | Main hamstring builder |
My advice: make the RDL your main hamstring exercise and use the good morning as a supporting lift. It’s especially useful if your grip gives out before your legs do, or you want extra back strength. See the RDL form guide for the comparison.
How to do a barbell good morning
Setup
- Set the bar in a squat rack at about chest height.
- Step under it and rest it across your upper back, like a squat. Don’t put it on your neck.
- Grip the bar firmly and pull your shoulder blades together.
- Stand with your feet about hip-width apart and a slight bend in your knees.
The movement
- Brace your stomach and take a breath.
- Push your hips straight back, letting your torso tip forward.
- Keep your back flat and your knees slightly bent.
- Lower until you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings, or your torso is close to parallel with the floor. Stop before your back starts to round.
- Drive your hips forward to stand up tall.
Coaching cues: “Hips back, not down.” “Flat back, proud chest.” “Stop when your hamstrings stop you.”
Start here: easier variations
- Bodyweight good morning: hands behind your head or crossed on your chest. Learn the hinge first.
- Band good morning: stand on a resistance band and loop it behind your neck. The tension is lightest at the bottom.
- Dumbbell good morning: hold one dumbbell against your chest.
- Empty barbell: once the movement feels smooth, move to the bar.
- Not ready for good mornings? Try the resistance band RDL or a kettlebell swing to practice the hinge.
Common mistakes
- Rounding your back. The most important one to avoid. Stop the rep where you can keep your back flat.
- Going too heavy. The weight sits far from your hips, so a small load feels heavy. Ego lifting here usually means a rounded back.
- Squatting it. Bending your knees a lot turns it into a squat. Keep a slight, fixed bend.
- Locking your knees. Straight, locked knees put more strain on your lower back. Keep them soft.
- Bar on your neck. Rest it on the muscle of your upper back.
- Rushing the bottom. Lower with control and pause briefly before standing up.
Sets, reps and how heavy
| Your level | Load | Sets and reps |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner | Body weight, a band or an empty bar | 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 12 |
| Intermediate | Light to moderate barbell | 3 sets of 8 to 10 |
| Experienced | Moderate barbell, well below your squat | 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 8 |
Do good mornings once a week, after your main squat or deadlift. Leave 2 to 3 reps in the tank on every set, and warm up first. Add weight slowly, only when every rep looks the same. That’s progressive overload.
If you have lower back pain, check with a doctor or physical therapist before adding good mornings, and start with body weight.
Summary
- The good morning is a hip hinge with a barbell on your upper back.
- It works your hamstrings, glutes and lower back.
- Heavier loads work your hamstrings and back harder, but the RDL works the hamstrings a little more.
- Use it as a supporting lift, lighter than your deadlift, once a week.
- Keep your back flat, your knees softly bent and push your hips back.
- Start with body weight, a band or an empty bar.
Build stronger hamstrings with a plan
Good mornings work best as part of a balanced program with squats, deadlifts and rows. 12REPS gives you trainer-built programs with two demo videos for every exercise, and a gym log that shows what you lifted last time, so you know when to add weight. New users get a 7-day free trial.
Download 12REPS and see what you’ll get:
Sources
- Vigotsky AD et al. Effects of load on good morning kinematics and EMG activity. PeerJ, 2015
- McAllister MJ et al. Muscle activation during various hamstring exercises. J Strength Cond Res, 2014
Related reading
- Romanian deadlift (RDL) form guide
- How to squat properly
- How to do a kettlebell swing
- Strength training for back pain
- The beginner’s guide to progressive overload
I’m Will Duru, a personal trainer and the founder of 12REPS. I hold a BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science and have more than a decade of experience coaching people in strength training.
