Strength Training · Bodybuilding · Powerlifting
Barbell Good Morning
The barbell good morning is a standing hip hinge with a bar across your upper back. It trains your hamstrings and glutes while your back muscles hold your torso steady.
Higher injury risk. Read the safety notes before adding weight.
- Intermediate
- Compound
- Higher injury risk
- Rest 2 min
How to do it
- Grip the racked bar slightly wider than shoulder width.
- Position the bar across the muscular shelf of your upper back.
- Straighten your legs to lift the bar clear of the hooks.
- Step back into a hip-width stance inside the rack.
- Bend your knees slightly.
- Push your hips backward to lower your torso until you feel a firm stretch in your hamstrings.
- Bring your hips forward to return to an upright position.
- Return the bar to the rack after your final repetition.
Form cues
- Brace your belly before each descent.
- Keep pressure through your whole foot.
- Let your gaze follow your torso.
Common mistakes
- Turning it into a squatKeep your knee bend nearly unchanged as your hips travel backward.
- Chasing a parallel torsoShorten the descent if going farther changes the natural shape of your back.
- Leaning back at the topFinish with your ribs over your pelvis rather than arching backward.
- Bouncing out of the bottomUse a controlled descent with a smooth change of direction.
Safety
The bar's leverage increases as you lean forward, so excessive weight or fatigue can overload your lower back. A failed repetition can fold you forward under the bar without correctly positioned rack safeties.
- Set the rack hooks just below shoulder height and the safeties just below the bar's lowest planned position.
- Secure the plates with collars before lifting.
- Test your range with an empty or light training bar before adding weight in small increments.
- End the set before fatigue makes it difficult to hold your torso steady.
If you have back pain or cannot hold the bar comfortably because of shoulder limitations, choose an unloaded hinge or seek guidance from a physiotherapist first.
Muscles worked
Primary muscles
Secondary muscles
Equipment
- Barbell
- Barbell Collar
- Lifting Belt (optional)
- Power Rack
- Rack Safety Supports
- Weight Plate
Sets and reps
- Sets
- 2–3
- Target
- 8–10 reps
- Rest
- 2 min
Choose a conservative weight that leaves at least three controlled repetitions in reserve.