MariposasHow to Do the Good Morning
By Zachary, builder of Mariposas · Reviewed against published exercise-science sources (references)
· Last updated June 2026
The good morning is one of the few barbell movements that trains the posterior chain under a hip-hinge pattern while keeping the load on your back rather than in your hands, which forces your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back to resist extension through a long lever arm. That loading position creates a stretch and tension demand on the hamstrings that Romanian deadlifts and leg curls simply cannot replicate, because the torque on the hip is highest exactly when the hamstrings are lengthened. Powerlifters have used it for decades to reinforce the lockout position of the squat and deadlift, and general strength athletes prize it for the raw lower-back and glute development it produces without loading the spine in a fully vertical position. It looks simple but the execution is surprisingly technical, which is exactly why it rewards careful attention. You can log every set and track your progress on it for free in the Mariposas app.
How to do it
- Set a barbell in a squat rack at roughly upper-chest height, then step under it so the bar rests across your upper traps in a high-bar position, not on your neck, with your hands gripping just outside shoulder width to create upper-back tension.
- Unrack the bar by standing tall, then take two steps back to clear the rack, and set your feet about hip-width apart with a slight bend already in your knees to protect the joint and pre-load the hamstrings.
- Take a big breath into your belly, brace your core as if you are about to absorb a punch, and squeeze your lats down and back to lock your thoracic spine into a neutral, rigid position before any movement begins.
- Initiate the movement by pushing your hips straight back behind you, not by bending your knees first, keeping your shins nearly vertical throughout so the load transfers correctly into the hamstrings and glutes rather than the quads.
- Continue hinging until your torso is roughly parallel to the floor, or until you feel a strong pull in your hamstrings that limits further range without your lower back rounding, whichever comes first.
- Pause briefly at the bottom to prevent any bouncing or momentum, verify that your spine is still neutral and your chest is not caving toward the floor, then drive your hips forward and your chest up simultaneously to return to standing.
- Lock out at the top by squeezing your glutes fully and returning to a tall, neutral spine before beginning the next rep, never letting the bar drift forward off your traps during the ascent.
- Re-rack the bar deliberately by stepping forward into the rack and setting the bar into the hooks before releasing your brace, keeping control of the loaded position until the lift is completely finished.
Form cues
- Hips back first, not chest down.
- Shins stay vertical, don't let the knees drift forward.
- Big air, locked ribs before you move.
- Feel the hamstring pull, that's your depth signal.
- Drive the floor away on the way up, don't just lean back.
- Squeeze glutes hard at the top to complete the rep.
Common mistakes
- Rounding the lower back at the bottom: this shifts the load from the hamstrings directly onto the lumbar vertebrae under a long lever arm, massively increasing injury risk. Fix it by reducing the range of motion until you have enough hamstring flexibility to reach parallel with a neutral spine.
- Going too heavy too soon: because the bar is far from your hips, even moderate weight creates enormous torque. Lifters often ego-load this exercise and compensate with spinal flexion. Start with a weight you can control for clean reps and treat it as a technique movement before adding load.
- Bending the knees excessively: turning the movement into a squat pattern defeats the purpose entirely. Keep a soft, fixed knee bend throughout rather than letting the knees travel forward, which would offload the hamstrings and make the exercise nearly pointless.
- Letting the bar roll onto the neck: a bar sitting on the cervical spine instead of the upper traps is both uncomfortable and potentially dangerous under load. Set it firmly on your traps, squeeze your upper back, and keep your hands pulling the bar into position the entire set.
- Using momentum to bounce out of the hole: swinging the torso up rather than driving from the hip extensors takes the muscles out of the work and turns a strength exercise into a lever trick. Control the descent, pause, then actively pull yourself up with your glutes and hamstrings.
Why do the Good Morning?
- The long lever arm places the hamstrings under a loaded stretch that is genuinely hard to replicate with other exercises, which is why many coaches consider it the best direct hamstring developer for athletes who need strength at long muscle lengths.
- It directly reinforces the hip hinge pattern used in squats and deadlifts, particularly the position where the torso is inclined and the glutes and lower back must resist collapse, carrying over to stronger lockouts and better positional awareness under a barbell.
- The lower back gets trained as an active stabilizer through a large range of motion, building the erector and multifidus endurance that supports every other lift in a program and reduces the risk of positional breakdown under fatigue.
- Because the load is across the back rather than in the hands, grip strength and forearm fatigue are removed from the equation, letting the actual target muscles work to genuine failure without a secondary limiting factor.
- Glute activation at the top of the movement is substantial, meaning the good morning simultaneously develops hip extension strength that carries into sprinting, jumping, and any athletic movement requiring powerful posterior chain engagement.
Good Morning variations
- Banded Good Morning
- Loop a resistance band under your feet and over your traps instead of using a barbell, making this an excellent entry point for beginners learning the hip hinge pattern without the risk of a loaded bar on the back.
- Seated Good Morning
- Performing the movement while seated on a bench eliminates leg drive entirely and forces the lower back and hamstrings to do all the work, making it a useful accessory for lifters who want to isolate the posterior chain without any cheating from the legs.
- Safety Bar Good Morning
- A safety squat bar shifts the center of mass slightly and is easier on the wrists and shoulders, a practical option for lifters with upper-body mobility restrictions who still want the hip hinge stimulus.
- Good Morning Squat
- This hybrid variation involves hinging forward at the top of a squat descent before standing, used by powerlifters to teach the body to maintain tension and recover from forward lean under heavy squat loads.
How to program it
The good morning most commonly appears as an accessory lift after a primary squat or deadlift, where the main movement has already established neural readiness but enough energy remains for focused posterior chain work. Many lifters program it in the 6 to 12 rep range with moderate loads, treating it as a hypertrophy and technique drill rather than a max-effort strength test. Some powerlifting programs use heavier sets in the 3 to 6 rep range during specific training blocks to build raw hip-hinge strength for squat carryover. Because the lower back is heavily involved, most coaches place it away from other high-volume deadlift days to allow adequate recovery.
Good Morning alternatives
FAQ
- Is the good morning dangerous for your lower back?
- The movement has a reputation for being risky, but most problems come from loading it too heavy before mastering the pattern. The spine does work hard here as a stabilizer, but that is the point. Keep the weight manageable, maintain a neutral spine throughout the range of motion, and treat any form breakdown as a signal to reduce load rather than a challenge to push through.
- What's the difference between a good morning and an RDL?
- In a Romanian deadlift, the load is in your hands and hangs close to your legs, which keeps the torque on your hips relatively short. In a good morning, the bar is on your back well above your hips, creating a much longer lever arm. That means a given weight feels dramatically heavier in a good morning, and the demand on the hamstrings at a stretched position is considerably greater.
- How much weight should I use for good mornings?
- Significantly less than you would use for a squat or deadlift of equal effort. Many experienced lifters work with 30 to 50 percent of their squat max when they first introduce the movement. The mechanical disadvantage is real, and the goal is to load the posterior chain precisely, not to move maximum weight. Technique earns the right to load here.
- Can good mornings replace deadlifts?
- They train overlapping muscles but through different patterns and positions. The good morning excels at loaded hamstring stretch and lower back endurance; the deadlift develops overall pulling strength from the floor. Most programs that include both do so because they complement rather than duplicate each other, and removing either would leave a gap.
- Should I feel good mornings in my lower back or my hamstrings?
- Ideally both, with the hamstrings doing the primary eccentric work on the way down and the glutes and lower back driving extension on the way up. If you feel it exclusively in your lower back with very little hamstring involvement, your hips are likely not hinging back far enough and your knees may be bending too much, turning it into a quarter squat.