Barbell Good Morning
- Primary muscleHamstrings
- EquipmentBarbell
- DifficultyIntermediate
- TypeCompound · Hip-dominant
- Secondary muscles
- Spine
- Body part
- Upper Legs
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
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Good mornings load the hip hinge with the bar on your upper back instead of in your hands, which shifts the challenge from grip and quads to pure hamstring and spinal control. Start far lighter than feels impressive, a fraction of your squat, because the long lever of a hinged torso magnifies every pound on the bar.
How to do the Barbell Good Morning
- Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and the barbell resting on your upper back.
- Keeping your back straight and your core engaged, hinge forward at the hips, pushing your buttocks back as if you were trying to touch the wall behind you with your glutes.
- Lower your torso until it is parallel to the ground, feeling a stretch in your hamstrings.
- Pause for a moment, then return to the starting position by squeezing your glutes and pushing your hips forward.
- Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Tip: Brace the abs and keep the bar pulled tight to the back so it cannot roll onto the neck.
Muscles worked
Primary
Hamstrings · Legs
The hamstrings lengthen as the hips go back and should feel a strong stretch at the bottom before they pull the torso back up.
Secondary
- Spine — The spinal erectors work isometrically to keep the back flat, and they will feel it more the further forward you go.
Common mistakes
- Bending at the waist — push the hips straight back as the torso comes forward so the shins stay vertical; if the bar moves forward instead of the hips back, the lower back takes the load.
- Rounding the upper back — keep the chest up and the shoulder blades back as you hinge, and stop where the back starts to round.
- Going too heavy — a good morning loads the lower back hard, so treat it as an accessory with weights well under your squat.
- Locking the knees — keep a soft bend in the knees so the hamstrings can lengthen without locking the joint.
Where it fits in a workout
Good mornings go after squats or deadlifts as a posterior chain accessory, never first. Superset them with leg extensions for a hamstring and quad pair, or run them as straight sets after the main lift.
How many sets, how heavy and how hard: see what the ACSM position stands support.
Variations and alternatives
Similar exercises
When to talk to someone
- Chest discomfort, feeling faint or lightheaded, or trouble breathing during or after exercise can be signs of a heart attack. In the US, call 911 right away; elsewhere, call your local emergency number.
- Heart, metabolic or kidney disease, or symptoms like these when you are active: talk to your doctor before you start or step up training.
- Pregnant: ask your obstetric care provider which exercise suits you.
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More exercises
Sources
- ACSM position stand on exercise quantity and quality (Garber et al., 2011)
- ACSM preparticipation health screening (Riebe et al., 2015)
- ACOG Committee Opinion No. 804 on exercise in pregnancy (2020)
- CDC: About Heart Attack Symptoms, Risk, and Recovery (2024)
Sources checked on October 17, 2026. Full citations are in the exercise library.
Animation and exercise data: ExerciseDB, licensed to SetGrip. General information, not medical or coaching advice.