Bent Knee Smith Machine Good Morning
In SetGrip: Smith Machine Good Morning (Bent Knee)
- Primary muscleGlutes
- EquipmentSmith Machine
- DifficultyIntermediate
- TypeCompound · Hip-dominant
- Secondary muscles
- Hamstrings, Spine
- Body part
- Upper Legs
- Position
- Standing
- Laterality
- Bilateral (both sides together)
- Category
- Strength
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The Smith machine takes the balance problem out of good mornings, since the bar cannot drift forward as you hinge, which makes it a sensible place to groove the movement before trusting a free barbell. Keeping the knees bent softens the hamstring stretch and shifts a little more of the work toward the glutes.
How to do the Bent Knee Smith Machine Good Morning
- Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointing forward.
- Place the barbell across your upper back, resting it on your traps.
- Bend your knees slightly and hinge forward at the hips, keeping your back straight.
- Lower your torso until it is parallel to the ground, feeling a stretch in your hamstrings.
- Engage your glutes and hamstrings to raise your torso back up to the starting position.
- 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
Glutes · Legs
The glutes finish the rep by driving the hips forward and should be squeezed at the top.
Secondary
- Hamstrings — The hamstrings lengthen as the hips go back and should feel a strong stretch at the bottom before they pull the torso back up.
- 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
Without smith machine
Easier and harder
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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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.