Hamstrings On Lock: Master the Barbell Good Morning for Serious Strength

Barbell good mornings are a simple, no‑frills way to lock in your hip hinge and build serious strength through the posterior chain. With the bar across your upper back, you’ll brace, push your hips back, and keep a neutral spine — the same mechanics that carry over to stronger deadlifts and squats.

Proper good mornings form also loads the hamstrings at long muscle lengths while your spinal erectors and glutes work hard to stabilize and extend, a combo that makes each rep efficient for strength and muscle. Program a smart good morning workout by starting light, control your tempo, and progress gradually, and they can support back health as part of a full posterior‑chain plan.

Here’s why and how to add good mornings to your routine, plus variations to try and mistakes to avoid.

How to Do Good Mornings

Depending on your anatomy and mobility, your good morning form technique can vary a touch. Aim for a clean hip hinge with soft knees, a neutral spine, and the bar stacked over your midfoot. Your torso angle will depend on hamstring length and control, so stop where you feel strong tension without losing position. 

How to Do a Barbell Good Morning with Proper Form

• Set the bar on a rack around mid‑chest height. Step under and place it across your upper back on the traps or rear delts; hands just outside shoulder width.

• Unrack and take 1-2 small steps back. Feet hip‑ to shoulder‑width, toes forward or slightly out. Soft bend in the knees; brace your core.

• Hinge by pushing your hips back while keeping shins nearly vertical and the bar stacked over midfoot. Keep your spine neutral and your neck in line with your torso.

• Descend until you feel a firm hamstring stretch and can still hold your brace — this is often when your torso is 15-45 degrees from parallel (range varies by mobility and control).

• Pause briefly at end range, then drive your hips forward to return to standing tall. Exhale as you finish the rep; re‑brace before the next.

• Rack the bar with control.
  
  

Trainer Tip: Own the bottom. Use a 2-3 second lower, 1-2 second pause near end range, then stand with intent. If your low back starts to round, shorten the range and rebuild tension at lighter loads. 

Common Setup Tweaks

• Bar position: Mid to low‑bar often feels more stable than a high‑bar perch for this lift. Keep elbows under the bar and lats tight to lock it in.

• Stance width: Start hip‑width. If you feel pinchy hamstrings, try a hair wider with slight toe‑out to find space.

• Range of motion: Stop where you can keep your brace and neutral spine. Quality beats depth.

• Safeties: Set spotter arms at, or just below, your intended bottom position for peace of mind when you’re learning.

Good Morning Muscles Worked and Benefits

The good morning primarily trains the hamstrings, gluteus maximus, and spinal erectors. As you hinge with a small knee bend, the hamstrings stay long and loaded, the glutes drive hip extension to finish each rep, and the erectors brace isometrically to keep your torso rigid. Secondary support comes from the adductors and upper‑back/lats to steady the bar, with your deep core helping maintain a neutral spine.

Good Morning Benefits

EMG and biomechanics research suggest good mornings put more demand on the hamstrings and erectors with minimal knee flexion, which is an efficient way to target the posterior chain without turning the hinge into a squat. Practically, that means you can practice a proper hinge pattern and build strength where most lifters need it for deadlifts, RDLs, and everyday lifting.

Barbell good mornings are ideal for lifters chasing muscle because they challenge your hamstrings at longer lengths. Training in that stretched position with a controlled tempo is a great hypertrophy driver at moderate loads (you don’t need max plates to get a serious stimulus). If you want to get extra nasty pumps, pausing near the end range will increase time under tension.

Worked into a smart program, posterior-chain strength work like band good morning (and other good morning alternatives) can reduce pain and disability in people with chronic low back pain (of course, talk to your care provider first). The good morning isn’t a rehab plan on its own, but it’s one hinge option among many that can help build stronger hip extensors and a sturdier back over time.

Good mornings spread force across the hamstrings, glutes, and spinal erectors in a way that pairs nicely with RDLs and pulls. In simple terms, you’re practicing the same core pattern from a slightly different angle, which is useful for well-rounded posterior-chain strength.

Good Morning Alternatives and Variations

If barbell good mornings don’t feel quite right yet, or you just want to mix up your hinge training, these options recreate the same hip‑dominant pattern to light up your hamstrings and glutes.

Smith Machine Good Morning

Smith machine good mornings use a fixed bar path to stabilize the lift so you can focus on perfect form with correct hinge mechanics and consistent bar‑over‑midfoot tracking. Great for home gyms and solo training.

How to do it:

• Set the Smith bar just below shoulder height. Step under and position it across your upper back

• Unrack, plant your feet hip‑ to shoulder‑width, and brace.

• Push your hips back to hinge until you feel strong hamstring tension; pause, then drive your hips forward to stand tall
  
  

Seated Good Morning

This seated good morning variation takes out the need to balance and emphasizes spinal erectors and hamstrings with a shorter, controlled range of motion.

How to do it:

• Sit on a bench with legs straddled and place a barbell lightly across your upper back, or hold on to a pair of dumbbells

• Brace, tilt your torso forward to stretch your hamstrings while keeping a neutral spine.

• Pause, then drive the hips through to return to stand tall
  
  

Band Good Mornings

A joint‑friendly substitute that’s perfect for warm‑ups, high‑rep finishers, or travel workouts. Bands maintain tension through the hinge and encourage control.

How to do it:

• Stand on a loop band with feet hip‑width and the other end looped behind your neck or across your upper back

• Brace, hinge by pushing hips back, keeping shins nearly vertical

• Pause near end range, then stand with intent

Check out REP's band collection and our low-down on how to choose the right band for the job.

Dumbbell Good Mornings

Use a dumbbell (or pair) hugged at the chest or held on your shoulders or along the thighs to practice the hinge with less axial loading.

How to do it:

• Hold a dumbbell tight to your chest (goblet style or hands on each end) or two dumbbells on your shoulders or against your thighs

• Soft knees; hinge until you feel hamstring tension; keep a neutral spine.

• Pause, then stand tall
  
  

Kettlebell Good Mornings

The kettlebell good morning is a home gym favorite for teaching hinge mechanics. The bell stays close to your center of mass and gives instant feedback on posture.

How to do it:

• Hug one kettlebell to your chest or swing it over your shoulders onto your upper back

• Brace, hinge back to end range without losing neutral spine, then drive to stand

Check out our keys to training with kettlebells.

Bodyweight Good Mornings

Bodyweight good mornings are great for warm‑ups and patterning the hinge without load, or as a between‑set primer. You can also use this variation to strengthen your lower back if it's tight or sore (with permission from your doc).

How to do it:

• Hands at temples or across chest; soft knees

• Push hips back, keep spine neutral, pause near end range

• Stand tall and repeat for smooth, controlled reps

Good Mornings Workout

If you’re new to good mornings, the goal is to master perfect form on the hinge, build posterior‑chain strength, and keep your back happy. This two‑day template uses banded and dumbbell/kettlebell options first, then layers in the barbell once your technique is consistent. Be sure to give yourself adequate time to recover between days.

Day 1

1. Warm‑Up (5-7 minutes)
   

• Glute bridge 2x12 (easy squeeze)

• Dynamic hamstring sweep 2x8/side

• Bodyweight good morning 2x10 (smooth tempo)
  
  

2. Main Circuit (3 rounds. Rest 60-90 sec between exercises)
   

• Band Good Morning 10-12 reps @ RPE 6-7 (steady 2-3 sec lower, 1 sec pause)

• Dumbbell or Kettlebell Good Morning 8-10 reps @ RPE 6-7

• Tall‑Kneeling Pallof Press 10/side

• Split‑Stance RDL (light DB/KB) 8/side @ RPE 6-7
  
  

3. Optional Finisher
   

• Back extension (GHD or bench) 2x10-12 @ easy‑moderate effort
  
  

Day 2

1. Warm‑Up (as Day 1)
   

2. Technique Sets
   

• Barbell Good Morning 3x5 @ RPE 6-7 (2-3 sec eccentric, brief pause near end range)
  
  

3. Posterior chain support
   

• Romanian Deadlift 3x6-8 @ RPE 6-7

• Side Plank 2x20-30 sec/side
  
  

Progression (Weeks 1-6)

• Weeks 1-2: Stay with bands + DB/KB on Day 1. Keep barbell at RPE 6 on Day 2.

• Weeks 3-4: Add 1 set to the DB/KB movement. Nudge barbell to RPE 6-7 and extend the pause at end range.

• Weeks 5-6: Add a fourth barbell set or move to 3x6. Keep 1-2 reps in reserve.
  
  

Coaching tips

• Keep the bar stacked over your midfoot with shins nearly vertical on hinges.

• Quality beats load. Every rep should look the same before you add weight.

• Use safeties or a Smith attachment for confidence while you learn positions.

Takeaway

Tack a few sets of good mornings onto leg day to lock in your hip hinge and build real posterior‑chain strength. Start light, keep the bar over your midfoot, and use a steady tempo so your hamstrings and glutes do the work. No barbell? You can still get it done at home with bands, a kettlebell, or a Smith attachment.

FAQs

What are good mornings?

Good mornings are a hip hinge exercise that works the posterior chain, mainly, your hamstrings with some help from your glutes. They train your hamstrings in a lengthened position which is great for building muscle. 

Are good mornings bad for your back?

When you brace well and hinge through the hips with a neutral spine and appropriate load, good mornings can be a safe and effective way to strengthen the backside. Start light and progress gradually. 

Do good mornings work glutes or hamstrings more?

Good mornings work your glutes and hamstrings. A slightly straighter knee and deeper hinge bias the hamstrings, while driving hard through hip extension lights up the glutes. Use controlled tempo and a brief pause near end range for better muscle tension.

Can beginners do good mornings?

Beginners can do good mornings so long as they are careful with form. Begin with banded, dumbbell, kettlebell, or bodyweight versions to learn the pattern. Once your form is consistent, move to the barbell and add load slowly.

How often should I train good mornings?

One to two sessions per week is plenty for most people. Pair them with knee‑dominant work like squats or split squats for balanced leg training.

Rachel MacPherson is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer, Nutrition Coach, and health writer with over a decade of experience helping people build strength and confidence through evidence-based training.

This article was reviewed by Rosie Borchert, NASM-CPT, for accuracy.