Good Mornings

Good Mornings are a fundamental hip hinging exercise performed with a barbell across your shoulders, developing posterior chain strength and lower back stability through controlled spinal movement. This challenging exercise is ideal for intermediate to advanced exercisers seeking improved hip hinging mechanics and posterior chain development. Good Mornings emphasize eccentric hamstring and glute loading while teaching proper spinal movement patterns.

NASM's evidence-based approach emphasizes hip hinging movements like good mornings for developing posterior chain strength and movement quality. Good Mornings improve posterior chain strength, teach hip hinging mechanics, and translate to improved functional movement quality and injury prevention.

How to Perform the Good Mornings

Step 1: Setup

Stand with feet hip-width apart with a barbell positioned across your upper back and shoulders. Maintain a neutral spine and engage your core before beginning the movement.

Step 2: Brace/Position

Position your grip slightly wider than shoulder-width apart with the barbell secure on your shoulders. Engage your core and prepare for hip hinging movement.

Step 3: Execute/Drive

Hinge at the hips by pushing them backward while maintaining a neutral spine and only slight knee bend. Lower your torso forward until you feel adequate hamstring stretch and posterior chain tension.

Step 4: Return/Descent

Drive your hips forward to stand upright, maintaining a neutral spine throughout. Stop just short of full hip extension to maintain continuous tension in the posterior chain.

Muscles Worked

Primary Muscles:

• Hamstring Group – primary mover for hip extension and eccentric stretching stimulus
• Glutes – assist in hip extension and drive standing position

Secondary Muscles:

• Erector Spinae
• Adductors
• Trapezius

Common Mistakes

• Excessive spinal flexion or rounding the lower back, which removes stability and increases injury risk
• Bending the knees excessively, which converts movement into a squat variation
• Jerky movements or excessive momentum, which reduces posterior chain tension
• Using excessive weight that compromises spinal position or hip hinging mechanics
• Insufficient hip drive, which reduces power production and posterior chain engagement

Good Mornings Variations

• Romanian Deadlift Barbell
• Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift
• Kettlebell Deadlift

As part of NASM's evidence-based approach to movement and strength training, the good mornings reinforces proper movement mechanics essential to long-term performance and injury prevention. NASM-certified personal trainers use the Optimum Performance Training (OPT) model to integrate exercises like the good mornings into individualized programs based on each client's assessment results.

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