Exercise Library
Good Morning
The good morning is a posterior chain strength exercise that emphasizes isometric back extension strength.
Place the bar on the back as you would for a back squat. You can use either your squat or pulling stance depending on which you want to focus on.
Brace the trunk forcefully with the lower back neutral or slightly more extended and the upper back flattened as much as possible.
Bend the knees very slightly as you hinge at the hips as far as you’re able without losing back extension. Bend forward at a controlled speed, and recover at a natural to quick speed.
Maintain whole foot balance or shift slightly more to the heels, but keep the whole foot in contact with the floor.
Don’t allow your back to soften as you change direction in the bottom to stand again—resisting that force with a rigid trunk is a primary element of the exercise.
The knees can be bent more to shift more of the work to the glutes than the hamstrings, or can be locked straight to maximize hamstring emphasis.
Notes
The good morning does not need to be loaded extremely heavily to be effective. Focus on an active and aggressive arch of the back and full range of motion and don’t push the loading past what allows this perfect movement and position.
Purpose
The good morning primarily strengthens the isometric position of the back arch used in the snatch, clean, squat and related exercises to improve the lifter’s stability, power transfer and safety. Secondarily, it strengthens the glutes and hamstrings, and can improve hip extensor flexibility.
Programming
Sets of 3-6 reps are most common, but can be taken up as high as 10 reps. Weights can usually be 20-40% of the lifter’s best back squat.
Variations
The good morning can be performed with a number of variations: completely straight knees (more hamstring involvement), a wide stance (more hamstring and adductor), a narrow stance (more glute), with more bend in the knees (more weight and more focus on the back and glutes, less emphasis on the hamstrings), seated, and with acceleration and extension at the top similar to a pull.
Place the bar on the back as you would for a back squat. You can use either your squat or pulling stance depending on which you want to focus on.
Brace the trunk forcefully with the lower back neutral or slightly more extended and the upper back flattened as much as possible.
Bend the knees very slightly as you hinge at the hips as far as you’re able without losing back extension. Bend forward at a controlled speed, and recover at a natural to quick speed.
Maintain whole foot balance or shift slightly more to the heels, but keep the whole foot in contact with the floor.
Don’t allow your back to soften as you change direction in the bottom to stand again—resisting that force with a rigid trunk is a primary element of the exercise.
The knees can be bent more to shift more of the work to the glutes than the hamstrings, or can be locked straight to maximize hamstring emphasis.
The good morning does not need to be loaded extremely heavily to be effective. Focus on an active and aggressive arch of the back and full range of motion and don’t push the loading past what allows this perfect movement and position.
Purpose
The good morning primarily strengthens the isometric position of the back arch used in the snatch, clean, squat and related exercises to improve the lifter’s stability, power transfer and safety. Secondarily, it strengthens the glutes and hamstrings, and can improve hip extensor flexibility.
Programming
Sets of 3-6 reps are most common, but can be taken up as high as 10 reps. Weights can usually be 20-40% of the lifter’s best back squat.
Variations
The good morning can be performed with a number of variations: completely straight knees (more hamstring involvement), a wide stance (more hamstring and adductor), a narrow stance (more glute), with more bend in the knees (more weight and more focus on the back and glutes, less emphasis on the hamstrings), seated, and with acceleration and extension at the top similar to a pull.
