Hamstrings exercise
Barbell Good MorningHow to do it, with form in numbers
- Main muscles
- Hamstrings, Glutes, Lower back
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
How do you do the Barbell Good Morning?
- Set the bar across your upper back, not your neck.
- Stand with feet hip-width apart and unlock your knees.
- Brace and push your hips back, tipping your chest forward.
- Stop when your hamstrings are tight and your back is still flat.
- Drive your hips forward to stand tall.
Cues
- Hips back, chest forward, back flat.
- Keep the same small bend in your knees.
- Weight in the middle of your feet.
Common mistakes
- Rounding your back to go lower.
- Bending your knees so it turns into a squat.
- Resting the bar on your neck.
Form in detail
What does good form look like?
Starting position
Take the bar out of a rack as for a back squat. It sits across the upper back, on the upper trapezius just above the shoulder blades, never on the neck. Hands grip the bar overhand, a little wider than shoulder-width, elbows pointing down and back, upper back tight. Feet hip- to shoulder-width apart, toes forward to 10° out. Knees unlocked (about 5° flexion). Brace the stomach, chest up, flat back, gaze ahead.
The movement
Push the hips straight back. The trunk tips forward as one rigid piece with a flat back. The knees bend a little more as the hips travel back, to about 18°, then hold that bend; the shins stay close to vertical. The hips move back as the shoulders move forward, so the body and bar stay balanced over the middle of the foot; weight stays on the whole foot. The bar stays pinned on the upper back and does not roll. The neck stays in line with the spine, so the gaze moves to the floor ahead. To return, drive the hips forward and stand tall, finishing with the hips straight but not pushed past upright.
End position
Bottom: hamstrings taut with the back still flat, trunk about 70° from vertical (20° above horizontal). With the thighs tipped slightly back, 75° at the hip puts the trunk about 65–70° from vertical.
Tempo
About 2.5 s down, no bounce at the bottom, 1.5 s up, 0.5 s standing tall.
Form in numbers
What are the angles and distances?
| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bar position | upper trapezius (high bar) | high or low bar; never on the neck | [2][3] |
| Grip width | a little wider than shoulder-width | shoulder- to 1.5× shoulder-width | [1] |
| Stance width (heel centres) | 30 cm | hip- to shoulder-width | [1][2] |
| Knee flexion at the top | 5° | 0–10° (not locked) | [1] |
| Knee flexion at the bottom | 18° | 15–25° | [2] |
| Hip flexion at the bottom | 75° | 70–85° | [2] |
| Trunk angle from vertical at the bottom | 70° | 45–90° | [1][4] |
| Hip extension at the top | 0° | −5 to 0° (no lean back) | [1] |
The targets our 3D demo was built to, from the references below. Bodies differ, so treat the ranges as a guide for your own build.
For coaches
Use this demo in your clients’ programs
The Barbell Good Morning is in Trainaq’s exercise library. Add it to a workout, and your client sees this demo in the free Trainaq app above the sets they log.
Sources
Sources
- NASM, Good Mornings
- Vigotsky, Harper, Ryan and Contreras 2015, PeerJ 3:e708, Effects of load on good morning kinematics and EMG activity
- Ross, Comfort and McMahon 2024, Strength and Conditioning Journal (NSCA) 46(3):378–382, The good morning: exercise technique and exercise selection principles
- ExRx, Barbell Bent-knee Good-morning
