# Smith Machine Good Morning: how to do it

- Main muscles: hamstrings, lower back
- Also works: glutes
- Equipment: smith
- Level: beginner
- 3D demo (side view): https://media.trainaq.com/exercises/smith_good_morning/2d4588614d/side-m-720.mp4

## Steps

1. Set the Smith bar at shoulder height and rest it high on your upper back.
2. Stand with your feet hip-width, a little in front of the bar, knees soft.
3. Unlock the bar and push your hips back as your chest lowers, back flat.
4. Stop when you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings, about halfway to the floor.
5. Drive your hips forward to stand tall.

## Cues

- Hips back, not down.
- Flat back, chest proud.
- Squeeze the glutes to stand.

## Common mistakes

- Rounding the lower back to go lower.
- Turning it into a squat.
- Feet right under the bar, so the hips can't travel back.

## The version in our demo

A good morning in the Smith machine. The bar runs on the machine's fixed vertical track, so the hips must travel back as far as keeps the bar on it: the feet stand a little in front of the bar line and the legs lean back as the hips go back.

## Starting position

Set the bar at shoulder height, step under it and rest it high on the upper back (on the traps). Grip just outside the shoulders. Feet hip-width, about 10 cm in front of the bar line, toes out a little, knees soft.

## The movement

Unlock the bar, brace, and push the hips back while the trunk hinges forward with a flat back; the knees bend only slightly (to about 18°). Go to about 50° from vertical, as far as the hamstrings allow with a flat back, then drive the hips forward to stand tall. The bar moves straight down and up on the track.

## Breathing

Breathe in and brace before the hinge, hold through the bottom, breathe out near the top.

## Tempo

About 2.2 s down, a brief pause, about 1.6 s up, a pause standing.

## Form in numbers

| Measure | Target | Good range | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Trunk from vertical at the bottom | 50° | 40–60°, back flat |  |
| Knees | 5° standing → 17–18° at the bottom | ≤ 25° (not a squat) |  |
| Feet | 10 cm in front of the bar line | 5–15 cm |  |
| Shins at the bottom | leaning back 22–26° (knees behind the ankles) | follows the bar line |  |
| Hips behind the ankles at the bottom | 39–43 cm | far back |  |
| Bar path | vertical on the track (0 cm drift) | 0 cm |  |

## Sources

1. [ExRx.net, "Smith Bent Knee Good-morning" (bar on the back in the Smith machine, a hip hinge with the back straight; the erectors work isometrically; a straight-leg version leans more on the hamstrings)](https://exrx.net/WeightExercises/GluteusMaximus/SMBentKneeGoodMorning)
2. [REP Fitness, "Smith Machine Good Mornings" (hamstrings the main focus, glutes drive hip extension, erectors hold the spine)](https://repfitness.com/blogs/training/smith-machine-good-morning)
3. NSCA, Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning, 4th ed. (2016), ch. 15
4. [ACE Exercise Library, "Good Morning" (hip hinge, neutral spine, neck in line)](https://www.acefitness.org/resources/everyone/exercise-library/)

Source: https://trainaq.com/exercises/smith-good-morning