Barbell Good Morning

Lower Back, Hamstrings, GlutesBarbell

The barbell good morning is a hip-hinge exercise with the bar loaded across your shoulders to target the posterior chain. It combines high spine loading with a hip-dominant pattern, demanding strong joint mobility and a rock-solid neutral spine.

How to do it

1Place the barbell across your upper traps, unrack it, and take one or two steps back.

2Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and lock in a neutral spine.

3Smoothly push your hips back, hinging forward until your torso is parallel to the floor.

4Keep tension in your hamstrings and keep your eyes fixed slightly ahead on the floor.

5Drive through your glutes and hamstrings to snap back up to a standing position.

Common mistakes

Rounding your lower back under load is extremely dangerous for your spine.

Bending your knees too much turns the hinge into a squat and unloads the target muscles.

Dropping down too fast causes you to lose bar path control.

Breathing

Inhale as you smoothly hinge forward. Exhale as you return to the vertical standing position.

Make it harder or easier

To regress, use an empty barbell or bodybar and reduce your depth.

To progress, add a one-second pause at the bottom of the hinge.

This is general guidance, not a medical opinion. Listen to your body: if it hurts, stop. If you have an injury or a chronic condition, talk to a doctor first.