Good mornings are a great addition to your deadlift and back day. Good mornings are among the most fundamental lower back, hamstring, and glute accessory exercises done by powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters, Strongman, and fitness athletes. Sit on a bench with your knees bent at 90 degrees and your feet flat on the floor. Add another set of 12 to 15 reps on your next session, and then one more set on your third session. Leaf Group Ltd. The primary muscle groups for this exercise are the lower back and gluteal region but also, the hamstrings get a great deal of work from this movement. In this exercise guide we will discuss the good morning (specifically the barbell good morning), offering coaches and athletes proper technique guidelines, training benefits, and programming notes. Her work has appeared in SELF, Runner’s World, Prevention, Women’s Health and CNN, among many others. Hamstring strength is important to a number of sports and activities because it supports all movements across the knees. Hold your barbell at the top of your shoulders, behind your neck. Good mornings find their way in most powerlifting and weightlifting program since the competitive lifts require a lifter to be in a bent over position (deadlifts, squats, and Olympic lifts) under load. The good morning is a great exercise to help strengthen and develop the lower back and gluteal (butt) region. Editor’s Note: BarBend reader and trainer Megan Flanagan had the following to say after reading the above article: “Good mornings are a great hip hinge alternative to deadlifts and hamstring curls. The purpose of this exercise is to not only increase hamstring and glute strength and muscle hypertrophy, but also help the lifter establish better movement patterning in their competitive and training lifts. If you're warming up with good mornings, start with just your body weight and do one set of 12 to 15 reps. To incorporate good mornings into a leg-day routine, try for 3 sets of 8 to 10 reps with either your body weight or a barbell. I would caution those with low back pain to be careful when performing good mornings and build up to them using exercises like dead bugs, glute bridges and bird dogs to stabilize the spine; then progress to using a pull up band to perform it.”. Moreover, we do not select every advertiser or advertisement that appears on the web site-many of the While good morning primarily strengthens your glutes and hamstrings, they also strengthen all the other muscles in the posterior chain (the muscles along the backside of the body), such as the upper back, lats, and calves. Your head should stay in a neutral position. In the traditional good morning, the bar is held on your back in the back squat position, but you can also use the Zercher hold and do a seated good morning. This movement pattern is very specific to movements like squats, deadlifts, and most athletic movements. In some cases, lifters (more advanced strength athletes) may perform good mornings with heavy loads and very low repetitions to maximize back strength, however this is not generally recommended for most lifters and athletes. Make sure the bar isn't actually on your neck or The material appearing on LIVESTRONG.COM is for educational use only. Good mornings are one of the most effective posterior chain exercises when performed correctly as the amount of activation and tension throughout the glutes and hamstrings is unusually high. in a position where it can roll forward onto your neck. Set your feet shoulder-width apart with your toes pointing forward. To perform this exercise do the following steps: Step 1: Position a barbell across upper back with an overhand grip.Step 2: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and a slight bend in the knees. When you do the good morning exercise, you engage the muscles of your posterior chain, which run along the backside of your body and include your hamstrings, glutes, and erector spinae. The LIVESTRONG Foundation and LIVESTRONG.COM do not endorse When performing squats and deadlifts (as well as other strength and power movements), resistance to spinal flexion (specifically lumbar) is key to injury resilience and bar patterning/load distributions. This restorative pose is great for gently stretching out your hips, pelvis, thighs, and spine, all of which can be a bit tight in the morning. The hamstrings are responsible for flexion and rotation of the knee as well as extension of the hips. With a slight bend in your knees to engage your hamstrings, bend forward until you feel like you're just about to arch your back. Your hamstrings are the primary target with this move, but other muscle groups get a good workout, too. 2. However, if you have chronic lower-back pain and good mornings feel like they're exacerbating that, switch to an alternative for strengthening your hamstrings like a stiff-leg deadlift and start with minimal or no weight. Depending upon your goals, the good morning can be implemented in different set and rep schemes. So unlike planks and ab rollouts, you’re working the muscles along the rear of your body. Movements like back squats (low and high bar), deadlifts, and weightlifting movements all require a lifter to establish spinal stability and resistance against lumbar flexion. diagnosis or treatment. That includes the hamstrings, lower back, and the glutes — the muscles you often neglect. You also hammer your core. Privacy Policy 12 WEEK PLAN FREE DOWNLOAD: http://goo.gl/fC8cAj BUFF DUDES T-SHIRT! The good-morning is a weight training exercise. 2020 The erector spinae muscles of the lower back work isometrically to keep the spine in an extended position while the hamstrings and gluteus maximus work isotonically to perform hip extension. As discussed above, the good morning can be used to increase hamstring and glute hypertrophy and control. The glute bridge effectively works your entire posterior chain, which isn’t only good for … This exercise has an average weight of 47 lb, a best weight of 93 lb, and has been logged 14 times in the last year. Step 1 Place a barbell in the crooks of your elbows. would need to round your back or bend your knees to go deeper, then that's a Good mornings are among the most fundamental lower back, hamstring, and glute accessory exercises done by powerlifters, Olympic weightlifters, Strongman, and fitness athletes. Elizabeth Millard is a freelance journalist specializing in health and fitness, as well as an ACE certified personal trainer and Yoga Alliance registered yoga teacher. Why You Should Be Doing the Good Morning Exercise Simply put, good mornings are the ultimate move for injury prevention. These lower body muscles specifically include the hamstrings and glutes. Katie McKinney, ACE CPT and GFI, FMS Level 1, PARTNER & LICENSEE OF THE LIVESTRONG FOUNDATION. Your gluteus maximus and adductor magnus work as synergists while the erector spinae is the stabilizer. your hips back rather than simply leaning forward. The gluteal muscles contract to bring the hips forward and return the body to a standing position. Pretend you're holding a tomato under your chin to keep your head in the right spot, Leventhal says. Err, doing the good morning exercise, that is. World records, results, training, nutrition, breaking news, and more. , Learn how to do the good morning exercise with proper form. 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