Essomio™

← All exercise guides

legs

Good Morning

With a barbell on your upper back, you bow forward from the hips with a flat back and stand up again. For the back of the thighs, buttocks and lower back.

intermediatebarbellsquat rackplates

Good Morning, start position
START
Good Morning, end position
END
BEFORE YOU START2
  1. Set the rack hooks at shoulder height.
  2. Start with an empty bar.
HOW TO DO IT

Get into position

  1. Unrack the bar onto your upper back as for a squat and step back.
  2. Stand with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  3. Tighten your stomach.

Check: The bar is steady on your upper back, your knees are slightly bent, and you are standing tall.

Bow forward

  1. Push your hips back and bow forward from the hips, keeping your back flat.
  2. Stop when your trunk is about level with the floor or you feel a stretch behind your thighs.

Check: Your back is flat and leaning well forward, your knees are still slightly bent, and the bar has not rolled.

Stand up

  1. Drive your hips forward to stand tall again.
  2. Squeeze your buttocks at the top.

Check: You are standing tall again with the bar steady.

That is one rep. Repeat for your set, then walk forward and rack the bar.

Breathe in and brace before you lower; lower for 2 to 3 seconds; breathe out as you stand up.

MUSCLES WORKED
Good Morning: muscles worked, front view
Good Morning: muscles worked, back view

hamstringsglutescore

Red marks the muscles doing the work; amber the assisting ones. Same body for every exercise, so guides compare at a glance.

COMMON MISTAKES3
  • Rounding the back to get lower. Loads the spine. Fix: Stop where your back starts to round; flexibility improves over time.
  • Bending the knees a lot, turning it into a regular deadlift. Fix: Keep a slight, fixed bend in the knees.
  • Going heavy too soon. Fix: Keep the bar light; the lower back is in a long lever position.
SAFETY2
  • Keep the weight light and the back flat; this is a technique and stretch exercise.
  • Set the safety bars in the rack at chest height.
EQUIPMENT SETTINGS
  • barbell Light; an empty bar to start.
  • plates Same weight on both sides, clipped on.
RELATED EXERCISES

easier: barbell stiff leg deadlift

variants: barbell stiff leg deadlift

© 2026 Essomio LLC. The illustrations, muscle charts and guide text on this page are works of Essomio LLC, all rights reserved. They are for your personal use and may not be copied, redistributed or used to train models without written permission — see Licensing.