Why The Good Morning?
The Good Morning is a criminally underused exercise that is often misunderstood by many gym goers as an exercise that only powerlifters and big bulky cavemen do.
This couldn’t be further from the truth as the good morning is a great exercise for anyone to strengthen the entire backside of their body. This is not only important for your casual gym bro, who normally only trains the frontside of the body or the “mirror muscles” (think chest, abs, quads, biceps), but is also imperative for anyone that sits most of the day, regardless of training history, age, or sex.
When you sit all day, you inevitably begin slouching and the muscles of the posterior chain (backside of the body) are in a relaxed state all. day. long.
To add to this, the hip flexors are in a shortened state which causes tightness in the limited time you are standing and prevents full activation of the already weakened posterior chain. This eventually leads to lower back pain, terrible posture, knee pain, and the overall degradation of proper movement mechanics and athleticism.
For this reason, it is essential for these muscles to be trained by everyone, including the non-gym bro general population, and the good morning is a great exercise to do just that. Let’s take a look at some of the more popular variations.
Good Morning Variations:
Now that we have made a valid argument for the importance of training the good morning, we’ll look at some of the variations, how they differ, and how these difference can be used to target certain muscle groups and weaknesses.
Barbell Good Morning –
This is the most common form of the exercise performed and are a great starting point for anyone that does not have a specific weakness to attack.
It is done by simply placing the barbell on your upper back around where you’d hold a low bar squat. I prefer this lower bar placement so it keeps the weight off the neck/spine.
Once you have the bar held firmly in place, clamp the abs down to prevent the spine from flexing and hinge at the hip joint pushing your glutes back while making sure to keep the spine neutral (straight) and knees unlocked. Do not bend the knees excessively.
To finish the movement, contract the calves, hamstrings, glutes, lower back, and hips to reverse the movement. This variation will target the entire posterior chain but is more focused on the upper glutes and lower back.
Seated Good Morning –
The seated good morning is performed the same as the standard barbell good morning but, as the name suggests, is performed in the seated position. This variation is for anyone who has knee problems since the stress on the lower body is greatly diminished. It is also beneficial to anyone specifically wanting to strengthen a weak lower back and improve hip flexibility since the assistance from the calves, knee joint, hamstrings, and lower glutes are diminished in this position.
Banded Good Morning –
The banded good morning can be performed in one of two ways, either in the same manner as the standard barbell good morning with the addition of bands to the bar or, by simply using only a band while standing on one end with the other wrapped around the neck.
Both versions are great for anyone trying to target the glutes to a greater degree since the band will provide more resistance where your glutes will be pushing through at the top and lock out of the movement. You can utilize the barbell method for heavier weight/lower rep work and the band only version for high rep rehab or prehab work.
Powerlifting Good Morning –
While the standard good morning is performed with relatively light weight and primarily targets the upper glutes and lower back by keeping the knees relatively unbent and the hip joint high, the powerlifting good morning is the opposite.
To perform the movement, you’ll begin by pushing the knees forward and out while the hips are being pushed back and down and allowing the chest and hips to reach the level they would be at in the starting position of a conventional deadlift. From here, you will contract the entire posterior chain and return to the top of the movement. Think of it as a conventional deadlift in reverse with the bar on your back instead of on the ground.
These are great for anyone trying to develop the entire posterior chain and/or bring their deadlift numbers up (it’s a great accessory movement for the conventional deadlift). These can also be loaded much heaver than traditional deadlifts since the weight is being distributed through out the entire posterior chain instead of predominately the lower back and glutes.
Conclusion:
The good morning is a great exercise to build the entire posterior chain of the body which is one of the weakest and most undertrained portions of the human body today due to corporate office/cubicle culture.
Start by adding in some of the variations above that specifically target your weaknesses and watch your posture improve, back and/or knee pain disappear, and squat/deadlift numbers go through the roof.
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