How is a single-leg good morning different from a single-leg deadlift?

Both are hip hinges on one leg, but the good morning carries the bar on the upper back, far from the hip, while the Barbell Single-Leg Deadlift holds it in the hands below the shoulders. That puts more work on the lower back in the good morning, keeps the load lighter and leaves the grip out of it.

How heavy should the bar be?

Light enough that your back stays flat, your hips stay square and you finish every rep without wobbling; for many lifters that is an empty bar or a little more. Heavier loads tend to turn the hinge into a squat: in a study of trained men doing two-leg barbell good mornings at 50 to 90% of their one-rep max, the knees bent more as the load rose and the estimated stretch on the hamstrings went down.

Should my back foot touch the floor between reps?

Resting the back toes lightly on the floor at the top, as in the starting position, is a good way to reset your balance between reps. Keeping the foot off the floor for the whole set is harder, but never push off the back foot to help yourself up.

How many reps should I do?

Sets of 5 to 8 reps on each leg are the most common, and higher sets of up to 15 to 20 reps suit lighter, rehab-focused work. Finish all the reps on one leg before switching, and add a slow lowering phase or a pause at the bottom before adding weight.

What should I do if I lose my balance?

Put your back foot down, stand up with the bar still on your back and reset before the next rep. If it happens often, lighten the bar or go back to a version with the back toes on the floor until your balance catches up.

Barbell Single-Leg Good Morning

What Is the Barbell Single-Leg Good Morning?

Barbell Single-Leg Good Morning is a compound exercise that primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes and also engages the lower back, the hip stabilizers and the core. It is an advanced-level movement in which you balance on one leg with a barbell across your upper back and hinge forward at the hip, letting the free leg rise behind you as a counterweight.

The exercise combines the posterior chain loading of the Barbell Good Morning with the balance demand of the Barbell Single-Leg Deadlift. Because each leg works on its own, it trains the standing hip to keep the pelvis level and stop it from twisting while the trunk tips forward, and it shows up strength and control differences between the two sides. Coaches use it mainly to build hip stability and single-leg hinge control rather than as a heavy strength lift: the load you can manage is far below what you would use on a two-leg good morning, and usually below a single-leg Romanian deadlift as well.

As the torso tips forward, the hamstrings of the standing leg lengthen under load, then work with the gluteus maximus to bring the trunk back to upright. The bar sits on the upper back, far from the hip, so the spinal erectors have to hold the spine flat against a long lever, while the gluteus medius, the adductors and the obliques keep the pelvis square and the muscles of the foot and ankle keep you balanced. Compared with a single-leg deadlift, the bar on the back takes the arms and grip out of the movement, but it also means you cannot simply set the weight down if you lose balance. Keeping the back leg in line with the trunk is what makes it work as a counterweight.

It suits trained lifters who already hinge well on two legs and can balance on one leg with a flat back. It usually sits after the main lifts of a lower-body session as an accessory, done with a light bar and controlled reps on each side. If it is too hard, build up with the Bodyweight Single-Leg Deadlift, the Dumbbell B-Stance Romanian Deadlift and the two-leg Barbell Good Morning first. Focusing on the stretch in the back of the standing thigh, and on keeping both hip bones pointing at the floor, helps keep the work in the hip rather than the lower back.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Biceps Femoris: Primary
Gluteus Maximus: Primary
Semimembranosus: Primary
Semitendinosus: Primary
Erector Spinae: High
Gluteus Medius: High
Adductor Magnus: Medium
External Oblique: Low
Peroneus Longus: Low
Soleus: Minimal

Instructions

Set a barbell across your upper back, resting on the muscles just below your neck, and hold it with an overhand grip a little wider than your shoulders.
Stand tall, shift your weight onto one leg and place the other foot a short step behind you, resting lightly on its toes.
Keep a slight bend in the standing knee, brace your core and keep your head in line with your spine.
Push your hips back and let your torso tip forward while the back leg lifts off the floor and rises behind you, straight and in line with your trunk.
Keep your hips square to the floor and the toes of the back foot pointing down, with your weight over the middle of the standing foot.
Lower under control until you feel a strong stretch in the back of your standing thigh. Stop before your lower back rounds or your hips start to twist open.
Drive your hips forward and squeeze the glute of the standing leg to return to upright, bringing the back foot down to rest lightly behind you.
Breathe in as you lower and out as you stand. Finish all the reps on one leg, then switch sides.

Common Mistakes

Rounding the lower back
Letting the spine curl forward to reach lower shifts the load from the hamstrings and glutes onto the lower back.
Letting the hips open
Allowing the back hip to rise and the pelvis to twist toward the side takes tension off the standing hip and makes balance much harder.
Squatting the movement
Bending the standing knee more as you lower turns the hinge into a single-leg squat and takes the stretch off the hamstrings.
Letting the back leg hang
Leaving the free leg down or bent instead of raising it in line with the torso removes the counterweight and pitches you forward.
Using too much weight
A bar too heavy to balance under pulls the chest down early and leads to rounding, wobbling and lost reps.
Rushing the descent
Dropping fast into the bottom and bouncing out loads the standing hamstring abruptly and usually costs your balance.

Injuries

Barbell Single-Leg Good Morning is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The bar sits on the upper back while the trunk tips forward, so the lower back has to hold a long lever, and the hamstrings of the standing leg are loaded at long length near the bottom. Balancing on one leg adds a third risk: if you tip over with a bar across your shoulders, you cannot drop it the way you can drop a dumbbell.

The lower back is the most common strain point, from letting the spine round to reach a deeper position or from using a bar too heavy to control. The standing-leg hamstring can be strained by dropping fast into the bottom and bouncing out, and letting the hips twist open puts uneven stress on the hip and lower back. Use a light bar, keep it resting on the upper back rather than the neck, hinge only as deep as your back stays flat and your hips stay square, and lower under control. If you start to lose balance, put the back foot down and stand up with the bar still on your back.

To make it easier, practice the pattern with the Bodyweight Single-Leg Deadlift, keep the back toes on the floor as in the Dumbbell B-Stance Romanian Deadlift, or hold the weight in your hands with the Dumbbell Single-Leg Deadlift, where a lost rep is easy to set down. The two-leg Barbell Good Morning builds the back and hamstring strength for the loaded position. To progress, slow the lowering phase or pause at the bottom before adding weight.

A strong stretch in the back of the standing thigh is normal. Stop if you feel sharp pain in the lower back, pain, numbness or tingling that travels down the leg, a sudden pulling pain high in the hamstring, or neck pain from the bar. With current low back pain or a recent hamstring strain, get clearance from a clinician before training this movement.

Overview

Primary Focus: Hamstrings and glutes
Equipment: Barbell
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Advanced

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How is a single-leg good morning different from a single-leg deadlift?: Both are hip hinges on one leg, but the good morning carries the bar on the upper back, far from the hip, while the Barbell Single-Leg Deadlift holds it in the hands below the shoulders. That puts more work on the lower back in the good morning, keeps the load lighter and leaves the grip out of it.
Q: How heavy should the bar be?: Light enough that your back stays flat, your hips stay square and you finish every rep without wobbling; for many lifters that is an empty bar or a little more. Heavier loads tend to turn the hinge into a squat: in a study of trained men doing two-leg barbell good mornings at 50 to 90% of their one-rep max, the knees bent more as the load rose and the estimated stretch on the hamstrings went down.
Q: Should my back foot touch the floor between reps?: Resting the back toes lightly on the floor at the top, as in the starting position, is a good way to reset your balance between reps. Keeping the foot off the floor for the whole set is harder, but never push off the back foot to help yourself up.
Q: How many reps should I do?: Sets of 5 to 8 reps on each leg are the most common, and higher sets of up to 15 to 20 reps suit lighter, rehab-focused work. Finish all the reps on one leg before switching, and add a slow lowering phase or a pause at the bottom before adding weight.
Q: What should I do if I lose my balance?: Put your back foot down, stand up with the bar still on your back and reset before the next rep. If it happens often, lighten the bar or go back to a version with the back toes on the floor until your balance catches up.