Is the bodyweight good morning a stretch or a strength exercise?

It is a light strength exercise that also stretches the hamstrings through their range. It works well as a warm-up or for higher-rep sets, but trained lifters need added load for it to build real strength.

How many reps should I do?

For learning the pattern or warming up, 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 slow, controlled reps work well. Once 20 clean reps feel easy, slow the tempo, change the arm position or add load.

What is the difference between a good morning and a Romanian deadlift?

Both are hip hinges with a slight knee bend. In a loaded good morning the weight sits across the upper back, while in a Barbell Romanian Deadlift it hangs from the arms in front of the legs. Without any weight, as here, the two movements look almost the same, which is why this version is such a good way to learn both.

How do I make bodyweight good mornings harder?

Move your hands behind your head or reach your arms overhead, slow the lowering phase, or pause at the bottom, then add load with the Kettlebell Good Morning or Barbell Good Morning. In a study of trained men doing barbell good mornings at 50 to 90% of their one-rep max, activity in the hamstrings and the muscles along the spine tended to rise with the load, and the knees bent a little more as the bar got heavier.

Why do I feel it more in my lower back than in my hamstrings?

Usually the movement is coming from the spine instead of the hips. Push your hips farther back, keep a soft bend in your knees and only go as low as you can with a flat back; a clear stretch in the backs of the thighs means you are hinging correctly.

Bodyweight Good Morning

What Is the Bodyweight Good Morning?

Bodyweight Good Morning is a compound exercise that primarily targets the hamstrings and also engages the glutes and the erector spinae muscles that run along the lower back. It is a beginner-level movement that teaches the hip hinge, the pattern of bending forward from the hips while the spine stays still, using nothing but body weight.

The main job of this exercise is to groove the hinge before it carries load. The same pattern sits under the deadlift, the Romanian deadlift, the kettlebell swing and the loaded good morning, so a few sets of bodyweight good mornings make a useful warm-up before a lower-body or posterior-chain session. It also works as a dynamic hamstring stretch and as a high-rep option for home workouts. Without external load the demand stays light, so trained lifters use it for practice and preparation rather than as a main strength builder.

As the hips travel back, the hamstrings lengthen under the weight of the upper body, then work with the gluteus maximus to pull the torso back to standing. The erector spinae hold the spine flat throughout rather than bending it, and the abs brace to keep the ribs and pelvis stacked. Resting the hands on the hips, as shown here, keeps the weight of the arms close to the hip joint, which makes this the easiest arm position. Lacing the hands behind the head or reaching the arms overhead moves that weight farther from the hips and asks more of the back and hamstrings, and the Kettlebell Good Morning and Barbell Good Morning add external load.

It suits beginners, people returning to training and anyone who needs to learn to bend and lift from the floor without rounding the lower back. Hands on the hips also give useful feedback: you can feel the hips move back as the torso tips forward. Paying attention to the stretch in the backs of the thighs genuinely helps here, because that stretch is the sign the movement is coming from the hips and not the spine. If you cannot hinge without the back rounding, build hip strength with the Glute Bridge and practice the pattern with support on the TRX Hip Hinge first.

Muscles Worked

MuscleActivation

Biceps Femoris: Primary
Semimembranosus: Primary
Semitendinosus: Primary
Erector Spinae: High
Gluteus Maximus: High
Adductor Magnus: Medium
External Oblique: Low
Rectus Abdominis: Low
Gastrocnemius (Lateral Head): Minimal
Gastrocnemius (Medial Head): Minimal

Instructions

Stand tall with your feet about hip-width apart and your toes pointing forward.
Place your hands on your hips, just above the hip bones, with your elbows pointing back and out.
Brace your abs lightly, soften your knees and keep your chest open and your shoulders down.
Push your hips straight back and let your torso tip forward, keeping your back flat and your head in line with your spine.
Let your knees bend slightly as your hips move behind your heels, but keep your shins close to vertical and your weight over the middle of your feet.
Lower until you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings, with your torso tipped well forward but still above parallel to the floor. Stop before your lower back starts to round.
Drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to return to standing, finishing tall without leaning back.
Breathe in as you lower and out as you stand, then repeat for the planned reps.

Common Mistakes

Rounding the lower back
Letting the spine curl forward to reach lower shifts the work from the hips to the lower back and is the main source of back strain.
Bending at the waist
Dropping the chest without pushing the hips back turns the hinge into a spinal bend and takes the tension off the hamstrings.
Turning it into a squat
Letting the knees bend deeply and the hips sink down instead of back makes the movement a squat and shrinks the hamstring stretch.
Locking the knees
Fully straight, locked knees make the hinge harder to control and pull harder on the backs of the knees and hamstrings.
Forcing too much depth
Pushing the torso lower than your hamstrings allow makes the spine round to supply the missing range.
Leaning back at the top
Thrusting the hips forward and arching past upright compresses the lower back instead of finishing the rep with the glutes.

Injuries

Bodyweight Good Morning is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. With no external load, the stress on the lower back and hamstrings stays small, and most problems come from rounding the lower back at the bottom or forcing more range than the hamstrings currently allow.

The lower back is the main strain point: when the hamstrings run out of length, the spine tends to bend to make up the difference, and repeated rounding under even light load can irritate it. The hamstrings can be strained at the stretched bottom position if you bounce out of it or move fast before warming up. Keep the depth to the point where your back stays flat, lower under control, hold a soft bend in the knees and finish tall without leaning back.

To make it easier, shorten the range, or stand a short step in front of a wall and push your hips back to touch it, which teaches the hips to travel back rather than the chest to drop. The Glute Bridge and TRX Hip Hinge are good stepping stones. To progress, move the hands behind the head, slow the lowering phase or add a pause at the bottom, then move on to the Bodyweight Single-Leg Deadlift, the Kettlebell Good Morning or the Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift.

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

Overview

Primary Focus: Hamstrings
Equipment: Body weight
Modality: Strength
Difficulty: Beginner

Alternative Exercises

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is the bodyweight good morning a stretch or a strength exercise?: It is a light strength exercise that also stretches the hamstrings through their range. It works well as a warm-up or for higher-rep sets, but trained lifters need added load for it to build real strength.
Q: How many reps should I do?: For learning the pattern or warming up, 2 to 3 sets of 10 to 15 slow, controlled reps work well. Once 20 clean reps feel easy, slow the tempo, change the arm position or add load.
Q: What is the difference between a good morning and a Romanian deadlift?: Both are hip hinges with a slight knee bend. In a loaded good morning the weight sits across the upper back, while in a Barbell Romanian Deadlift it hangs from the arms in front of the legs. Without any weight, as here, the two movements look almost the same, which is why this version is such a good way to learn both.
Q: How do I make bodyweight good mornings harder?: Move your hands behind your head or reach your arms overhead, slow the lowering phase, or pause at the bottom, then add load with the Kettlebell Good Morning or Barbell Good Morning. In a study of trained men doing barbell good mornings at 50 to 90% of their one-rep max, activity in the hamstrings and the muscles along the spine tended to rise with the load, and the knees bent a little more as the bar got heavier.
Q: Why do I feel it more in my lower back than in my hamstrings?: Usually the movement is coming from the spine instead of the hips. Push your hips farther back, keep a soft bend in your knees and only go as low as you can with a flat back; a clear stretch in the backs of the thighs means you are hinging correctly.