Good Morning
Barbell good mornings. Strong work for the spinal erectors and hamstrings. It works mainly the hamstrings, glutes and lower back, with help from the adductors.
In Flawless, a man aged 23–39 reaches Gold, the third of eight ranks, at 1.2× bodyweight (95 kg at 80 kg). For a woman it is 0.85× (50 kg at 60 kg).
How to do Good Morning
- Set the bar on your upper back as for a squat, brace your core and step back with the feet slightly wider than hip width.
- Push the hips back and hinge forward with a flat back, knees only slightly bent, until the torso is near parallel to the floor.
- Go only as far as the hamstrings allow without rounding; the bar must stay seated on the back, not roll towards the neck.
- Drive the hips forward to stand up and squeeze the glutes at the top. Start light; the lever arm makes this heavy fast.
These are the same steps you see in the exercise guide in the Flawless app.
Muscles worked
| Role | Muscle | Anatomical name |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Hamstrings | Biceps femoris |
| Primary | Glutes | Gluteus maximus |
| Primary | Lower back | Erector spinae |
| Secondary | Adductors | Adductores |
Muscle data from StrengthLog.
Why do it
- The hip hinge under load, learned properly
- Hamstrings and lower back working together
- Better squat and deadlift positions
Strength standards for Good Morning
| Rank | Men | Women | Man, 80 kg | Woman, 60 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | start | start | – | – |
| Silver | 0.8× | 0.55× | 65 kg | 32.5 kg |
| Gold | 1.2× | 0.85× | 95 kg | 50 kg |
| Platinum | 1.6× | 1.1× | 127.5 kg | 65 kg |
| Diamond | 2× | 1.4× | 160 kg | 85 kg |
| Obsidian | 2.5× | 1.75× | 200 kg | 105 kg |
| Painite | 3× | 2.1× | 240 kg | 125 kg |
| Antimatter | 4× | 2.8× | 320 kg | 167.5 kg |
Ratios are one-rep max ÷ bodyweight for ages 23–39; kilograms are rounded to 2.5 kg.
Flawless takes your best set of Good Morning, estimates your one-rep max with the Brzycki formula (reps are capped at 12) and divides it by the bodyweight in your profile, so you never have to test a true max. Women’s limits are 30 % lower than men’s. For other ages the app lowers every limit: by 8 % under 23 and from 40 to 49, by 18 % in your 50s, 28 % in your 60s and 38 % from 70.
Similar exercises
Questions
What muscles does Good Morning work?
It works mainly the hamstrings, glutes and lower back, with help from the adductors.
How do you do Good Morning?
Set the bar on your upper back as for a squat, brace your core and step back with the feet slightly wider than hip width. Push the hips back and hinge forward with a flat back, knees only slightly bent, until the torso is near parallel to the floor. Go only as far as the hamstrings allow without rounding; the bar must stay seated on the back, not roll towards the neck. Drive the hips forward to stand up and squeeze the glutes at the top. Start light; the lever arm makes this heavy fast.
What is a good Good Morning for my bodyweight?
In Flawless, Gold starts at 1.2× bodyweight for men aged 23–39 and 0.85× for women, Diamond at 2× and 1.4×. For an 80 kg man that is a 95 kg and a 160 kg one-rep max.
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