Top 6 Benefits of Good Morning Exercise

In the fitness world, “good morning” refers to a popular strength-training exercise that targets the lower back, hamstrings, and glutes. Similar to a Romanian deadlift, a proper good morning requires shoulder and hip mobility. Good mornings are typically performed with a weighted barbell. But beginners should start with their bodyweight or light dumbbells. 

Read on to learn more about the benefits of the good morning exercise, plus how to achieve good form and challenge yourself with variations. 

Good morning exercise benefits

Strength training has many potential benefits, like improving mental health and overall longevity (how long you live). In addition, good mornings have plenty of lower-body advantages, which are discussed below.

1. Strengthens your lower-body muscles

Resistance-training exercises can increase lean muscle mass and strength. Good mornings engage some of your largest lower-body muscles, such as your:

• Gluteus maximus (in your buttocks)

• Erector spinae (along your spine)

• Hamstrings (back of your thigh) 

These muscles get stronger by doing reps and adding more weight over time. Lower-body strength is an important part of healthy aging, both for your body and mind. So, good mornings are well worth the effort. 

2. Enhances flexibility

Flexibility is the ability of a joint to move through its range of motion with ease. It’s important for everyday activities and preventing injury. 

Good mornings can help improve your flexibility. That’s because they make your muscles both shorten (concentric) and lengthen (eccentric). 

3. Boosts functional strength and fitness

The good morning is a compound exercise, meaning it works multiple muscle groups at once. So, they’re good to add to any functional strength training workout. Functional strength training helps you strengthen muscles you need for everyday activities or sports.

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4. Activates the posterior chain

Your posterior chain plays a large role in your day-to-day mobility. Good mornings target these backside muscles. And that can help strengthen your posterior chain. 

If you struggle with low back pain, these exercises may help. One study showed that they’re better for people with back pain than general exercise and walking. The participants had less pain and developed more strength.

5. Improves core stability and posture

The good morning challenges the core too. Good mornings require stability. When you’re balancing a weighted barbell on your back, your core must pitch in to help. This movement strengthens your hamstrings and back muscles. And that can help improve your posture. 

6. Helps prevent injuries

Resistance-training exercises — like good mornings — can help reduce your chances of injury. They do this by building strong muscles and mobile joints. 

Strength training can also increase bone density. And it helps to correct muscle imbalances, which may make injury more likely. With so many benefits, good mornings can help lower your chances of getting hurt. 

How to do good mornings

The good morning is a straightforward exercise. People of all fitness levels and most mobility levels can perform. The exercise involves holding a weight across your shoulders. Then you dip your upper body forward into a bow. Finally, you return to a standing position. 

Follow these step-by-step instructions to perform a good morning: 

1. Start in a standing position with your feet hip or shoulder-width apart. Keep your toes pointed straight ahead and your knees slightly bent. 

2. If using a weighted barbell, rack it across your upper back. Hold the bar with an overhand grip, slightly wider than your shoulders. Keep your shoulder blades back and down. 

3. Like you would in a deadlift, engage your core and hinge at your hips while sending your glutes to the back of the room. This is the “forward bow” movement. Note: If you find yourself losing your good posture before your chest reaches the parallel position, stop and return to the starting position from there. 

4. Once your chest is parallel to the floor (or just about), send your hips forward again and return to the starting position.

5. That’s one repetition. Repeat the movement as desired.

If you’ve never done a good morning exercise before, it’s important to start with just your body weight. Or you can use a lightweight item like a broom or PVC pipe. This will help you learn to perform the movement with correct form. Then, when you add weight, you won’t get injured. 

The movement is relatively simple. But there are a few potential mistakes to watch out for:

• Don’t lock your knees during the movement, and don’t overbend them either. You want to maintain an athletic stance throughout the movement. 

• Make sure to keep your head in line with your back the whole time. Your head and neck should always stay in a straight line with your spine during good mornings. 

• Start with a light weight and increase slowly. Lifting too heavy of a weight means you run the risk of dropping it or having it roll off your back, both of which can cause serious injury. 

• Avoid slouching or rounding your shoulders forward during good mornings. You want your shoulder blades rolled back and down.

• Resist the urge to look in the mirror while doing good mornings. This will cause you to move your head and neck out of position. They should follow the same tilting pattern as your spine. 

Good morning exercise variations

Once you’ve tried out the traditional good morning exercise, you can experiment with different variations. Two of these are described below.

Seated good mornings

This variation is ideal for people who want to focus on their lower-back strength and flexibility. To perform a seated good morning:

• Sit on a gym bench or platform.

• Follow the same steps as a traditional good morning exercise. 

Front-loaded good mornings

The standard good morning exercise is also known as a back-loaded good morning. That’s because the weight is positioned across the shoulders and upper back. 

A front-loaded good morning is a more difficult variation, because the weight is in front of you. This variation is done with a plate, dumbbell, or kettlebell — not a barbell. And it primarily targets the core. 

To do a front-loaded good morning:

• First, secure a stable, balanced grip on your weight of choice. For example, you can hug a plate to your chest. Or you can hold the ends of a dumbbell with both hands. 

• Then go through the standard good morning steps. 

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Written by:

Ray Bass, NASM-CPT

Ray Bass is an author, editor, and National Academy of Sports Medicine-certified personal trainer. She holds an honors degree in creative writing from the University of Pennsylvania, and she is pursuing her MFA at The New School.

Edited by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

Reviewed by:

Christine Giordano, MD

Christine Giordano, MD, is board-certified in general internal medicine. She received her medical degree from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and completed residency at Thomas Jefferson University.

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