Good Morning

Starting position

1. Set the bar in a rack at about mid-chest height.
2. Step under it and rest the bar on your upper traps, as for a squat — not on your neck.
3. Grip the bar slightly wider than your shoulders, squeeze your shoulder blades and unrack it.
4. Take a step back, set your feet hip-width apart, bend your knees slightly and keep that angle.

Execution

1. Inhale, brace your abs and push your hips back as your torso tips forward. Keep your back flat and your eyes on the floor a metre or two ahead.
2. Go down until you feel a strong stretch in your hamstrings — usually to just above parallel with the floor.
3. Exhale, drive your hips forward and return to upright using your glutes and hamstrings.
4. Don't lean back at the top — just stand tall.

Common mistakes

• Rounding the back at the bottom — the load moves from the muscles to the spinal discs.
• Going too deep — with limited flexibility the lower back has to round.
• Bending without pushing the hips back — it becomes a spinal flexion, not a hip hinge.
• Bar on the neck — pressure on the cervical spine and an unstable bar.

Beginner tips

• Learn the movement with a broomstick or the empty bar (20 kg); this is an accessory lift, so don't chase weight.
• Lower slowly over 2–3 seconds and come up without jerking.
• Let your flexibility set the depth: stop where your back is still flat.

Alternatives

• Barbell Romanian Deadlift — same hinge, but the weight is in your hands and easier to control
• Hyperextension — works the back extensors and glutes without weight on the shoulders
• Back Extension (Reverse Hyper) — no weight, to learn the technique at home