Any exercise referred to as the “good morning” is a valuable addition to your fitness routine. So, what exactly is the good morning exercise? This strength-training move, involving a forward hinge while carrying a weight on your back, provides many of the benefits of a deadlift. It targets every muscle along the backside of your body (known as your posterior chain), enhances posture, increases flexibility, and may even help prevent injuries. In the following sections, experts will showcase how to perform the good morning exercise, discuss its advantages, identify common mistakes to avoid, and more.
**How to Perform the Good Morning Exercise:**
Performing the good morning exercise with proper form is crucial for maximizing its benefits. Ingrid Clay, a certified personal trainer with the Centr app, demonstrates the step-by-step process of doing good mornings.
1. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
2. Place a barbell across your upper back (not on your neck) and grip it with your hands slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
3. Keep your chest up, shoulders back, and engage your core with a slight arch in your lower back.
4. Maintain a slight knee bend as you hinge forward at your hips, pushing your butt back.
5. Lower your torso until it’s almost parallel to the floor, maintaining a straight back and engaged core.
6. Squeeze your glutes and push through your hips to return to the starting position.
**Muscles Targeted by Good Mornings:**
According to the International Sports Sciences Association, the good morning exercise works the following muscles:
– Hamstrings
– Erector spinae
– Gluteus maximus
– Core
**Benefits of Adding the Good Morning Exercise to Your Workouts:**
1. Improved Range of Motion: Regularly performing good mornings can enhance flexibility and range of motion in your hamstrings and lower back.
2. Strengthening the Backside: Good mornings target muscles along your posterior chain, strengthening the lower body and core.
3. Injury Prevention: By improving strength and range of motion, this exercise can help reduce the risk of injuries in the back and hips.
4. Posture Improvement: Good mornings promote proper body mechanics, engage the core, and strengthen the posterior chain, leading to better posture and reduced pain.
**Common Good Morning Exercise Variations:**
1. Bodyweight Good Morning
2. Banded Good Morning
3. Seated Good Morning
4. Sumo Good Morning
Avoid common mistakes like rounding your spine during the exercise to maximize the benefits and effectiveness of the good morning workout routine.
