Stiff Leg Barbell Good MorningMuscles Worked
The stiff-leg barbell good morning works your lower back, which holds your spine flat as you tip forward, with your hamstrings and glutes stretching and then pulling you back up. Keeping the knees nearly straight puts a bigger stretch on the hamstrings than a bent-knee good morning.
PrimaryLower Back
- Equipment
- Barbell
- Level
- Beginner
- Type
- Compound
- Force
- Push
How to do it
- Set the bar in a squat rack at upper chest height, step under it and rest it across your upper traps, not on your neck.
- Unrack the bar, step back and stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and a slight bend in your knees.
- Brace your core and push your hips back, letting your torso tip forward with a flat back.
- Lower until your torso nears parallel to the floor or you feel a strong hamstring stretch, whichever comes first.
- Drive your hips forward to bring your torso back to upright, keeping the bar over the middle of your feet.
Form tips
- Keep a soft bend in your knees rather than locking them out hard.
- Start with a light bar, because the long lever makes this lift much harder than it looks.
- Let your hips travel back as your chest goes down, so the movement is a hinge and not a bend at the waist.
Why it made the list
No. 3 of 10
Best Lower Back Exercises
Barbell hip-hinge that loads the erectors directly. Popular in powerlifting for posterior chain strength.
More lower back exercises
See it on your own body map
Log your Stiff Leg Barbell Good Morning sets in KasMaker and watch your lower back, glutes, and hamstrings fill in on the map, weighted by how much you did. Logging and the body map are free on iPhone.
