Stiff Leg Barbell Good Morning
The stiff leg barbell good morning is a hip-hinge exercise where you bend forward from the hips with a barbell racked across your shoulders, keeping your knees nearly straight the entire time. It builds raw strength in your hamstrings and lower back through the same bending-forward motion you use picking something up off a low table, just loaded and made precise.
Why it works
Locking your knees shifts almost all the work onto your hips and spine, since your quads can't help bend the knee to share the load the way they would in a squat. Your hamstrings and glutes have to control the forward lean and pull you back upright, while your lower back muscles work to keep your spine from rounding under the bar, which is exactly the posterior chain strength this exercise is built to train. That same strength is what keeps your spine from folding forward when a squat or deadlift gets heavy, which is why lifters treat this as a direct accessory to both.
Set up
- Set a barbell on a rack at about shoulder height and position it across your upper back, not your neck, the same way you'd set up for a squat.
- Step back from the rack with feet about hip-width apart and knees only slightly bent.
- Pull your shoulder blades together to keep the bar stable on your back.
- Start with an empty bar or very light weight until the hinge pattern feels natural.
How to do it
- Keep your knees locked at a slight, fixed bend as you begin.
- Push your hips straight back while your torso tips forward, keeping your spine in a neutral, flat line.
- Lower until your torso is roughly parallel to the floor, or as far as your hamstring flexibility allows without rounding your back.
- Reverse the motion by driving your hips forward to return to standing.
- Finish each rep fully upright before starting the next one.
Form cues
- Push your hips back first, rather than bending forward from your waist.
- Keep your shins close to vertical throughout the movement.
- Keep your chest up and your gaze roughly level, not down at the floor.
- Stop lowering the moment your lower back starts to round.
Breathing: Take a deep breath and brace your core before you hinge forward, then exhale as you drive your hips forward to stand back up.
Common mistakes
Rounding the lower back to reach further down.
Fix: Stop the descent the instant you feel your back start to round, even if that means a shorter range of motion.
Bending the knees more as the set gets harder.
Fix: Keep a fixed, slight knee bend throughout every rep so your hamstrings and lower back carry the load instead of your quads taking over.
Loading too much weight before the hinge pattern is automatic.
Fix: Master the movement with an empty bar or light dumbbells first, since this exercise punishes poor positioning more than most.
Letting the hips shoot up faster than the chest when standing back up.
Fix: Drive your hips and shoulders up together so your back angle stays consistent through the whole rep.
How to program it
- This is a loaded barbell hip hinge, so once a day a week is the right default unless it's your only posterior-chain work that week.
- 3 sets of 6 to 10 reps with a conservative weight builds hamstring and lower-back strength without the fatigue of a near-maximal lift.
- Place it after your main squat or deadlift work, since it's an accessory movement rather than something to build a session around.
- Progress the range of motion before you progress the weight; a deeper hinge with light weight trains the pattern better than a heavy, shallow one.
Safety notes
- Keep the weight conservative until your hamstring flexibility and spinal control are both solid, since this exercise has little room for error with a rounded back.
- Stop the set if you feel any sharp pull in your hamstrings rather than the normal stretch and fatigue.
- Skip or lighten this exercise on days your lower back already feels irritated from other training.
Exercise profile
- Force
- Push
- Mechanics
- Compound
- Category
- Strength
Frequently asked questions
How many sets and reps of good mornings should I do?
3 sets of 6 to 10 reps with a conservative weight, once a week, is enough to build real hamstring and lower-back strength without excess fatigue.
What's the difference between a good morning and a stiff-legged deadlift?
Both train the same locked-knee hip hinge, but the good morning starts with the bar racked on your back while the stiff-legged deadlift pulls the bar from the floor.
Why do I feel this more in my lower back than my hamstrings?
You may be bending too much from the waist instead of pushing your hips back. Focus on sending your hips backward first so your hamstrings take on more of the stretch.
Can I do this without a barbell?
A resistance band anchored under your feet lets you practice the same hinge pattern with lighter, more forgiving resistance.
How low should I go on a good morning?
Only as far as you can keep your lower back flat. For most people that's somewhere between a 45 degree and parallel-to-the-floor torso angle, depending on hamstring flexibility.
Will this exercise help my squat and deadlift?
Yes, a stronger posterior chain and better control of your spine under a forward lean both carry over directly to keeping your back flat when your squat or deadlift gets heavy.