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7 Lower Back Friendly Good Morning Exercise Alternatives

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The good morning exercise is an old school bodybuilding move that is designed to strengthen the posterior chain. When performed correctly with proper form, the good morning can be an effective exercise for strengthening the lower back, glutes, and hamstrings.

However, improper technique, using too much weight, or having underlying physical conditions can increase the risk of injury.

As a personal trainer I frequently see the good morning exercise being performed with bad form. This can result in lower back and hamstring pain, a herniated disc or lumbar strain. 

Even when I train people how to do it properly, they often slip into bad form when I’m not standing alongside them. As a result, I’ve developed an arsenal of good morning exercise alternatives that do a similar job without risk of injury. 

Personally, I believe that for the vast majority of people, the ‘Good Morning’ is an exercise where the risk-reward ratio just doesn’t make sense. I tend to keep it as a warm up exercise with very light loads, and leave the heavier loads to exercises listed below.

In this article, I’ll lay out my seven favorite good morning exercise alternatives to engage the posterior chain.


What Muscles Are Worked By the Good Morning Exercise?

Good Morning Exercise Alternative Muscles Used

The good morning exercise primarily works the following muscle groups:

  1. Hamstrings: The hamstrings, located in the back of your thighs, are the primary muscle group targeted by the good morning exercise.
  2. Glutes: Your glutes, or butt muscles, are also activated during the good morning exercise.
  3. Lower back: Your lower back muscles, including your erector spinae and lumbar muscles, are used to maintain good posture and stability during the exercise.
  4. Core: Your core muscles, including your abs and obliques, are engaged throughout the exercise to stabilize your spine and keep your back straight.

In addition to these primary muscle groups, the good morning exercise also works your quadriceps and hip flexors, as well as your shoulders, arms, and neck to a lesser extent.


Good Morning Exercise Proper Form 

The good morning exercise can be done without resistance or with a barbell across your traps and shoulders. Here is how to do the bodyweight version of the exercise:

  1. Start standing with your feet hip-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  2. Push your hips backwards, keeping your back straight and your core engaged.
  3. Lower your torso towards the floor, going as far as your flexibility allows. Keep your knees slightly bent and your hands behind your head or reaching towards your feet.
  4. Pause at the bottom of the movement and then slowly push your hips forwards, back up to the starting position.
  5. Repeat for the desired number of reps, maintaining good form throughout the exercise.

Personal Trainer Tips

  • Keep your back straight: The most important aspect of good form in the good morning exercise is to maintain a straight back throughout the movement. This helps to avoid straining your lower back.
  • Engage your core: Your core muscles help to stabilize your spine and keep your back straight. Make sure to keep your abs tight and engaged throughout the exercise.
  • Keep your weight in your heels: As you hinge forward, make sure to keep your weight in your heels, not your toes. This helps to maintain good posture and avoid straining your lower back.
  • Go slowly: Good form is always more important than speed. Move slowly and with control, focusing on proper form and not just completing the reps quickly.
  • Know your limits: If you’re a beginner, start with a lighter weight or just your body weight and focus on proper form before adding resistance. If you feel any pain or discomfort, stop and adjust your form or consult a doctor or physical therapist.
  • Warm up properly: It’s important to warm up before doing any strength training exercise, including the good morning exercise. A warm-up could include light cardio and dynamic stretching.
  • Focus on your breathing: Proper breathing helps to increase oxygen delivery to your muscles, reducing the risk of injury and improving your performance. Exhale as you hinge forward, and inhale as you come back up to the starting position.

Is the Good Morning a Safe Exercise?

The good morning is quite a controversial exercise. Many physical therapists consider it to be terrible exercise that will, sooner or later, lead to lower back problems. Many other people are of the opinion that, like any other exercise, the good morning is safe if done correctly.

The good morning involves loading a barbell on your shoulders and bending over until your torso is close to parallel to the floor. The key movement is a hip hinge. 

It is when you are in the bottom position with the torso parallel that potential lower back issues may arise. In this position you are putting a lot of stress on your lower back – even when you haven’t got extra weight on your back. 

That’s why physical therapists always tell you to lift with your knees and not your back. So, if you wouldn’t bend your back to lift a cardboard box at work, why would you do it with a much heavier weight in the gym?

Let’s consider how much force you would have to produce when doing the good morning with a 100 lb weight on your back. The movement pivots from the hips. Let’s assume that the length of the torso (the operating lever) is three feet from the hips to the bar. 

When the spine is horizontal there will be 300 lbs of torque on the back muscles. That puts a lot of force stress on the vertebral discs. The disc that will take the most pressure is L5S1.

That just happens to be the disc that most commonly herniates. It’s also the area that most people hurt their back in.

If you maintain a neutral spine position with an arch you will lessen the pressure on the vertebrae, but there will still be 300 lbs of torque bearing down on the most vulnerable part of your spine.

Some people are biomechanically disadvantaged when it comes to getting their spine into a neutral position and keeping it there. Others simply allow themselves to slip into poor form as the reps increase.

Either way, in my experience, most people are not doing the good morning with proper back arch (at least not for every rep of every set). 

That’s the technical answer. The shorter one is that whilst it’s safe when performed well by a strong enough person, there are safer, less risky exercises to pick from.


Equipment Needed for These Exercises


7 Good Morning Exercise Alternatives that Replicate the Same Movement Pattern

Good Morning Exercise Alternative Infographic part 1

1. Kettlebell Swing

Equipment needed for the kettlebell swing:

How to do the kettlebell swing:

  1. Place the kettlebell on the floor in front of you.
  2. Put your weight on your heels while you stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
  3. Reach down and take the handle with both hands in an overhand grasp while leaning back into your hips.
  4. Swing the bell between your legs and as you aggressively stand up, snap your hips forwards. Squeeze your butt while extending your spine while you do this.
  5. Raise your arms to your chest.
  6. Lower under control and repeat.

Kettlebell swing muscles worked:

  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Lower back
  • Core

2. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Equipment needed for dumbbell Romanian deadlift:

SMRFT Nüobell 80LB Adjustable Dumbbells

SMRFT Nüobell 80LB Classic
Read our best adjustable dumbbell guide here

These are the dumbbells we recommend for ‘most people’.

We have spent over 50 hours of research and compared over 100 dumbbells. Adjustable dumbbells make sense for most home gyms as they save space.

The Nüobell dumbbells go all the way to 80lbs per hand. This means they are much more versatile than most 50lbs adjustable dumbbells. You can use these for heavy shrugs, squats and bench press etc.

The main reason they are the top pick is because of their shape. They actually feel like real dumbbells and are not awkward to lift like some others.

How to do the dumbbell Romanian deadlift:

  1. Stand with your hip width apart and a pair of dumbbells held at your sides.
  2. Maintaining an upright torso and tight core, hinge at the hips to push the butt back.
  3. As your torso comes down to a parallel position, bring the dumbbells to the front of the body.
  4. Squeeze the glutes as you return to the start position. 

Dumbbell Romanian deadlift muscles worked:

  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Lower back

3. Band Pull Through

Equipment needed for the band pull through:

How to do the band pull through:

  1. Attach a resistance band to a secure upright about a foot from the floor. Stand about three feet in front of the upright facing away from it and grab the band through your legs with a double overhand grip. Maintain an even body weight and have a slight bend in your knees. 
  2. Hinge your hips as you drive your butt back.
  3. Push forward to come up to full hip extension and an upright body posture.
  4. Lower and repeat. 

Band pull through muscles worked:

  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings

4. Superman

Equipment needed for the superman:

  • None

How to do the superman:

  1. Lie face down on the floor with arms and legs outstretched.
  2. Stretch out your hands and toes as you arch your body to form a banana shape and achieve spinal extension.
  3. Tense your lower back and hold.
  4. Lower and repeat.

Superman muscles worked:

  • Lower back (erector spinae)

Good Morning Exercise Alternative Infographic part 2

5. Single Leg DB Romanian Deadlift

Equipment needed for the single leg dumbbell Romanian deadlift:

Note: want to build your quads but can’t do squats? Check out our 5 best hack squat alternatives you can do at home.

How to do the single leg dumbbell Romanian deadlift:

  1. Stand with feet hip width apart and a pair of dumbbells held at your sides.
  2. Maintaining an upright torso and tight core, hinge at the hips to push the butt back.
  3. At the same time push your right leg back and up so that the foot is slightly off the floor. 
  4. As your torso comes down to a parallel position, bring the dumbbells to the front of the body.
  5. Squeeze the glutes as you return to the start position. 
  6. Do all of your reps with the right leg extending back and up and then repeat on the other side.

Single leg dumbbell Romanian deadlift muscles worked:

  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Lower back

6. Glute Bridge

Equipment needed for the glute bridge:

  • None

How to do the glute bridge:

  1. Lie on the floor on your back with your knees bent and arms on the floor at your sides. Your knees should be hip-width apart.
  2. Contract your core and press your heels into the floor as you lift your hips into the air. Go up until a straight line is formed from your shoulders to your knees.
  3. Contract your glutes strongly in the top position. 
  4. Hold for 3 seconds.
  5. Lower under control and repeat.

Glute bridge muscles worked:

  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Lower back

7. Donkey Kickback

Equipment needed for the glute bridge:

  • None

How to do the glute bridge:

  1. Get down on all fours, with your hands directly under your shoulders. Your knees should be directly under your hips. Maintain a neutral spine with a flat back and tuck your chin in.
  2. Contract your core and, without straightening the knee, kick your right leg back and up behind you. The only movement should come from the hip joint. Stop when the right leg forms a straight line with your torso.
  3. Return to the start position and repeat. Do all reps on the right leg and then repeat on the left leg.

Glute bridge muscles worked:

  • Glutes
  • Hamstrings
  • Lower back

Good Morning Exercise Alternatives: The Bottom Line

The good morning is a hip hinge exercise that puts a lot of stress on the most vulnerable part of your spine. In this article, I’ve laid out the seven best good morning exercise alternatives to work the same muscles without stressing the lower back. 

I recommend that you experiment with each exercise to find the two or three that you find most effective. Build them into your posterior chain workout, using a rep range of between 6 and 20 reps.

Looking for home gym friendly alternatives to cable chest exercises? Check out our 10 cable cross-over alternatives for bodybuilders.

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Steve is a certified personal trainer, current home gym owner, former gym owner, and copywriter. He joined his first gym at age 15 and, five years later, he was managing his own studio. In 1987, he became the first personal fitness trainer in New Zealand.

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