The Good Morning exercise is a hip-hinge movement that primarily works the posterior chain, including the hamstrings, glutes, and erector spinae. This movement pattern is foundational for many everyday activities and other compound lifts like the deadlift. Performing the lift on a Smith Machine, which features a barbell fixed to vertical rails, provides a constant, guided path for the weight. This fixed track offers stability, making it an effective tool for learning the correct hip-hinge mechanics and focusing on muscle contraction without needing to balance the bar.
Preparing the Smith Machine Setup
The correct setup begins with adjusting the bar height so it rests just below shoulder level, allowing you to unrack it easily. The barbell must sit across the upper traps and rear shoulders, creating a stable shelf and preventing the bar from pressing directly on the neck. Before unracking the bar, position the safety stops just below the lowest point of your intended range of motion. This safety measure prevents the bar from descending too far in case of muscle failure. To accommodate the hip-hinge, step your feet slightly forward of the bar’s vertical path (about a half-step). This stance allows your hips to move backward freely during the hinge, as the bar only moves straight up and down.
Executing the Good Morning Movement
Once the bar is racked across your upper back, take a deep breath to brace the core and stabilize the torso. Unrack the bar by extending your legs and twisting the bar’s sleeve out of the hooks, then step back into your prepared stance. The movement is initiated by pushing the hips backward, as if reaching to shut a door with your glutes, rather than simply bending forward at the waist.
Maintain a neutral spine throughout the descent, ensuring the lower back does not round, which transfers stress from the muscles to the spinal structures. Allow only a slight, fixed bend in the knees; do not turn the movement into a squat. Continue the hip hinge until you feel a deep stretch in the hamstrings, stopping just before spinal neutrality might be compromised.
To complete the repetition, drive the hips forward by engaging the glutes and hamstrings, returning to an upright, standing position. This hip extension should be powerful and controlled, maintaining the braced, neutral back position.
Avoiding Technique Flaws
Lower Back Rounding
A frequent error is rounding the lower back, often due to a lack of core bracing or attempting to go too deep into the stretch. The erector spinae muscles work to keep the spine straight, and exceeding the active range of motion will cause them to fail, placing undue strain on the lumbar discs. To correct this, reduce the range of motion and focus only on hinging as far as you can maintain a perfectly flat back.
Excessive Knee Bend
Another common flaw on the Smith Machine is allowing the fixed path to encourage excessive knee bend, which transforms the exercise into a squat variation. The intent of the Good Morning is to primarily load the hamstrings and glutes through hip flexion, so the shins should remain nearly vertical. Avoid this by consciously focusing on sending the hips directly backward, not downward, and maintaining a soft knee position throughout the set.
Using Too Much Weight
Using a weight that is too heavy often forces form breakdown, leading to an inability to maintain spinal neutrality or the conversion into a squat. Starting with a light load is necessary to ingrain the precise hip-hinge pattern before increasing the resistance.