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Good mornings seem to be one of the most misunderstood of weight lifting movements. A common joke in commercial gyms is how often squats are turned into bastardized good mornings, but rarely (if ever) does anyone see a good good morning done. Even among the strength and conditioning community, they seem to be a rarely utilized lift. The only group that readily uses the good morning is the powerlifting community. Good mornings have become popularized due to their inclusion in Louies Westside methodology, where they figure in prominently as a supplemental lift to train both the deadlift and squat. I will readily say that I am not a competitive powerlifter, and while I do utilize a conjugate style training plan, I do not profess to know or train Westside. I feel only actual Westside athletes can claim to know true Westside methodology. However, I do heavily use good mornings, and it is my belief that outside of the Big 3, it is one the most effective movements for training the musculature of the entire body, especially the posterior chain.
least. This is an important concept to grasp. The good morning is not simply a low back movement. Done properly, the good morning works the entire length of the erector spinae: It loads the deep core muscles of the lower back. It trains proper hinging and requires proper firing of the gluteus maximus and glute-hamstring tie-in. It trains the lifter to keep his/her lumbar spine in a controlled posterior tilt as he/she extends his/her hips back and brings them forward. It requires the lifter to firmly ground him/herself into the floor and balance his/her weight from the mid-foot to the heel. It requires a lifter to keep his chest up and get his shoulders back. It necessitates using controlled belly breathing and big air in order to execute it properly and safely. Essentially, the good morning does A LOT. The problem is that very few people truly know how to do it properly. Its a lift that requires sound coaching and instruction, and even then, its not often an intuitive lift for one to grasp. Below is an excellent good morning done properly: Lets examine four key mechanical cues within the lift: 1. St raight leg versus bent leg mechanics: The good morning is NOT meant to be done with straight legs. It is a controlled hip hinge. Their should be bend in the knees happening as the lifter pushes the hips back. A straight leg good morning places unnecessary stress on the lumber spine and does not adequately train the hinge pattern. I dont think there is any good reason to do them. I look forward to the sensible arguments that will take place regarding this. Please remember that well, the Russians did it this way does not validate a point. 2. Not ice t oo t he upper back/t horacic spine posit ion: The lifter has kept his thoracic arched, his shoulder blades are packed, and we can see the muscles of the mid-back working to support the weight of the bar. 3. This is also t he same f or t he lumbar posit ion: The lifter has kept his lumbar in a strong, but not excessive, arch. His lumbar is in a safe position and is not being subjected to unnecessary forces. 4. The lif t er is f laring t he glut es, and you can clearly see t hat he has proper glut eal recruit ment . This lifter will benefit from performing good mornings in his program.
The GHH is performed on a 45-degree hyperextension, but with a significantly different technique than to what most are accustomed. In the GHH, there is a specific order of contraction that must take place. The pattern should be: hamstrings, glute-hamstring tie-in, gluteus maximus, and then the extension of the spinal erectors (taking the lumbar to a neutral position). The back SHOULD NOT come up first. Why is this? For the same reason the hips are not supposed to pop up first while deadlifting. The hips popping up first are an indication that the lifter did not properly create tension and load the hamstrings or the glutes. His/her transfer of force has bypassed the hips and his/her low back is now handling the load. This is not ideal. So in the GHH, hamstrings and glutes fire first, then the low back comes into play. If a lifter can properly do this and he/she understands this concept, then he/she is ready to perform the good morning.
perform the barbell back squat. In this case, I may program it first and then follow it up with a front squat or a goblet squat. Again, the loading is not aggressive. There should be ZERO form breakdown with good mornings, and the athlete must be able to tolerate the load for all working sets. I will say that these rules are not set in stone, but they do maximize the effectiveness and safety of the movement.
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Elit eFTS: Top 8 Good Morning Exercises (ht t p://art icles.elit ef t s.com/t rainingart icles/elit ef t s-t op-8-good-morning-exercises/) EFS Classic: The Eight Keys, A Complet e Guide t o Maximal St rengt h Development (ht t p://art icles.elit ef t s.com/t raining-art icles/ef s-classic-t he-eight -keys-a-complet e-guidet o-maximal-st rengt h-development /) The Most Underrat ed Movement s (ht t p://art icles.elit ef t s.com/t rainingart icles/programs/t he-most -underrat ed-movement s/)