You may often hear of “good mornings’’ by a loved one or neighbour, but it is more than a greeting. It is also a fantastic exercise which is beneficial for everyone’s health. This article will show you how to do the best good morning exercise, why you should do it and its numerous benefits.
#1 Good Mornings: What are good morning exercises?
Let’s take a look at what good mornings are. No one knows who came up with it, but the good morning exercise is from over 100 years ago to strongmen and the early days of physical culture. This exercise got its name because it’s similar to bowing to say “good morning.” Past names included the “barbell bend-over” and “Russian deadlift” but, the good mornings work out has become a strength staple today.
#2 Good Mornings: why you should be doing good morning exercise ?
The good mornings have proven to be the best exercise out there. So many people recommend it and rave about it because of the multiple benefits that it brings. Some of the best advantages are stronger muscles, minor weakness and injury prevention. They are discussed in detail below:
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Strengthens muscles
The good mornings exercise strengthens a number of your muscles. These include your glutes (the butt muscles) and your hamstrings (the backs of your thighs). It also enables you to strengthen your triceps, biceps, shoulders, and traps. All of this makes the good morning workout is a full-body exercise.
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Overcome a weakness
When you strengthen your muscles, you overcome weakness. With the good mornings work out, many muscles are strengthened, which will help you look and feel better while overcoming shortcomings that are holding you back in your Squat and Deadlift exercises.
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Injury prevention
Good mornings are the ultimate move for injury prevention. Not only does it strengthen weaker muscles, making them less prone to injury, but good mornings' effect on the posterior chain is phenomenal. It is definitely the most important perk. A weak posterior chain can lead to back, hip, knee pelvis and feet injuries. It is incredibly dangerous but can easily be fixed if you inculcate good morning exercise into your life.
#3 Good Mornings: Classic Good Morning
Let’s talk about how exactly you perform the classic good mornings work out. Here is what you have to do:
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Step 1:
Stand up with your feet hip-width apart. Point your toes forward while bending your knees. Your hands should either be straight down or crossed over your chest, so they're out of the way. Wickham suggests not to put your hands behind your head or overhead as it can cause your back to pull out of the neutral position.
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Step 2:
Brace your midline and hinge your hips while pushing your butt straight back simultaneously. Make sure to keep your lower legs perpendicular to the floor.
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Step 3:
While keeping your back flat, lower your torso towards the floor. Do this until you feel a stretch or tug in your hamstrings or if your back begins to round.
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Step 4:
Put pressure into your feet and drive your hips to a reverse movement. You must use your hamstrings and core to stand upright. At the top, squeeze your glutes.
#4 Good Mornings: Barbell Good Morning
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Step 1:
Position yourself into a Back Squat while keeping in between hip and shoulder width. Then, place your bar across your back in a low or high bar position. Afterwards, hold the bar firmly and pull it into your body. Take a deep breath while you tighten your core.
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Step 2:
At your hips, break to begin the excercise. Push your hips backwards until your torso is roughly 15 degrees above the floor. Your shins should always stay vertical, and you must bend the knees slightly at the bottom of the movement.
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Step 3:
Lastly, you must push your hips forward and go back up to the starting position. Exhale at the top of this.
#5 Good Mornings: Dumbbell Good Morning
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Step 1:
For the dumbbell, good morning; hold a dumbbell in both of your hands. Keep it at your sides as your palms face each other. Keep them close to your legs and lower your torso. Go back up and repeat the process a few times.
#6 Good Mornings: Incorporate into your workout routine
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Warm-up:
Your good mornings can be a part of your warm-up routine. This wakes up your posterior chain and core muscles before the rest of your workout.
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Strength move:
You can include the good mornings exercise in your strength training program. It is versatile and can be performed with or without weights. So, you can do it at your own home without any equipment. When it is done with good form, it’s a safe exercise for everyone, and anyone can add good mornings into their routine.