Good Morning (Dumbbell)
The dumbbell good morning is a hip-hinge exercise that builds strength in the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. By maintaining a rigid torso while bending forward, you challenge the posterior chain to stabilize the spine and extend the hips.
Because this exercise places direct load on the lumbar spine, the AI optimizes safety by monitoring your daily recovery scores (HRV and sleep) to suggest appropriate weights. It tracks your RPE and performance consistency to ensure you train within a safe intensity range, auto-regulating load to prevent lower back strain. Additionally, if you report lower back sensitivity, the system can instantly swap this for a supported regression like a machine back extension.
Form Cues
- Hinge your hips backward like you are closing a car door with your glutes.
- Keep a slight, fixed bend in your knees throughout the entire movement.
- Maintain a neutral spine with your chest up and core braced tightly.
- Lower your torso until it is nearly parallel to the floor or you feel a deep hamstring stretch.
- Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings forcibly to return to a standing position.
- Don't round your lower back or shoulders as you descend.
- Don't turn the movement into a squat by bending your knees too much.
- Don't lock your knees completely straight.
- Don't hyperextend your lower back at the top of the movement.
Common Mistakes
- Turning the hip hinge into a squat pattern
- Rounding the thoracic or lumbar spine
- Locking the knees out completely
- Looking up excessively and straining the neck
- Lowering the weight beyond active flexibility
Muscles Worked
This exercise primarily strengthens the erector spinae and hamstrings, teaching these muscle groups to work together to extend the hips while stabilizing the spine. Your glutes assist in the lockout phase, while your deep core muscles engage isometrically to protect your lower back throughout the hinge.
Primary
Secondary
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