Leg Workout: Essential Good Mornings

Glutes and hams— hit them hard with a good morning workout using the good morning exercise. Though this exercise has a rather silly name, it’s an efficient compound exercise that got its name because the movement in your lower back resembles the action of getting out of bed in the mornings coupled with the famous yawn and stretch.

Why add good mornings to your routine? It’s really important to devote time to your glutes and hamstrings, the powerful muscles in the back, when you work out because leaving them out and only focusing on quad building leads to muscle imbalances. You also need balance between your quads and hamstrings for power, proper hip and knee movement, and knee stabilization.Think about runners. Many build Godzilla quads but don’t strengthen their hamstrings. The hamstrings become weak and are then prone to injury.

How To Perform Good Mornings for your Legs:

1. Begin with a barbell resting behind your head on your shoulders, just like you would for a squat. Move it lower on your shoulders if you want to decreases the distance to your pelvis and thus lessen the amount of strain on your hip and spine extensors.
2. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Hinge forward at the hip while keeping your back straight. Pause when your torso is almost parallel with the ground.
3. Return to the starting position.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Xj6XUa77qc

Trainer Tip:

Avoid any rounding in your back since rounding can result in back injuries. One way to ensure you aren’t rounding your back is to keep your chin up. This keeps your head, neck, and spine neutral. Begin with a light weight and work on form in front of a mirror before going heavy on this lift.

Exercise Routine:

• Back Squats 3 sets each leg of 10-12
• Barbell Hip Thrusts 3 sets of 10
• Bulgarian Split Squats 3 sets of 10 on each leg
• Good Mornings 3 sets of 10
• Prone Hamstring Curl Machine 3 sets of 10-12
• Standing Calf Raises 3 sets of 12-15

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