The barbell stiff leg good morning is a compound exercise that targets the glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. It involves hinging at the hips with a barbell across your upper back, emphasizing posterior chain strength and flexibility.
Also Works
HamstringsLower Back
How to Perform
1
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
2
Hold the barbell across your upper back, resting it on your traps.
3
Keeping your back straight, hinge forward at the hips, pushing your glutes back.
4
Lower your torso until it is parallel to the ground, feeling a stretch in your hamstrings.
5
Engage your glutes and hamstrings to return to the starting position.
6
Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.
Pro Tips
•Keep your legs almost completely straight (only a very slight knee bend) to maximize the Hamstring Stretch.
•Hinge forward until your torso is parallel to the ground or until your hamstring flexibility limits you.
•Use significantly less weight than a standard good morning because the straight-leg position increases the stretch and spinal loading.
Common Mistakes
•Rounding the lower back to reach deeper, which is extremely dangerous with a loaded bar on the shoulders.
•Locking the knees completely, which can hyperextend the knee joint under load.
•Going too heavy; the stiff-leg position makes this exercise much harder on the posterior chain per pound than the bent-knee version.