Smith Bent Knee Good Morning

Setup

1. 01Set the Smith bar just below shoulder height and step under it.
2. 02Place the bar across the upper back, not on the neck.
3. 03Rotate the bar to unrack and set feet hip width, slightly in front of the bar line.
4. 04Soften the knees to roughly a 15 to 20 degree bend and hold that angle.

Execution

1. 01Brace and push the hips straight back to start the hinge.
2. 02Lower the torso toward parallel while the knee angle stays fixed.
3. 03Stop when the hamstrings are fully loaded and the back is still flat.
4. 04Drive the hips forward to return to standing tall.

Checkpoints

• -Spine stays neutral from setup to lockout.
• -Knee bend is set once and does not change during the rep.
• -Hips travel backward, not straight down.
• -Bar stays in solid contact with the upper back.

Common mistakes

• -Rounding the lower back near the bottom.
• -Squatting the weight down instead of hinging.
• -Going too deep for current hamstring flexibility.
• -Loading it like a squat; good mornings need far less weight.