HOW TO DO A GOOD MORNING | Smith Machine Basics

hey guys in this video we'll be going over how to do a good morning on a smith machine the good morning is a hamstring dominant exercise let's get started [Music] before we hop onto the smith machine we're going to review form first if you didn't already know the good morning is an exercise that targets mainly your hamstrings and a little bit of glutes to help isolate your hamstrings you'll want to make sure your spine remains neutral at all times especially when you're going down into the good morning this simply means that your back is straight not arched or curved maintaining a neutral spine will also help alleviate stress on your back as you can see here my feet are positioned and about the same place as i'd have them if i were to be doing a squat and i like to point my toes out because i feel like it gives me more leverage and helps me keep my balance the bar is positioned on top slash behind my shoulders not on my neck hands anywhere that is comfortable for you right before i go into the good morning i inhale and contract my core pushing my hips back and slowly lowering my upper body down i keep going until i can feel the stretch in my hamstrings from here i squeeze my glutes and exhale which automatically pushes my hips forward and brings me back to starting position again inhale contract my core push my hips back and lower my upper body until i can't stretch my hamstrings anymore squeeze my glutes and exhale to go back to starting position when i go down into the good morning i make sure to have a small bend in my knee you simply want to go as low as you can without compromising your form there's no need to go super deep if you haven't already noted that good morning is a similar movement to a romanian deadlift but instead of holding the bar out in front of our legs it's on top of our shoulders if you haven't already seen my video on how to romania deadlifts i'll link it down below for you let's go over that again one more time feet about shoulder width apart and toes pointed slightly out barbell resting on top or behind your shoulders not on your neck as we go into the good morning we inhale and contract our core slowly push our hips back and bring our upper body down until we can feel the stretch in our hamstrings then squeeze your glutes and exhale to push your hips forward and return back to starting position all the while making sure your spine remains neutral i would also like to note that my head follows my spine i am not looking up or to the side i am looking straight ahead when i start to finish and down when i'm doing the rub as far as common mistakes go for good mornings it usually comes down to not having your spine neutral and having the bar up too high onto your neck to fix these things just make sure to move the bar off of your neck and onto the top or behind your shoulders as far as the neutral spine goes it takes a little bit of practice but the more you do it the better you get at it make sure to not arch or curve your back and just keep it as neutral as you can let's move on to the smith machine if you're unfamiliar with how to use a smith machine i'm going to refer you over to my how to squat on the smith machine video where we go over that everything will be the same on the smith machine as it was when we were doing it earlier you may just need to play around with your foot positioning a bit to find the right spot for you feet are about shoulder-width apart and point it out hands on the bar wherever it is comfortable for you bar position to on top or behind your shoulders when you're ready to start inhale and contract your core push your hips back and lower your upper body when you can feel the stretch in your hamstrings squeeze your glutes and exhale to return back to starting position inhale exhale inhale exhale making sure to keep your spine neutral at all times and that is it you now know how to do a good morning [Music] if you find that the bar is hurting you it's likely because it is on her neck and not on your shoulders your shoulders naturally hold more fat making them a better cushion for the bar whereas your neck is much more bony again if that bar is hurting your neck bring it off of your neck and a little lower onto your shoulders or the back of your shoulders thanks so much for checking this video out if you found it helpful don't forget to give it a thumbs up for daily workouts and fitness tips like me on facebook and follow me on instagram and of course don't forget to subscribe to my channel and turn on the notification bell i'll see you guys all again next week