Exercise guide · Advanced · Compound

Barbell Stiff Leg Good Morning: How to Do It & Muscles Worked

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.

Primary muscles
Glutes
Secondary muscles
Hamstrings
Equipment
Barbell
Level · type
Advanced · Compound
Demonstration of the barbell stiff leg good morning
Front view: muscles worked by the barbell stiff leg good morning. Primary: glutes. Secondary: hamstrings.
Back view: muscles worked by the barbell stiff leg good morning. Primary: glutes. Secondary: hamstrings.
Primary Secondary

How to do the barbell stiff leg good morning

  1. Step 1: Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
  2. Step 2: Hold the barbell across your upper back, resting it on your traps.
  3. Step 3: Keeping your back straight, hinge forward at the hips, pushing your glutes back.
  4. Step 4: Lower your torso until it is parallel to the ground, feeling a stretch in your hamstrings.
  5. Step 5: Engage your glutes and hamstrings to return to the starting position.
  6. Step 6: Repeat for the desired number of repetitions.

Sets, reps and programming

Suggested sets, reps and rest for the barbell stiff leg good morning by training goal
Goal Sets Reps Rest Effort
Strength 3–5 3–6 3–5 min 1–3 reps in reserve
Muscle growth 3–4 6–12 2–3 min 1–2 reps in reserve
Muscular endurance 2–3 12–20 1–2 min 1–3 reps in reserve

Ranges follow the ACSM position stand on progression in resistance training. Muscle grows across a wide range of loads when sets end close to failure (Schoenfeld et al., 2017), longer rests between heavy sets support strength and size (Schoenfeld et al., 2016), and stopping a rep or two short of failure works about as well as training to failure (Grgic et al., 2022). Estimate your working weights with the strength calculators.

Barbell Stiff Leg Good Morning alternatives

More exercises that train the glutes as their main target:

More glutes exercises

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Sources

  1. American College of Sports Medicine. Progression models in resistance training for healthy adults. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2009;41(3):687-708.
  2. Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Strength and hypertrophy adaptations between low- vs. high-load resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2017;31(12):3508-3523.
  3. Schoenfeld BJ, Pope ZK, Benik FM, et al. Longer interset rest periods enhance muscle strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men. J Strength Cond Res. 2016;30(7):1805-1812.
  4. Grgic J, Schoenfeld BJ, Orazem J, Sabol F. Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Sport Health Sci. 2022;11(2):202-211.

Step-by-step instructions and demonstration media are from the ExerciseDB exercise dataset.

This guide is general fitness information, not medical advice. Stop if an exercise causes pain and speak to a doctor or physiotherapist about injuries or health conditions before starting a new programme.