Well, I thought I’d give the good morning exercise a try today for the first time.
As a relative newbie (lifting < 8 months) I started light, er, very light in fact, using a 12.5Kg bar (gotta start somewhere).
I think I have good technique, just lowering from the waist until back parallel to floor and then rising back up again.
But, I seem to recall another poster on this forum staying they could use some obscene weight for this exercise - at least a couple of hundred pounds.
My query is this, what is the load on the neck when at the lower position, and if - as Ian King would like like us to do - we could get out heads down to the knees, how on earth are you supposed to keep the weight from rolling onto the skull.
Or am I missing something obvious?
Seriously, I’m keen to do the exercise for variety and to work the hams - but I am little concerned about the load and stresses on the neck.
Good mornings are one of those exercises where you have to impose your own judgement over all others: if you think going past horizontal is dangerous and impossible then don’t go past horizontal, rather demonstrate to yourself control of the bar at horizontal.
You are performing the exercise for the benefit of yourself, not some other. And I agree with you that horizontal is good enough.
It’s a lift where you want to stay in control of the bar, and if you don’t chances are good the bar will bend when it hits.
You are the master in these matters.
As with all exercises, I am approaching this one with care and caution, taking my time to ensure good technique, and of course, ensuring control of the bar.
I am not sure if I am doing these right either but I have found that instead of thinking to bend forward I concentrate on pushing my butt backwards. This seems to keep my back aligned properly.
As someone who does good mornings with several hundred pounds, I can say that all the advice here is correct and all the opinions are correct.
Ian, no one who good-mornings with several hundred pounds has it resting on the neck. I personally rest the bar just above my low-bar squat position, which is right about on my rear delts, and I have to concentrate really hard to not let the bar slide.
The advice about sticking your butt out it great. I was going to say that exact thing. Another piece of advice which I don’t know has been mentioned is to drive your head back into your traps, so you are looking up as much as you can. This helps you keep the back from rounding, and makes for a tighter bar placement.
You will probably be able to lift the most weight on this exercise using your normal squat stance and bar position. I also find it more comfortable to push my glutes back, bend my knees just a bit, and drop my hips just slightly. Using this form and heavy weight with your GMs will translate nicely to squat and deadlift improvements. Don’t forget to do some close stance GMs once in a while too though. =)
