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Good Mornings :(

N

natedog

New member
I've been doing GM's as part of my leg workout for quite some time. I've never really gone heavy (~100 lbs tops), considering them to be more of a conditioning exercise than mass/strength-building.

So I read about how the powerlifters stack on the weight, and since my lower back and hams seem to be weaker points in my squats, I figured I'd step the GM's up a notch. On the first set I did heavier than normal (only 135 lbs), I noticed a little twinge in my left ham. It wasn't really pain, and it wasn't persistant, but it happens every time I bend forward for a GM now. It's like two muscle fibers are arranged one way when I'm standing, and they want to switch places when I bend forward, and then switch back as I erect myself.

Worse yet, now it happens even when I do them with lighter weight. It's not painful, really, just annoying, and a bit scary. I'm not sure if it's my body telling me to ease off, or just some wierd defect in my left hamstring?

Anyone got any advice? It doesn't happen with leg curls on a machine, btw, or with deadlifts or squats.
 
I tried them a few times and found them too risky for the lower back. I kept getting a terrible twinge in my lower back from them that was screaming at me to stop.

I just stick to deadlifts.....it's a far more 'natural' movement.
 
vinylgroover said:
I tried them a few times and found them too risky for the lower back. I kept getting a terrible twinge in my lower back from them that was screaming at me to stop.

I just stick to deadlifts.....it's a far more 'natural' movement.
Click to expand...

I don't like them much either, though their major involvement in WSB's success must say something...

I much prefer the many deadlift variations that can achieve similar results.
 
Wow, I count on GM's to increase my deadlift and squat. Funny how we're all different, huh? I wouldn't say I enjoy goodmornings, but they are definitely a staple in my workout. Of course, I train my lower back to be strong in that position, so I suppose it comes with the territory.

VG, what did you find risky? The movement itself? Or were you just using too much weight?

I agree about deadlifts feeling natural. Have I told you how much I love to deadlift? ;)

What's odd is that there's someone else out ther who thinks GMs feel natural and that deads are risky because they bother his/her lower back.
 
I have always had a lower back problem.

I use a weight in which i can get 8-10 reps, so i guess that's not 'too' much weight.

Whenever i do them, i feel a 'pulling' or 'searing' sensation on my right hand lower lumbar area.......the feeling that gives you the impression something is about to snap or give way. I always bend at the knees.

I find deadlifting to be far more 'controlled' than GM's and they also enable you to quickly re-distribute your pulling power to other muscles if you ever get into 'trouble' while doing them. I find i can't do that with GM's.
 
I love deads and gm's!!!! I am scared to go heavy on gm's though, I usually use a low weight and do higher reps.

-sk
 
Oh yes. I do bend my knees. In fact, I barely feel GM's in my lower back at all. It's all hams and a little bit of glutes for me.
 
Knowing how to properly do the GM's (with the hips) is a big big big key!!!!

B True
 
Wow, I feel GM's target mostly just my lower back, my hams feel it a little bit, but my hams barely seem to feel anything, except glute-ham raises, those fry em ;)
 
mrzap said:
On exrex it says to keep your knees straight? Not bent?

I've been doing them straight legged and it does a number on my back, but in a good way I think.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Hamstrings/BBGoodMorning.html
Click to expand...

www.elitefts.com

This is one of the best exercises to develop your low back, glutes and hamstrings. To perform a good morning begin by placing the bar on your back in about the same position as you would a squat. The first thing to move during a good morning should be your hips. With a very slight bend in your knees, push your hips back and begin the descent. You should maintain a good arch in your lower back and keep your head up. Continue until your low back is about parallel to the floor and raise back up. You can use a wide, medium or close stance when doing a good morning.
 
im no doc....... but i was a trainer in high school....... here is one thing i will always remember.......... if you have something that hurts or even just looks or feels different on one side and not the other........ its probably not good. the body is billatter...... it should be a mirror image of the other side. so be carefull.

X
 
correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the basic goodmorning essentially the same as the romanian deadlift, except with the bar on your back.... that is you push your but back on the eccentric and then pull through with hams to do most of the work.
 
No, not exactly. The movment is close enough that it does dramatically increase my deadlift, but I wouldn't say it's exactly like an RDL. Of course there are several ways to do GMs too..
 
Bend knees??? The books i've seen said to keep it straight to isolate the lower back. I don't feel it in my legs, nor did I think you were suppose to. Am I doing something wrong? :confused:

-sk
 
I don't like them, they mess up my back. What I have tried (reluctantly) to hit my upper hams I read in a muscle and fitness mag (featuring Gunter).

He does a lying leg curl using a dumbell. I tried this with a 55-60 lb dumbell and I noticed a very good burn in my upper ham that I have not gotten from deads, presses, standing curls, lying curls or these good mornings.

You really focus the burn by keeping the dumbell up between your feet, get a good squeze.

Some guy made a crack about me doing them so I had him sit his ass down and try them and now he is doing them.

Hey if Gunter does it, its good enough for me, that guy has some monster hams. Just dont spread your legs in the "up" position and drop the dumb bell on your boys!
 
The GM is not a bodybuilding/isolation lift. It is intended to strengthen and coordinate the posterior chain, which makes it ideal for strength people and athletes
 
andezzz999 said:
Just dont spread your legs in the "up" position and drop the dumb bell on your boys!
Click to expand...


that made me cringe. but ive seen people do em the way you are talking about, but i never tried em. im not a big leg enthusiast so i stick to the basics.
 
i like them, but my body is comfortable doing them. i sit back pretty good and am able to drive my hips forward to get out of the bottom. thats the key. it shouldnt be a pull with your lower back, like a round back to straight. your back is statically contracted and you are moving through the hips. thats how i do them. knees bent, medium stance. i save the wide stance for pull throughs.

as for the gunther article.......do you really think he does them? or did weider make up an exercise that seems "pro caliber" because of intricacy and package it up as the "pro of the months" workout?

i find, the more people get away from the basics, the more advanced they think they are becoming. the more people advance in the basics...the larger the steps of progress.
 
I had a really, really weak lower back when I first started training. When I was doing BB-style training, I did hyperextensions 2 or 3 times a week to bring my back up, and it helped some, but not nearly as much as GM's.

Once I was introduced to PL training, I switched to free standing GM's with the safety squat bar, for 2-3 sets of 15. As I progressed, I've worked into the other varieties of GM's mentioned in WSB, and now my lower back has outpaced my hip and hamstring development to the point where I was squatting with my back.

My overall point is I think GM's are a great exercise, especially for those with weak or injured lower backs. The key may be finding the type of GM that feels most natural to you.
 
TheProject said:

My overall point is I think GM's are a great exercise, especially for those with weak or injured lower backs. The key may be finding the type of GM that feels most natural to you.
Click to expand...

Amen...VERY well put...

B True
 
I'm going to keep trying these. My problems are really poor flexibility and a weak lower back. I'm going to practice the different versions and video tape them. Maybe get some input from you guys.
 
TheProject said:

As I progressed, I've worked into the other varieties of GM's mentioned in WSB, and now my lower back has outpaced my hip and hamstring development to the point where I was squatting with my back.
Click to expand...

I think I was squatting with my back untill I tweaked it, that or a deadlift that I wasn't ready for....

Maybe I should try a few versions of light GMs to see which ones feel right.
 
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