Dumbbell Good Morning being performed with proper form

How to do a Dumbbell Good Morning

Reviewed by Jim Parker, CPT, B.A. Kinesiology

Sets Logged
273,327
Popularity Rank
216th
Difficulty
Beginner
Hamstrings Strength
92 mSCORE 17th
Equipment Required

Workouts with Dumbbell Good Morning

    Target muscles worked

    Primary Muscles
    Hamstrings
    Secondary Muscles
    Glutes, Lower Back

    Instructions for Proper Form

    The Dumbbell Good Morning is a strength exercise that focuses on the posterior chain, including the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. Holding a dumbbell at chest level or placing two dumbbells on the shoulders, you hinge at the hips and lean forward with a straight back, then return to the starting position. This movement emphasizes hip mobility and back strength, improving posture and stability. It's a versatile exercise suitable for all fitness levels, offering a low-impact alternative to enhance lower back and hamstring flexibility and strength.

    1. Grasp a dumbbell in both hands by its heads and hold it across your chest.
    2. Roll your shoulders back and down.
    3. Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and bend your knees slightly.
    4. Engage your core and keep your back straight to maintain proper posture throughout the exercise.
    5. Hinge your hips back and let your knees bend as much as they need to to keep your back straight as you lean your torso forward.
    6. Drive your hips forward and raise your torso back towards the starting position by engaging your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back.

    Tips & FAQs

    • Dumbbell Good Morning is also known as:

      • DB Good Morning

    Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator

    Average Dumbbell Good Morning standards by male, female, weight, age and height

    Use this calculator to see Fitbod's possible first recommendations for you. This would be your starting line, based on more than 4.5 billion logged sets from 1.1 million users.

    • beginner
      8
      reps
      20
      lbs
      1 Rep Max
      25
      lbs
    • intermediate
      8
      reps
      25
      lbs
      30
      lbs
    • advanced
      8
      reps
      30
      lbs
      40
      lbs

    Enter your stats to calculate your Reps & Weight

    How is this calculated?

    Alternatives & Variations to Dumbbell Good Morning

    Filter By

    1. 1. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift being performed
      97.6 mSCORESWAPPED 1,224 TIMES

      This exercise is a variation on Romanian Deadlifts. Like other Romanian Deadlifts, this is a compound exercise that primarily targets your hamstrings and glutes. The use of dumbbells can help with some limitations in mobility, and is a great starting point for anyone working towards performing Deadlifts or Romanian Deadlifts with a barbell.

    2. 2. Good Morning

      Photo of Good Morning being performed
      90.4 mSCORESWAPPED 790 TIMES

      Good Morning’s are a compound exercise that primarily target muscles in the rear chain (backside of the body), but especially the hamstrings, and lower back. While this can be an effective exercise, there is some risk to performing this exercise with a loaded barbell on your back. If you’re unfamiliar with this exercise, try starting with a dumbbell variation as you learn the movement.

    3. 3. Seated Leg Curl

      Photo of Seated Leg Curl being performed
      98.8 mSCORESWAPPED 636 TIMES

      Seated Leg Curl is a weighted, isolation exercise that targets the hamstrings. Because a vast majority of lower body exercises tend to be compound movements, this exercise is a great way to isolate the hamstrings for building muscle mass, and developing strength. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and adds stability, allowing you to focus on exertion more than stabilizing the movement.

    4. 4. Dumbbell Clean

      Photo of Dumbbell Clean being performed
      88.6 mSCORESWAPPED 392 TIMES

      Dumbbell Clean is a variation on the more standard Clean. Like other Clean variations, this is a compound, explosive movement that targets a wide range of muscle groups. The use of dumbbells makes this exercise much more accessible to anyone unfamiliar with Cleans in general as you can use lighter weight. In addition dumbbells can help more advanced lifters build stability, as well as identify and address imbalances between sides.

    5. 5. Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlift

      Photo of Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlift being performed
      89.2 mSCORESWAPPED 345 TIMES

      Dumbbell Stiff Legged Deadlift is a variation on the more standard Romanian Deadlift. The use of dumbbells allows for a bit less stability than a barbell variation, while also giving you more freedom in your range of motion. This is a great exercise for anyone looking to improve or work towards Romanian Deadlifts.

    6. 6. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Single Leg Romanian Deadlift being performed
      80.8 mSCORESWAPPED 334 TIMES

      Single Leg Romanian Deadlift is a variation on the more standard Romanian Deadlift. Like other Romanian Deadlift variations, this is a compound movement that primarily targets the glutes and hamstrings. Performing this exercise on one leg, is a great way to identify, and help address, discrepancies in mobility, strength, and stability between sides. This is a great exercise for anyone looking to improve their ability to perform a large number of other compound lower body movements like Squats, Lunges, or even Olympic lifts.

    7. 7. Kettlebell Good Morning

      Photo of Kettlebell Good Morning being performed
      58.1 mSCORESWAPPED 333 TIMES

      A functional exercise targeting the hamstrings, glutes, and lower back. This exercise strengthens the posterior chain, improves hip mobility, and enhances spinal stability.

    8. 8. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Shrug

      Photo of Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Shrug being performed
      68.5 mSCORESWAPPED 308 TIMES

      The Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Shrug combines the hamstring and glute focus of the RDL with upper back strengthening via a shrug. Executing a hip hinge with dumbbells, followed by a shoulder shrug at the top, this exercise effectively targets the posterior chain and traps. It's an efficient way to enhance lower body strength and upper back muscle definition in one movement.

    9. 9. Lying Hamstrings Curl

      Photo of Lying Hamstrings Curl being performed
      95.8 mSCORESWAPPED 297 TIMES

      Lying Hamstring Curl is a weighted, isolation exercise that targets the hamstrings. There’s a relatively short list of isolation exercises for lower body muscle groups. Because of this, this is a great addition to a lower body workout in order to build strength and muscle mass in the hamstrings specifically. The use of a machine restricts your range of motion, and adds stability to the movement, allowing you to focus on exertion rather than stabilizing the movement.

    10. 10. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Bent Over Row

      Photo of Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Bent Over Row being performed
      67.9 mSCORESWAPPED 279 TIMES

      The Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift to Bent Over Row is a compound exercise that effectively targets the posterior chain, including the hamstrings and glutes, followed by the upper back and lats during the rowing component. Beginning with a dumbbell in each hand, you hinge at the hips to lower the dumbbells towards the ground, keeping your back flat. Once in the bent-over position, you perform a row by pulling the dumbbells towards your torso, then return to the standing position. This combination exercise enhances lower body strength and flexibility while simultaneously improving upper body muscle definition and back strength, making it a comprehensive and efficient workout option.