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Kettlebell Good Morning being performed with proper form
Kettlebell Good Morning demonstration video — proper form for the full movement.

How to do a Kettlebell Good Morning

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

About this exercise

Sets Logged
178,903
Popularity Rank
610th
Difficulty
Intermediate
Hamstrings Strength
80 mSCORE 55th
Equipment Required

Workouts with Kettlebell Good Morning

    Target muscles worked

    Primary Muscles
    Hamstrings
    Secondary Muscles
    Glutes, Lower Back, Abs

    Instructions for Proper Form

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

    1. Stand upright with your feet hip width apart while holding onto the kettlebell handle behind your neck.
 Bend your hips backwards to lower your shoulders to the floor keeping your spine neutral.
 Return to the starting position and repeat for the allotted repetitions.

    Weight & 1 Rep Max Calculator

    Average Kettlebell 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
      22.5
      lbs
      1 Rep Max
      30
      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 Kettlebell Good Morning

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    1. 1. Dumbbell Good Morning

      Photo of Dumbbell Good Morning being performed
      63.8 mSCORESWAPPED 409 TIMES

      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.

    2. 2. Good Morning

      Photo of Good Morning being performed
      90.4 mSCORESWAPPED 285 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. Kettlebell Swing

      Photo of Kettlebell Swing being performed
      87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 229 TIMES

      Kettlebell Swing is a compound, explosive movement that primarily targets the hamstrings and glutes. This is a great exercise for improving power and explosiveness. It's especially helpful in developing glute drive which can help improve a number of different exercises, and sport performance.

    4. 4. Kettlebell Sumo Squat

      Photo of Kettlebell Sumo Squat being performed
      87.3 mSCORESWAPPED 218 TIMES

      Kettlebell Sumo Squat is a squat variation. Like other squat variations, this exercise is a compound movement that targets the hamstrings, glutes and quads. Positioning your feet wider than you would for a standard squat helps to recruit the inner thigh, as well as help individuals with mobility limitations.

    5. 5. Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift being performed
      97.6 mSCORESWAPPED 216 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.

    6. 6. Seated Leg Curl

      Photo of Seated Leg Curl being performed
      98.8 mSCORESWAPPED 149 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.

    7. 7. Single Leg Romanian Deadlift

      Photo of Single Leg Romanian Deadlift being performed
      80.8 mSCORESWAPPED 112 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.

    8. 8. Single Leg Kettlebell Deadlift

      Photo of Single Leg Kettlebell Deadlift being performed
      47.3 mSCORESWAPPED 86 TIMES

      This exercise is a variation on the more common deadlift. By performing this exercise with a single leg, and hold the weight in one hand, you drastically increase the need to stabilize your torso. Additionally this exercise is great for identifying and addressing imbalances between sides.

    9. 9. Lying Hamstrings Curl

      Photo of Lying Hamstrings Curl being performed
      95.8 mSCORESWAPPED 78 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. Stiff-Legged Barbell Good Morning

      Photo of Stiff-Legged Barbell Good Morning being performed
      91.7 mSCORESWAPPED 60 TIMES

      Stiff-Legged Barbell Good Morning is a variation on the more standard Good Morning. Like other variations this exercise primarily targets muscles in the rear chain (backside of the body), but especially the hamstrings, and lower back. The use of a barbell can help to add more resistance to the exercise, as well as help force you to keep your back straight and chest up. Keeping your legs straight will likely limit your range of motion, but can help further recruit your hamstrings.