This is a good morning variation where the concentric (rising) and eccentric (lowering) portions are broken up, completely unloading the weight at the bottom.
With a standard good morning (also a great lift), you typically can’t go quite as heavy due to the leverage disadvantage at the reversal.
Here, you get the opportunity to push like a bull on the concentric, which feels an awful lot like that ‘dragging down’ feeling on a heavy deadlift.
I’m pretty lazy about taking videos these days; the below clips are from 2012. I’ve relied heavily on this good morning variation over the past decade, and credit it for building resilience for heavy deadlifts while not beating down my recovery as much as deadlifting. It actually feels fairly therapeutic.
Here are two ways to do it:
Suspended Chain Good Morning
When the bar is suspended, you can wedge yourself in just the right spot between the bar and the ground. You can hit exactly the same position as your deadlift, or go with something a bit more/less advantageous if you choose.
Keeping it real – this lift is kind of a pain in the butt to set up for. I put little stickers on my chains to save time trying to get both sides to match up.
If you do have a home gym or are lucky enough to train at a gym that is accommodating for this sort of thing, it is well worth the fussy set up.
Good Morning off Pins
This looks like an RPE10, but I think that the slow build and strain aspect is just the essence of this lift at any reasonably heavy weight. You won’t fail once the bar is in motion. However, that initial break can be a bit of a bear.
This one might be more feasible to set up than the chain-suspended version if you are in a mainstream gym.
You have a little less freedom with positioning in comparison to the suspended good morning, but the overall effect is pretty much the same.
Technique Tips
- Try to feel your deadlift in this (if you are using this to build your deadlift, that is). Obviously, the more you turn this into a partial squat, the more weight you will be able to pile on. Unless your deadlift also resembles a partial squat, concentric gm’s probably won’t help you out as much there.
- Stance width, depth, and degree of knee-bend are up to you and can be varied.
- You can see in the video above that I choose to look forward. Most people will probably want to stick closer to textbook form with neutral head positioning. (If you are more advanced or have a monster deadlift already, then obviously do what suits you best.)
Loading
The Westside Book of Methods recommends not going heavier than triples for this.
Loading a good morning variation in this way is best for experienced lifters who will not suffer any form breakdown under heavy weight.
Final Thoughts
When people with big deadlifts tell you that they rarely deadlift, and you wonder what it is that they do instead… this is one of those things.
My friend Nick, a WSBB coach, gave me Westside’s Book of Methods. Even though I am not a Westsider per se, I have found so many useful bits in there that have been staples for many years and shaped part of my training.
I’d highly recommend giving it a read.
