I am generally not a fan of combination exercises, but this is one of my favorites squat variations of all time. It combines a squat and a good morning…intentionally.
When people think of a good morning squat, what comes to mind is probably the squat technique error where the bar drifts forward of your center of gravity in the hole and you end up doing an ugly good morning on your way out (or, if the weight is heavy, you get pinned).
Ironically, the good morning squat can be a corrective exercise to help fix the unintentional good morning squat. It instills a distinction between the squat and hinge patterns, reinforces the flexion points at the knee and hip, as well as brings awareness to where the bar is relative to your body.
To do this:
- Perform a good morning, which is a basic hip hinge, until you feel a stretch in the hamstrings.
- At the bottom of the good morning, flex the knees and drop the hips so that you are in a squat. Think of the bar as your pivot point and try not to let it move too much. Pause for a moment here and note your position.
- Bring the hips up so you are in a good morning position again. Try not to let the bar move.
- Stand up.
That’s 1 rep.
Alternative
You can also try a squat-morning variation where you skip step 3 and just come up straight from the squat position. Both variations carry over well to the squat and build a strong back.
Where This Fits
There is a decent amount of time under tension in comparison to a normal squat or good morning, so be mindful of that when choosing your rep range.
Though this is probably not something that you’d want to max out on, it could work as a main lift. It also works well as a mobility exercise.
If you find that you are a little all over the place and need a touch point for your butt, you can use a box for the squat portion. It also lends itself very well to chains, if you are into that.
Conclusion
The good morning squat has great carryover to both the squat and hinge patterns. It provides a great back pump that feels like a deep tissue massage and spinal alignment. As a reformed unintentional-good-morning-squatter, I can vouch for its role in clearing up some bad habits there as well.
It’s hard to find a demo of this online, so unfortunately I have to post this video of me butchering it. My ability to keep the bar in the same spot was not the greatest on this day, but you get the idea.