Good Morning Squat

Description

How to Do Good Morning Squat

1. 1
   Setup

   Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart, toes pointing forward, and a slight bend in your knees. Place your hands behind your head or across your chest.

2. 2
   Setup

   Engage your core by bracing your abdominal muscles and maintain a neutral spine, keeping your gaze straight ahead.

3. 3

   Initiate the movement by pushing your hips back as if reaching for a wall behind you, allowing your torso to hinge forward while keeping your back straight.

4. 4

   Continue hinging until your torso is nearly parallel to the floor or you feel a deep stretch in your hamstrings, ensuring your knees maintain a slight, consistent bend throughout.

5. 5

   Drive through your heels, engaging your glutes and hamstrings, to reverse the movement and return to the starting upright position, extending your hips fully.

Tips

• Focus on the hip hinge: Imagine your hips are a door hinge, leading the movement by pushing them directly backward, not just bending forward at the waist.
• Maintain a neutral spine: Keep your chest up and avoid rounding your upper or lower back throughout the entire movement to protect your spine.
• Control the descent: Lower yourself slowly and with control, feeling the stretch in your hamstrings, rather than letting gravity drop you down.
• Breathing: Inhale as you hinge forward and exhale as you return to the starting position, actively bracing your core throughout.

Common Mistakes

• ×Rounding the back: Avoid rounding your lower back by actively engaging your core and keeping your chest lifted and shoulders pulled back throughout the hinge.
• ×Squatting too low: Prevent excessive knee bend by focusing on pushing your hips back and maintaining a slight, consistent bend in your knees, making it a hip-dominant movement rather than a squat.
• ×Hyperextending at the top: Do not hyperextend your lower back at the top of the movement; instead, stop when your hips are fully extended and your body is in a tall, neutral position.