10 Best Band Good Morning Alternatives for Hamstring Strength

The Band Good Morning is done standing with a band. Ranked closest by our scoring: the Band Good Morning (Pull Through), the Band Straight Leg Deadlift and the Good Morning.

No band in your bag, or nothing to loop one around, still leaves your hamstrings needing that hip hinge. The Band Good Morning bends you forward under a band you stand on and loop behind your neck, then stands you back up against it, and the closest swap is the Band Good Morning (Pull Through), which loops the band around a post instead of under your foot. With a bar instead of a band, the Good Morning moves that same forward bend onto your back.

Band Good Morning

Each substitute is scored on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. Read how we rank alternatives

How to Do the Band Good Morning

The steps for the Band Good Morning itself, so you can judge how close each substitute below really is.

Hamstrings, with glutes, lower back · Band · Intermediate · Compound

  1. Using a 41 inch band, stand on one end, spreading your feet a small amount. Bend at the hips to loop the end of the band behind your neck. This will be your starting position.
  2. Keeping your legs straight, extend through the hips to come to a near vertical position.
  3. Ensure that you do not round your back as you go down back to the starting position.

The 10 Best Band Good Morning Alternatives

10 substitutes, ranked by how closely each one matches the Band Good Morning on movement pattern, muscles worked, equipment and body position. The higher the score, the less you change. Cards with a "How to perform it" link open to show the steps; every card title links to that exercise's own alternatives page.

Each link re-ranks the list below for the kit it names. Pick one to hide the substitutes you cannot set up.

  1. Band Good Morning (Pull Through)

    1. Band Good Morning (Pull Through)

    85% match

    Hamstrings · Intermediate · Compound

    It uses the same equipment and still works the hamstrings.

    • Band
    How to perform it
    1. Loop the band around a post. Standing a little ways away, loop the opposite end around the neck. Your hands can help hold the band in position.
    2. Begin by bending at the hips, getting your butt back as far as possible. Keep your back flat and bend forward to about 90 degrees. Your knees should be only slightly bent.
    3. Return to the starting position be driving through with the hips to come back to a standing position.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Band Good Morning
    • Equipment: a band, the same as the Band Good Morning
    • Body position: standing, the same as the Band Good Morning
  3. Good Morning

    3. Good Morning

    83% match

    Hamstrings · Intermediate · Compound

    A good swap when you have a barbell to work with, and it still works the hamstrings.

    • Barbell
    How to perform it
    1. Begin with a bar on a rack at shoulder height. Rack the bar across the rear of your shoulders as you would a power squat, not on top of your shoulders. Keep your back tight, shoulder blades pinched together, and your knees slightly bent. Step back from the rack.
    2. Begin by bending at the hips, moving them back as you bend over to near parallel. Keep your back arched and your cervical spine in proper alignment.
    3. Reverse the motion by extending through the hips with your glutes and hamstrings. Continue until you have returned to the starting position.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Movement: good-morning hinge, the same as the Band Good Morning
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Band Good Morning
    • Equipment: free weights, not a band
    • Body position: standing, the same as the Band Good Morning
    • Balance: harder to stay steady on than the Band Good Morning
  5. Stiff-legged Dumbbell Deadlift

    5. Stiff-legged Dumbbell Deadlift

    77% match

    Hamstrings · Intermediate · Compound

    A good swap when you have dumbbells to work with, and it still works the hamstrings.

    • Dumbbell
    How to perform it
    1. Grasp a couple of dumbbells holding them by your side at arm's length.
    2. Stand with your torso straight and your legs spaced using a shoulder width or narrower stance. The knees should be slightly bent. This is your starting position.
    3. Keeping the knees stationary, lower the dumbbells to over the top of your feet by bending at the waist while keeping your back straight. Keep moving forward as if you were going to pick something from the floor until you feel a stretch on the hamstrings. Exhale as you perform this movement
    4. Start bringing your torso up straight again by extending your hips and waist until you are back at the starting position. Inhale as you perform this movement.
    5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Band Good Morning
    • Equipment: free weights, not a band
    • Body position: standing, the same as the Band Good Morning
    • Balance: harder to stay steady on than the Band Good Morning
  6. Cable Deadlifts

    6. Cable Deadlifts

    75% match

    Hamstrings · Intermediate · Compound

    A good swap when you have a cable machine to work with, and it still works the hamstrings.

    • Cable
    How to perform it
    1. Move the cables to the bottom of the towers and select an appropriate weight. Stand directly in between the uprights.
    2. To begin, squat down be flexing your hips and knees until you can reach the handles.
    3. After grasping them, begin your ascent. Driving through your heels extend your hips and knees keeping your hands hanging at your side. Keep your head and chest up throughout the movement.
    4. After reaching a full standing position, Return to the starting position and repeat.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Band Good Morning
    • Equipment: a cable, not a band
    • Body position: standing, the same as the Band Good Morning
  7. Smith Machine Stiff-legged Deadlift

    7. Smith Machine Stiff-legged Deadlift

    74% match

    Hamstrings · Intermediate · Compound

    A good swap when you have a Smith machine to work with, and it still works the hamstrings.

    • Smith-machine
    How to perform it
    1. To begin, set the bar on the smith machine to a height that is around the middle of your thighs. Once the correct height is chosen and the bar is loaded, grasp the bar using a pronated (palms forward) grip that is shoulder width apart. You may need some wrist wraps if using a significant amount of weight.
    2. Lift the bar up by fully extending your arms while keeping your back straight. Stand with your torso straight and your legs spaced using a shoulder width or narrower stance. The knees should be slightly bent. This is your starting position.
    3. Keeping the knees stationary, lower the barbell to over the top of your feet by bending at the waist while keeping your back straight. Keep moving forward as if you were going to pick something from the floor until you feel a stretch on the hamstrings. Exhale as you perform this movement
    4. Start bringing your torso up straight again as soon as you feel the hamstrings stretch by extending your hips and waist until you are back at the starting position. Inhale as you perform this movement.
    5. Repeat for the recommended amount of repetitions.

    Sets and reps: 3 or 4 sets of 6 to 10 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Band Good Morning
    • Equipment: a machine, not a band
    • Body position: standing, the same as the Band Good Morning
    • Balance: easier to stay steady on than the Band Good Morning

Why You Might Need a Band Good Morning Alternative

A band packs away easily, but not every gym stocks one, and the Band Good Morning needs room to fold forward, band underfoot. Two of the alternatives keep the same band, changing only the anchor: the Band Good Morning (Pull Through) loops around a post, and the Band Straight Leg Deadlift holds it in both hands underfoot. The rest move the same forward bend onto other equipment: a barbell for the Good Morning, Good Morning Off Pins, Stiff-legged Barbell Deadlift and both Romanian Deadlifts, dumbbells for the Stiff-legged Dumbbell Deadlift, and a Smith machine for the Smith Machine Stiff-legged Deadlift. Cable Deadlifts sit apart: you squat down to the low handles and stand up through both hips and knees, so they are a deadlift with knee bend rather than a straight-leg hinge. Pick the tool your gym has free.

How to Choose the Right Band Good Morning Substitute

If a band is what you have and a post to loop it around, the Band Good Morning (Pull Through) is the nearest swap, with the band still around your neck. With no post, the Band Straight Leg Deadlift keeps the band under your feet and moves the grip from behind your neck to both hands, and the band still tightens as you stand up. With a bar, the Good Morning loads it across your back, or take Good Morning Off Pins to start already bent over. The Romanian Deadlift starts with the bar on the floor, shins vertical, and lifts it with the hips before lowering it by pushing the hips back; the Stiff-legged Barbell Deadlift starts standing and lowers the bar toward the top of your feet with the knees held still until you feel the hamstrings stretch.

Band Good Morning FAQ

Which Band Good Morning alternatives work at home?

The Band Good Morning (Pull Through) needs a post or an upright to loop the band around, but the Band Straight Leg Deadlift only needs the band around your feet, and the Stiff-legged Dumbbell Deadlift needs nothing but a pair of dumbbells. All three fit in a small space with room to bend forward and stand back up.

Can I do the Band Good Morning without a band?

Yes. The Good Morning moves the same forward bend onto a barbell resting across your back, and the Stiff-legged Dumbbell Deadlift does it with a dumbbell in each hand instead. Both keep the fold forward and stand back up motion that the band version trains, just with a different tool loading your hamstrings.

What is different about Good Morning Off Pins?

Good Morning Off Pins sets the bar on pins at about stomach height, so you bend over underneath it and start the rep already folded, stand up with the weight, then lower it back to the pins. The standard Good Morning instead racks the bar at shoulder height and has you step back before folding forward.

Which Band Good Morning alternative suits a Smith machine?

The Smith Machine Stiff-legged Deadlift. A Smith machine fixes the bar to a straight vertical track, so it takes the balancing act out of the hinge and lets you focus on folding forward and standing back up under control, which suits a lifter who wants the load without steadying a free bar.

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