10 Best Hanging Bar Good Morning Alternatives for Hamstring Strength

The Hanging Bar Good Morning is done hanging with a barbell. Ranked closest by our scoring: the Good Morning, the Good Morning Off Pins and the Clean Deadlift.

Hanging Bar Good Morning

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

How to Do the Hanging Bar Good Morning

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

Hamstrings, with abdominals, glutes, lower back · Barbell · Advanced · Compound

  1. Begin with a bar on a rack at about the same height as your stomach. Suspend the bar using chains or suspension straps.
  2. Bend over underneath the bar and rack the bar across the rear of your shoulders as you would a power squat, not on top of your traps. At the proper height, you should be near parallel to the floor when bent over. Keep your back tight, shoulder blades pinched together, and your knees slightly bent. Keep your back arched and your cervical spine in proper alignment.
  3. Begin the motion by extending through the hips with your glutes and hamstrings, and you are standing with the weight.
  4. Slowly lower the weight back to the starting position, where it is supported by the chains.

The 10 Best Hanging Bar Good Morning Alternatives

10 substitutes, ranked by how closely each one matches the Hanging Bar 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. Good Morning

    1. Good Morning

    86% match

    Hamstrings · Intermediate · Compound

    Pick this when you want an easier version that 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 Hanging Bar Good Morning
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Hanging Bar Good Morning
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as the Hanging Bar Good Morning
    • Body position: standing, not hanging
    • Balance: easier to stay steady on than the Hanging Bar Good Morning
  2. Good Morning Off Pins

    2. Good Morning Off Pins

    86% match

    Hamstrings · Advanced · Compound

    Pick this when you want to work the hamstrings with less balance to manage.

    • Barbell
    How to perform it
    1. Begin with a bar on a rack at about the same height as your stomach. Bend over underneath the bar and rack the bar across the rear of your shoulders as you would a power squat, not on top of your shoulders. At the proper height, you should be near parallel to the floor when bent over. Keep your back tight, shoulder blades pinched together, and your knees slightly bent. Keep your back arched and your cervical spine in proper alignment.
    2. Begin the motion by extending through the hips with your glutes and hamstrings, and you are standing with the weight. Slowly lower the weight back to the pins returning to the starting position.

    Sets and reps: 3 to 5 sets of 5 to 8 reps.

    Why this matches
    • Movement: good-morning hinge, the same as the Hanging Bar Good Morning
    • Primary muscle: hamstrings, the same as the Hanging Bar Good Morning
    • Equipment: free weights, the same as the Hanging Bar Good Morning
    • Body position: standing, not hanging
    • Balance: easier to stay steady on than the Hanging Bar Good Morning

Hanging Bar Good Morning FAQ

What muscles does Hanging Bar Good Morning work?

The Hanging Bar Good Morning primarily targets the hamstrings and spinal erectors while engaging the glutes and upper back for stabilization. The movement is a hip hinge, so hamstrings lengthen eccentrically and generate force during hip extension while the erectors resist forward flexion.

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