Good Morning off Pins

advanced · hinge

Setup

Set the two safety pins in the squat rack at the height the bar sits when you are hinged all the way down — usually around belly height as you stand; check it with an empty bar first and adjust it to your build. Step under the bar inside the rack and get into the hinged position before you lift, the bar across the rear of your shoulders as in a low-bar squat rather than on top of them, hands gripping it firmly, feet shoulder-width apart. The whole set happens inside the rack: you never walk the bar out.

Execution

Inhale, brace your core, back flat, knees softly bent, and hold that same knee angle for the whole set.
Exhale, drive your hips forward and squeeze your glutes to lift the bar off the pins and stand tall, the back travelling as one rigid piece.
Inhale, push your hips back and lower until the bar settles back onto both pins; let it come to a full stop before the next rep — every rep starts from a dead stop, which is what makes this the off-pins version.
Keep the load well below your squat numbers: the range is long and the bar travels far from the hips, so a small jump in weight feels much bigger than it looks.
If your back starts to round, you lose your balance or the bar will not move, just let it stay on the pins and step out forward; because you are inside the rack you never have to fight your way up with the bar on your back.

Breathing

Inhale as you hinge forward, exhale as you stand back up. Do not hold your breath at the bottom of the hinge; if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, a hernia or you are pregnant, avoid this heavy hip-hinge exercise.

Quick cues

Push the hips back first.
Back flat like a tabletop.
Knees hold the same soft bend.
Lose balance? Lower onto the pins.

Common faults

Fault: Bending from the lower back instead of the hip
Fix: Push the hips back first and let the back travel as one rigid piece behind it.
Fault: Loading far more than you can control while balancing the bar
Fix: Drop the weight well below your squat numbers and progress it very slowly.
Fault: Hinging too deep, causing the back to start rounding
Fix: Stop at the depth just before the back loses its flat position, and increase it gradually over time.
Fault: Standing up by arching the upper back instead of driving the hips forward
Fix: Start the stand-up by driving the hips forward.

Equipment

barbell, squat_rack

Muscle groups

legs, glutes, back, core