How the Pinned Good Morning Can Boost Your Deadlift

If you want a stronger deadlift, adding the right assistance lifts is key. One of my favourites for building explosive power off the floor? The Pinned Good Morning. Simple, effective, and often overlooked, this lift targets the exact muscles and movement patterns you need for a bigger pull.

Many lifters focus solely on the deadlift itself, but assistance lifts are where the real long-term gains come from. They strengthen weak points, reinforce proper mechanics, and train your body to generate force more efficiently.

The Pinned Good Morning is especially useful because it forces you to start from a dead stop no momentum, no cheating and generate power immediately. That’s exactly what’s required when breaking the bar off the floor in a heavy deadlift.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to doing it safely and effectively:

1. Set the pins correctly – Position the pins around the end range of your hinge. Too low or too high will compromise your movement and safety. 
2. Hinge, don’t bend – Push your glutes back, maintain a neutral spine, and control the descent. This ensures the posterior chain is doing the work. 
3. Load appropriately – Aim for around 60–70% of your deadlift 1RM. Heavy enough to create real tension, but not so heavy that form suffers. 
4. Explosive drive – Start from the pins and drive upward with your glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. Think of it as building power, not just moving weight. 

To keep your deadlift accessory work effective, rotate in variations that target slightly different strengths:

• Standard Good Mornings – Build raw hinge strength and posterior chain control. 
• Good Mornings with Extension – Drive up onto your toes at the top to add extra power through the lift’s finish. 

Starting from a dead stop removes any momentum you might normally rely on. That means every rep is about force generation through your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back — the exact muscles you need for a big pull off the floor. Over time, this builds not only strength but confidence in your positioning under the bar.

Before loading this lift heavy, make sure your hinge mechanics are solid. Poor form under load can lead to injury and will limit the transfer to your deadlift. 

The Pinned Good Morning is a deceptively simple accessory lift that packs a big punch for deadlift performance. Used correctly, it strengthens your posterior chain, reinforces proper mechanics, and helps you generate more force where it matters most.

Start incorporating it into your training, rotate in variations to hit different weak points, and watch your deadlift off the floor improve.

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