The McGill Big 3 are a set of exercises I talk about a lot. But they are often misunderstood. Sometimes what I see people using them for is a little different to what I believe they should be used for.

 Let me explain...

What are the McGill Big 3?

I run through these with a demo in the video above. But in summary: 

1. Arguably the most well known ‘Big 3’ exercise is the bird dog: getting onto all fours and raising alternate arms and legs. This position and movement acts mainly on the posterior chain of muscles - the glutes, the lats, the longissimus, iliocostalis, thoracal lumber etc. 

2. Second is the side plank, which works more on the lateral musculature, as well as the gluteus medius and gluteus minimus - particularly when you hold this position.
3. Finally, the modified curl up. Laying on the back, this is a simplified version of a curl up, where we maintain position of the lower back, lifting only the shoulder blades. We then hold this position so we feel the abdominals. This
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If you, like many of my clients, suffer from low back pain, but still want to be able to develop core strength, stability and endurance, then Bird Dog could be an important addition to your routine. In the tutorial above I talk about why it’s so important as well as some of the ways I see people getting it wrong.

Why is Bird Dog important for low back rehab?

Bird Dog is useful and important for 3 reasons: 

1. It's helping you develop something I call joint awareness.
2. It's a high stability exercise – developing good quality stability.
3. It's a low compression exercise - so it doesn’t put a huge amount of stress on the spine.

What do we mean by joint awareness?

If you want to be technical, we should be calling this proprioception, but I just want to keep it simple here. That’s why I’m calling it joint awareness. This means what is your body doing when you ask it to perform specific exercises? Where are you feeling the movements? Are you able to work individual joints independently...

Opinions differ when it comes to the subject of whether back extensions are a good exercise for strengthening the lower back. In fact, I don’t often prescribe the back extension as I feel there are usually other exercises that can get you a better result.

But I’m aware there are people who don’t agree with me, so for the sake of balance, let’s look at the positives and negatives.

Performing back extensions – what are we actually trying to do

There are lots of ways of doing the back extension. One being on the floor, another with a machine. You’ll see in the tutorial video, that I demonstrate using a piece of equipment that allows me to hinge at the hips and then extend back up. This helps to activate and strengthen the lower back muscles.

In short, what we’re aiming to do with back extensions is to get the longissimus and the iliocostalis, along with other muscles of the lower back and even the glutes, to activate or come online. You can do this via a dynamic movement, as demonstra...

Are you looking for a package or product that’s going to fix your lower back pain? A specific exercise perhaps? A few rules to follow? A magic wand to wave?

There are plenty of people around who will try to give you the answer. “Do this stretch,” they’ll say. “Try that technique.” And while these may be things that have worked from some people in some circumstances, and while they may be science-backed, to some extent at least, the suggested exercises will often be generalised. And just because a certain technique is better for lower back pain than another, does not necessarily mean that it’s the right thing to do for your lower back pain.

How to know what will work for you?

As there are so many different suggestions floating around, it can be hard to really set up a routine that works over time. Simply trying different things here and there is unlikely to help. And even if it does seem to, it will be near impossible to unpick what’s actually working.

Let’s say someone advises you ...

This might not necessarily be something you think is important. But it is. It’s something that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough. That’s why in this tutorial I wanted to go back to basics and  show you why, if you are struggling with lower back pain, you should be rethinking everything you do. 

So, what is this untold secret? 

It's small movement errors, the things that happen when we lift or twist, when we’re in a rush or not thinking. It’s the fact that just a little more concentration on the way we perform these everyday adjustments could make a very real difference on the recovery or recurrence of our lower back pain. 

Let’s get more specific: 

• Rounding the lower back  

When we get ready to lift something, we naturally round the back. Particularly when it’s something we don’t view as ‘heavy’. The problem is this rounding puts extra stress on the discs of the lower back. And whether we’re lifting from a sitting position or a standing position, this extra stress can lea...

When I speak to people struggling with lower back pain, they often ask the same questions: should I continue to exercise? What exercises should I do? And how do I make sure I don’t make it worse? 

In this tutorial I want to set out the journey you’ll go on and what you should be doing. As well as how I can help you to implement lots of positive changes, step by step without aggravating your lower back pain.

The importance of understanding lower back pain

The first thing I want to say here, is that your lower back pain is specific to you, you will have your own triggers. There will be specific postures, and scenarios that make it better or worse. The first step is to get to know and understand your own lower back. Because that’s the only way you’ll be able to learn how to do the right thing for it. 

When you join one of my online programmes, or work with me face-to-face, the first step will always be an assessment of your lower back pain. This will involve you answering some questio...

In this tutorial we’ll look at what is a butt wink or what is a hip wink then we'll look at why it's a problem. Finally we’ll cover four ways we can prevent it happening if you’re struggling with lower back pain.

What is a butt wink or hip wink?

A hip or butt wink is when the pelvis tucks underneath as you go down into a squat or into hip flexion. It's only a small movement but just tucks under as you get to the lowest part of the movement. We don't want this to happen as it’s a problem when it comes to muscle activation, as well as contributing to lower back pain because it's irritating one specific part of the joint. 

How can you tell if what you’re feeling is a hip wink? 

A hip wink is actually a very subtle movement that might be confused with your shorts being pulled tight. You can tell if it’s the hip winking by putting your hand across your back. Place your little finger on your pelvis and your thumb on your lower back and the back of your hand in between. As you go down you...

What is core endurance?

Core endurance is the ability to maintain a position or perform multiple repetitions. It’s when we’re lacking this core endurance element, that we can find lower back pain creeping in if we’re performing exercises repeatedly or over a period of time.

Why not core strength?

Core strength gets talked about a lot in these conversations. People often say, ‘I need to improve my core strength,’ ‘I need to run to improve my core strength,’ etc. The thing is, I know plenty of people who can lift heavy weights but still have bad backs, and plenty of people who can’t, and yet don’t.

The fact is, back muscle strength has not been found to be a significant predictor of first time injuries. Put simply, the issue isn’t strength.

The strength aspect is literally the ability to contract the muscles and get into the position to lift the weight and to perform the exercise. The endurance part is the ability to maintain the position and perform lots of repetitions. And this i...

When clients ask me about building endurance I always tell them there is a right way to do it and a wrong way to do it when it comes to impacting the spine. In this tutorial I want to look at the right way to do it.

The anatomy of the spine and surrounding muscles

The main components of the spine are the vertebrae, the discs and the facet joints. The vertebrae are the boney bits, the discs sit between them and then the facet joints sit in between the vertebrae to the rear, between the processes that are positioned at the back of the spine.

Then there are the muscles.

When it comes to the spine, there are 3 main muscles, iliocostalis, longissimus and QL. You can watch the video above for a detailed description (with diagrams) of exactly where these muscles sit. But in summary, the longissimus and iliocostalis anchor onto ribs. While QL connects the pelvis, the spine and the rib cage.

What are these joints and muscles doing?

I often say it, but as a quick reminder - strength is th...

One of the therapies I use to overcome lower back pain is fast walking. But why is it so good and how exactly should you go about it for best effect?

The benefits of fast walking for lower back pain relief

Walking is a whole body exercise. It allows us to work a number of core muscles and tissues. And in fact, for various reasons, walking fast is more beneficial to the body, and the back in particular, than walking slowly.

This is a therapeutic technique that is advised by Dr McGill, and it’s one that I often recommend to my clients. So here I’d like to help you understand a little more about the science behind why it’s so effective, and how you can be sure you’re doing it right.

The role of Myofasciae in walking

Myofasciae are bands of connective tissue that are present across the whole body. Their main function is to hold everything together, a little like an elasticated body suit. It actually does loads more for us than this – it’s involved in proper immune system functioning, ...