McGill’s ‘Big 3’

Thanks to years studying the spine, Dr McGill has identified three specific exercises that work together to effectively rehabilitate the back and build core stability. Known throughout the industry as ‘the Big 3’, these are some of the first exercises reached for by people and professionals alike when trying to overcome lower back pain.

In this tutorial, however, I want to explain why I think there’s more to it than that.

What do I know?

I’m not trying to be controversial, or to negate the work Dr McGill has done. I use it with people with lower back pain all the time, so I have a good understanding and appreciation of it. But we do have to understand the context in which we’re doing the exercises and make sure we don’t build them up to be something that they’re not.

I’ve read all four of Dr McGill’s books, I’ve completed his level one foundation course, his level two course on assessing lower back pain and his level 4 performance course. And I’ve interviewed him ...

I fundamentally believe that one of the best ways to succeed in core training is to understand, anatomically, what it is doing for you and how your body is benefiting from the exercises you choose to do. That’s why I almost always stray into the biology when I’m presenting these concepts in my YouTube tutorials.

And this one is no exception. Here we look at core stability and how and why you can take it to the next level by focusing in on the bodily systems that work so closely together to keep us balanced and moving smoothly.

What is core stability?

As we often discuss, core stability is different to core strength. Core strength is your ability to hold a posture. Whereas core stability is about the timing of muscle movements. It’s about the small adjustments our body makes almost all of the time to improve our balance and keep us moving smoothly and efficiently.

We’re not talking about the big global force-production muscles that give us the strength and power to move at speed. We...

Core muscles are important for a healthy spine, reducing injury risk & sports. They help you at every level of fitness but only a few get the headlines. You’ve probably heard abdominals and maybe oblique’s. These are important core muscles but a small part of a bigger network.

Some important core muscles

Do you know there is a muscle called Quadratus Lumdorum? This is a very important muscle for your spine. Another called Latissimus Dorsi also helps stabilise your spine. These 10 core muscles in the tutorial above are working together to keep you fit and healthy but we don’t always train these muscles together.

Your Core

As I’ve mentioned your core is a network of muscles working together. However the exercises like sit-ups and crunches rarely show this. These exercises work your muscles separately and can hinder your health and fitness. Your core works best when exercises get muscles working together. Simple exercises like the plank and side plank do this.

But it doesn’t stop the...