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 ...

Have you ever thought about how hard your spine has to work? It allows you to stand and bend. It enables you to walk and move around. In fact, it’s integral to almost every movement you do. And if you suffer with any degree of pain in your spine, you’ll know it can be really quite debilitating, impacting on large parts of everyday life.

Unfortunately, as we age, our spine starts to degenerate and weaken, leading to ‘wear and tear’ of its various parts. In today’s tutorial I want to talk about one such issue that can crop up, the bulging or herniated disc, as well as exercises I advise (and don’t advise!) you to do to aid recovery.

What are spinal discs?

Your spine is made up of 33 vertebrae which are split into five different categories, or types, depending on where they sit and how they behave. The lowest nine, around the tailbone or sacrum, are fused together, however the remainder, from the lumbar region upwards are separated by spinal discs. These discs have a hard, fibrous wall...

The first step in learning how to stretch out or rehabilitate a specific condition is to understand what’s happening anatomically. Without that detailed knowledge, it’s difficult to understand the reasons behind particular movements and techniques. Which means it’s hard to stay motivated.

If you can see how or why something works, you’re much more likely to stick to it and therefore more likely to see results.

That’s why in this tutorial I want to talk about the way I approach scoliosis treatment and how and why this can help improve associated back pain and discomfort.

What impact does scoliosis have on the body?

Scoliosis causes curvature of the spine. It can be present from birth, or more usually appears during adolescence. Sometimes this may be as part of a condition such as muscular dystrophy or cerebral palsy, but often the cause is unknown. Depending on where on the spine the curve occurs, and how severe it is, this may be visible, affecting a person’s appearance.

Curvature...

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...

Back extensions are popular with people looking to target and rehabilitate their lower back. But if you’re in that position or these have been suggested by your trainer, there are a few reasons you should think twice before giving them a place in your exercise regime. 

In this blog we’ll look at some of the anatomical reasons you should think about your approach to low back rehabilitation differently. We refer to the book, Low Back Disorder by internationally recognised low back specialist, Dr Stuart McGill, and we look at an alternative exercise that could work to help improve your low back pain.

First, some anatomy to help us understand the back muscles at play

When we’re talking about the lower back and lumbar region, we often talk about groups of muscles called extensors, flexors and iliopsoas. These attach to the spine via soft tissues or tendons. And if injured or weakened can cause pain in this tendinous lower back area. 

This time though, we’re going to focus on different m...

Lumbar Lordosis is natural; it helps give your spine its natural S-shape. When this natural S curve becomes exaggerated it becomes the condition Lordosis. This can also affect your neck but for the purposes of this blog I want to talk about lumbar Lordosis.

In the video above I’ll explain what is the natural curve and what is exaggerated.

Benefits of your natural S-Curve

That S shape of your lumbar spine has many benefits;

1. Absorbs shock from the lower body
2. Helps maintain the natural S shape of your upper spine
3. Stabilises the vertebrae above

How to check for possible Lordosis

A simple way to check for exaggerated lumbar Lordosis is to lie on a flat surface and slide your hand on your lower back. If you have a lot of space between your hand and spine, does your abdomen also stick out? However this space could also be created due to muscle bulk of the gluteal group.

When to check with a doctor?

If the lordotic curve doesn’t corrects itself when you bend forward as if to touc...

An abs workout is possibly the most utilised workout in fitness. I’ve travelled the UK teaching fitness; the members of gyms are doing them, the PT’s in the gym as well and people on my course have endless questions about why they shouldn’t.

Although they are popular an abs workout is a poor choice of workout. For two fundamental reasons; they over stress the spine, which could lead to injury. While your muscles seem stronger your core isn’t. This subject is normally met with common questions…

Is a strong muscle the same as a strong core?

Your core performs best as a whole unit. Many people assume by training each muscle on its own their core get stronger. A fully fit core is greater than the sum of its parts. To build a core like this we train it as a whole.

What do I do instead?

Replace your abs workout with a core workout made from Core Exercises. These exercise begin to move you away from single muscles and more into areas of the core and movements.

I don’t feel any pain?

Pa...