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Other/Mixed Does anyone have experience Stu McGill's "Big 3" exercises to fix back pain

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)

joemac

Level 3 Valued Member
Hi.

My main physical pain is lower back pain born from years of sitting in a chair working at a computer.
This issue does not prevent any functionality/mobility in my life, but it hurts a lot and I worry that it will get a lot worse as I age.
I already perform various stretches that should heal my back: arm bars, dead hangs, shoulder stretches, John Engum's frog progression.
I have just switched from a sitting desk to a standing desk. I know that according to Stu McGill that there is no "correct" position to stay at for 8 hours a day, including standing. But I figure this will lay off some pressure on my lower back.
I watched some videos of Stu McGill on YouTube. So I met with a physical therapist in my area who has some training with the "McGill Method". He recommended I implement Stu McGill's "Big 3" exercises.
My understanding is that these are basically exercises that strengthen the core muscles which have become weakened through years of sitting.

Does anyone have experience with implementing Stu McGill's "Big 3" exercises and what were your results?
Also, are there any videos on YouTube in particular that are recommended to understanding how to perform them correctly?

Thank you.

Ilya
 
If you're already meeting with the physical therapist then your best bet is to follow their plan. The McGill big 3 are great for developing muscular endurance and motor control to help hold your spine in a particular position - but, of course, they must be performed precisely in order to get the desired benefit. If your PT thinks that your back pain is stemming from a lack of muscular endurance and motor control then those exercise could be of great help. However, not all back problems are necessarily from that, so you need to be careful about treating it with a "one size fits all" approach. Keep working with your PT and follow their plan :)
 
I think they're solid. I don't do them regularly, but there have been times when I've had issues and planks, loaded carries, ab work, and the bird-dog pose (w. "crunch") has been part of rehabbing/re-patterning for me.

What does the rest of your training/exercise regimen look like?
 
I don't do the big 3, but I do some things in training that are similar to them. Like Steve, I feel like 1) strength in the lower back (from deadlifts, squats, kettlbell swings, weightlifting) and 2) good hip mobility (from frog, squats, 90/90, etc.) are the things that keep my low back strong, resilient, functional, and not overly sensitive to pain signals.

I too have had an 8-hours-a-day-at-a-computer/desk-job for 22 years now. No doubt I spend too much time sitting, but it doesn't cause me any back pain. Yours may be related, but I would challenge this a bit: "lower back pain born from years of sitting in a chair working at a computer". Do you know that it's from that? I'm guessing it can't be determined precisely. So, don't blame yourself or feel like you did it to yourself. It's just a condition that you have that may or may not be related to things you're doing.

I would also challenge this line of thinking: "perform various stretches that should heal my back". Is it injured, or just painful? If it's not injured, it probably doesn't need healing... but strength and mobility will probably build it to be stronger and more resilient.

The last thing I would challenge is this, "strengthen the core muscles which have become weakened through years of sitting." The muscles may be weak, but it is probably due to inadequate stimulus to make them strong, not directly from sitting.

I know back pain can be really frustrating so I'm not trying to be contrarian, but I hear the phrases that you are using quite a bit and I have learned to think about back pain differently from sources like Geoff Ford Physio and Barbell Medicine.

Best of luck to you and keep us posted on how things go in seeking solutions.
 
I tried the McGill Big 3 after I hurt my back in with a bad deadlift attempt. Unfortunately unlike the OP I did not have a physical therapist with training in the McGill method, so I had to make up my own programming of the Big 3 exercises.

I felt like the Viniyoga sessions I did with a Viniyoga teacher-in-training helped a lot more. But she was working with me one-on-one and did all the yoga programming for me, specific to my injury and how I responded to certain movements and poses.

I also went on vacation to a place where I had daily access to a swimming pool. This worked wonders for my how my back felt as well. I didn't focus on any particular movement. I just practiced the strokes I remembered from children's swim class - freestyle/crawl, breast stroke, etc.

More recently, I pulled something in my back shoveling snow. Isometric high position deadlift immediately relieved it - gentle force of course.
 
joemac said:
Hi.

My main physical pain is lower back pain born from years of sitting in a chair working at a computer.
This issue does not prevent any functionality/mobility in my life, but it hurts a lot and I worry that it will get a lot worse as I age.
I already perform various stretches that should heal my back: arm bars, dead hangs, shoulder stretches, John Engum's frog progression.
I have just switched from a sitting desk to a standing desk. I know that according to Stu McGill that there is no "correct" position to stay at for 8 hours a day, including standing. But I figure this will lay off some pressure on my lower back.
I watched some videos of Stu McGill on YouTube. So I met with a physical therapist in my area who has some training with the "McGill Method". He recommended I implement Stu McGill's "Big 3" exercises.
My understanding is that these are basically exercises that strengthen the core muscles which have become weakened through years of sitting.

Does anyone have experience with implementing Stu McGill's "Big 3" exercises and what were your results?
Also, are there any videos on YouTube in particular that are recommended to understanding how to perform them correctly?

Thank you.

Ilya
Click to expand...
Check out this post. It has several links on pain, back pain, and pain in training.

Other/Mixed - Pain in Training (What do I do now?)

I thought I'd share a couple articles that have been helpful for me, regarding training with pain. They might be helpful for you personally or with clients. They're barbell-focused but I think the principles apply outside of that as well. I have mostly used these for myself, but I have also...
www.strongfirst.com
 
From a clinical perspective (as always it depends so take this with a grain of salt):
If the back can handle the force and compression but not training with movements the big3 are great cause we get to load the spine and/or muscles without the aggrevating part.

Later on when we can add movements we can train in movement tolerance depending on need.

McGill has excellent progressions and regressions to use. For instance "stir the pot" on a pilates-ball will take your core strength pretty far. His book "Back Fitness and performance" even touches on squatting/benching with chains.

From a personal perspective:
My back does not tolerate one sided contraction (with agonist relaxation) like a sit-up or Superman. I will litteratly limp the day after. But I can do dragon flags or standing ab-wheel rollouts (or... What resembles partial standing-ab-wheel-rollouts) without problems.
I started with basic planks, moved up to adding movements when my back could tolerate it, and have regressed since then to doing the basic "big 3" with applied force and varyiing time.

I "always" do them before my sessions. I alternate between 25-20-15seconds per position and side, 20 sec all out, 1minute static (1minute copenhagen-plank is a long time)
 
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I have been doing the McGill Big 3 for months. It has definitely helped me with strengthening my core and adding to resolving backpain. I add hard-style planks to it, myself. at a cost of 10 seconds per hold, I think it pays back very well.

I'll use coffee breaks throughout the day to do it 3-5 times a day. 10 seconds per hold. I do put some stank on it sometimes by using power breathing through the hold. I'll do the routine several times a day most days of the week.

I've also been working on the Sore Joints Solution. Or, manly mobility as it was called. That's definitely helped some as well. Maybe it's got more long-term benefits than short-term benefits for me for this. I personally feel a larger boost in stability using the big 3 on a coffee break. I can sense it easily as I do an unweighted getup, to standing afterward. The manly mobility routine definitely helps, as the test-retest reveals. However, as far as the problematic lower left back muscles are concerned, they notice a bigger before-after difference using the big 3.

The more painful state I was in months ago has largely subsided, several months later. I think my problem was a lack of tension from my dear Abbies, which lacked spinal protection during presses. Something vulnerable got injured, and I had to do some backing off in my training.

Adding in the big 3 + hard style planks throughout the day, and throughout the week, was a big part of my recovery.
 
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If we're going to have a more general discussion of back pain, then I'd like to hear more from the OP... A lot of questions have been posed to them, but no response yet.
 
joemac said:
Hi.

My main physical pain is lower back pain born from years of sitting in a chair working at a computer.
This issue does not prevent any functionality/mobility in my life, but it hurts a lot and I worry that it will get a lot worse as I age.
I already perform various stretches that should heal my back: arm bars, dead hangs, shoulder stretches, John Engum's frog progression.
I have just switched from a sitting desk to a standing desk. I know that according to Stu McGill that there is no "correct" position to stay at for 8 hours a day, including standing. But I figure this will lay off some pressure on my lower back.
I watched some videos of Stu McGill on YouTube. So I met with a physical therapist in my area who has some training with the "McGill Method". He recommended I implement Stu McGill's "Big 3" exercises.
My understanding is that these are basically exercises that strengthen the core muscles which have become weakened through years of sitting.

Does anyone have experience with implementing Stu McGill's "Big 3" exercises and what were your results?
Also, are there any videos on YouTube in particular that are recommended to understanding how to perform them correctly?

Thank you.

Ilya
Click to expand...
I would expect that the physio would show you the Big 3 and provide some coaching in how to correctly perform them. If not, then you are either not ready or there is some other reason. Stuart McGill has written books..... one called the Back Mechanic explains things for you and I understand has some videos you can access about the exercises which come with the book. Read the whole book as McGill discusses how to approach your back pain and it will fill any gaps in information your physio tried to communicate to you.
 
joemac said:
Hi.

My main physical pain is lower back pain born from years of sitting in a chair working at a computer.
This issue does not prevent any functionality/mobility in my life, but it hurts a lot and I worry that it will get a lot worse as I age.
I already perform various stretches that should heal my back: arm bars, dead hangs, shoulder stretches, John Engum's frog progression.
I have just switched from a sitting desk to a standing desk. I know that according to Stu McGill that there is no "correct" position to stay at for 8 hours a day, including standing. But I figure this will lay off some pressure on my lower back.
I watched some videos of Stu McGill on YouTube. So I met with a physical therapist in my area who has some training with the "McGill Method". He recommended I implement Stu McGill's "Big 3" exercises.
My understanding is that these are basically exercises that strengthen the core muscles which have become weakened through years of sitting.

Does anyone have experience with implementing Stu McGill's "Big 3" exercises and what were your results?
Also, are there any videos on YouTube in particular that are recommended to understanding how to perform them correctly?

Thank you.

Ilya
Click to expand...
You could try some of these.

 
joemac said:
Hi.

My main physical pain is lower back pain born from years of sitting in a chair working at a computer.
This issue does not prevent any functionality/mobility in my life, but it hurts a lot and I worry that it will get a lot worse as I age.
I already perform various stretches that should heal my back: arm bars, dead hangs, shoulder stretches, John Engum's frog progression.
I have just switched from a sitting desk to a standing desk. I know that according to Stu McGill that there is no "correct" position to stay at for 8 hours a day, including standing. But I figure this will lay off some pressure on my lower back.
I watched some videos of Stu McGill on YouTube. So I met with a physical therapist in my area who has some training with the "McGill Method". He recommended I implement Stu McGill's "Big 3" exercises.
My understanding is that these are basically exercises that strengthen the core muscles which have become weakened through years of sitting.

Does anyone have experience with implementing Stu McGill's "Big 3" exercises and what were your results?
Also, are there any videos on YouTube in particular that are recommended to understanding how to perform them correctly?

Thank you.

Ilya
Click to expand...
I have found that like other people have said that McGill big 3 can be helpful for muscular endurance and motor control, but don’t be fooled they are quite easy to be out of position or holding for longer than you can actually maintain control. As someone who has suffered a back injury, the thing that made a big difference was in my hips. I went and visited a chiro and my hips were “twisted” if you will. Once reset the back pain was immediately gone. That being said having solid core strength specifically developing oblique strength is key and maintaining my hips (mobility/strength/flexibilty) has helped tremendously. Something to consider is that often times the pain stems from elsewhere in the chain.
 
oab said:
Stuart McGill has written books..... one called the Back Mechanic explains things for you and I understand has some videos you can access about the exercises which come with the book. Read the whole book as McGill discusses how to approach your back pain and it will fill any gaps in information your physio tried to communicate to you.
Click to expand...
+ 1 to buying the book. I had some on and off low back pain that refused to go away. I bought the book and implemented all the recommendations, and I am starting to feel way better. The "Big 3" is not the only thing you get from the book. It's a whole philosophy on how you should rehabilitate your back. There is much more. It's a complete guide to figuring out what causes pain, how to avoid it, and yes, with the Big 3 and other stuff, how to get rid of it. The book is not cheap (37CAD for the Kindle edition), but worth every penny.

In addition, you can look at videos starring the man himself, either on his channel or in other people's channel. This is very educative.
 
I also had good success reading the whole McGill book and implementing his advice. Big 3 was part of that but not all. For example, I realized that I was habitually bending at my lower back to do stuff like tie my shoes, and that was aggravating my injury.
 
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