core training | Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

Why Certain Core Exercises Hurt Your Lower Back

November 25, 2018 · by Garrett McLaughlin

Article written on November 19th, 2018 at 01:46pm | Follow Garrett on Facebook and Instagram |

Does your lower back feel healthy and pain-free throughout the day but only to become very irritated with certain core exercises? Instead of jumping to conclusions, it’s important to realize two important factors:

You never have low back pain throughout your daily routine
Your back pain increases in response to specific movements

When this is the case, it’s important to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Of course, seeking an evaluation from a trained healthcare professional can be a viable option. And, I always recommend this when dealing with pain or before getting started with an exercise program. But, if you have narrowed down the painful stimulus to specific movements, then it seems more impactful to either remove the trigger or assess technique and form while performing those movements.

The core is a complex area of the body. In the movement world we refer to this as the lumbopelvic hip complex. Therefore, it encompasses more joints and muscles than most people realize.

For decades we have been addressing this area with exercises such as sit-ups, crunches, supermans, etc. These can be beneficial to increase strength at the musculature surrounding the core. But, how much impact do they have on stability? And, do they place an unwanted amount of compressive force on the spine itself?

Instead of always strengthening these muscles in an attempt to build a healthy and resilient spine, let’s incorporate a stability component to improve control and positioning of each spinal segment. Too often do I see people performing tons of flexion, extension, and rotation-based movements without any focus on stability and joint position. Yes, this might build a killer 6-pack, but is it the best long-term strategy for spine health?

So, where do you begin? Self-assessing core stability can provide feedback into how well you are controlling the position of your spine. This isn’t how much weight you can move or repetitions on a sit-up. But rather how well you maintain neutral while the extremities move.

A simple and effective self-assessment is the legs lowering drill. I would recommend performing this with a 10-second eccentric (lower) while monitoring the position of the pelvis, spine, and rib cage. Sometimes it can be helpful to have a friend look at these areas for you to provide more accurate feedback. The video below will provide an explanation on how to properly perform this self-assessment.

Following the legs lowering self-assessment, if you notice that the lumbar spine loses it’s position into extension before the legs lower to 45 degrees, it’s important to patiently and consistently work on improving core stability. In the following video, I want to walk you through a simple exercise progression that serves as the foundation for better lumbar stability. These exercises include:

Hooklying marching
Dead bug
Overhead dead bug

If this approach to core training is new to you or you found that it was very challenging to perform these exercises with good control, it’s important to make these stability exercises a staple within your program. What’s important when it comes to improving stability is not attempting the hardest variation and struggling through with minimal success. Instead, perform the exercise that challenges you in a productive way for 4-8 weeks before moving on to the next. The goal should be quality and execution over quantity.

If you have any questions or need help troubleshooting any lower back pain as it relates to your current exercise program, please feel free to comment below or message me directly. I hope this video provided you value in some way. Thanks for reading!

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

How to Create a Well-Rounded Core Training Program

August 28, 2017 · by Garrett McLaughlin

Article written on August 23rd, 2017 at 10:14am | Follow Garrett on Facebook and Instagram |

The core is complex and often misunderstood. I see this on a daily basis as I evaluate new clients and talk to them more deeply about their current exercise routine.

It’s quite easy to think about solely the abdominals when it comes to the core. They play a vital role in everyday tasks, athletics and injury prevention. Not to mention it’s a goal of most people to get “more cut” or 6-pack abs. But, training these muscles and overlooking the other important areas of the core is a very shortsighted approach that creates limited results.

In the following video, I talk about how the core requires attention from many different directions. From a stability standpoint, it’s important to teach the core how to prevent extension, prevent side bending, and prevent rotation. These three areas comprise a very well-rounded core stability training program when addressed properly. Let me show you exercises that will provide you with better long-term results…

By: Garrett McLaughlin, MS, ATC, CSCS, ART

Exercise of the Month: Bird Dog

August 3, 2014 · by Garrett McLaughlin

The bird dog is a very under-utilized exercise which works the core. Now, when I say core I don’t mean solely the abdominals and obliques like during all those crunches and sit-ups people do too often. I mean the deeper inner core that stabilizes the spinal column. Muscles like the transverse abdominis, multifidi, intertransversarii group, and erector spinae group. These muscles need to be trained following any lower back injury to promote reflex stabilization and regain proper function. The bird dog is core stability exercise that relies on a stable spine and movement at the extremities. I can imagine you have seen this done in many gyms near and far, and I can safely say it is done wrong the majority of the time. Many people use this exercise to strengthen the hip extensors (gluteus maximus and hamstrings), but putting the hip through maximal hip extension will cause the lumbar spine to hyperextend as a result. When this happens we increase compression at the facet joints, pinch the interspinous ligament between the spinous processes, and actually cause instability to occur. Follow the steps below to make sure you are getting the most out of this exercise!

How to perform this exercise:

Start by placing yourself in the quadruped position (hands under shoulders, knees under hips).
Set the core by placing the lumbar spine in a neutral position. This should be when the low back is flat.
While maintaining this position, extend the opposite arm and leg away from the body (shoulder flexion/hip extension).
Return to the starting position without letting your extremities touch the ground.
Repeat for desired repetitions and then switch sides.

Notes: It’s imperative not to focus on maximal hip extension. When the extending hip travels too far we will compensate with lumbar hyperextension. If that happens the point of the exercise is defeated as we have lost core stability. Don’t worry about your limbs traveling too high when you are starting out. Keep a neutral lumbar spine and move the extremities as far as needed to challenge this position. If this exercise proves to be challenging, try regressing to the quadruped hip extension.

Garrett McLaughlin is a licensed athletic trainer, personal trainer, and certified active release techniques provider. He enjoys using all of his skills progressing clients from rehabilitation to fitness. Please contact Garrett for questions or to schedule a session.