A single piece of gym equipment, landmine moves can supercharge common exercises into more functional, strength and muscle building moves
The landmine could be the most overlooked piece of training equipment in the weights room, if you approach it with some fresh moves and a new understanding of what makes the humble landmine so explosively effective, according to the authors of the new book, the ‘Complete Guide To Landmine Training’.
Sometimes less is more, and the landmine is called the ‘corner gym’ precisely because it offers a huge menu of exercise variations performed on a functional plane of motion, allowing you to push harder for faster gains.
But what are the ten essential landmine moves that you could use to build a total-body workout and 4-week program, and what are the hidden benefits of mastering the landmine? From protecting your joints to hitting your muscles from different angles, we lift the lid on why you need to get into landmine training, now!
Joint support
The landmine may be overlooked, but it’s one of the most intuitive pieces of gym equipment to use, sitting somewhere between weight machines with fixed ranges of motion, and free weights that require you to stabilise the load.
The semicircular path of the movements you make with a landmine mimic many of the athletic movements you make in sports, from running to throwing and from squatting to jumping, which all rely heavily on your joints. “The hips and shoulders are ball-and-socket joints that serve as the body’s primary movement junctions,” says David Otey.
So, training these joints with a landmine allows you to target these movements explosively but with a degree of safety because the other end of the long lever is anchored into place.
The landmine can also unlock moves that were previously out of reach or created an injury risk due to mobility issues. Classically, the overhead press is one of these: “A majority of gym goers lack the thoracic spine mobility, shoulder mobility, and core stability required to effectively press weights directly overhead,” says Otey.
Sure, we may be able to ‘fudge’ those free weight dumb-bell presses and military presses but there comes a point where loading them up becomes sketchy, which is why many lifters have a strength imbalance here. The movement path of a landmine press, however, allows for vertical movement without going directly overhead, permitting you to progressively add more weight and achieve greater gains.
Similar improved mechanics apply to hip-hinge exercises such as the Romanian Deadlift. This is because the landmine’s arc path still allows you to hinge while changing the range of motion and the direction from which force is applied, so you can train the movement with intensity while minimising lower back strain.
Extend your range
We all know that single-leg and single-arm moves can be shortcuts to improved functional strength, full-body power and a balanced physique, but adding weight to them makes them exponentially harder as the stability challenge rises and balance becomes an issue.
This is where the landmine comes in by offering a third point of contact to support both staggered stance and single-leg exercise variations, while the landmine itself enables good power transfer between the lower and upper body, for a stronger core.
When it comes to stability, the landmine is great at providing training load for side-to-side movements because you have to actively resist the torque created by its long lever. “Since the landmine involves a rotating fixed pivot point, as we lift it off the floor into shoulder-racked or overhead positions, the bar can only move side to side. This side-to-side instability is amplified in comparison to other tools because the long lever design means our entire body from the ground up has to work overtime to control it,” says Otey.
There’s one kind of movement that’s notoriously difficult to effectively train in the gym, but comes up all the time in everyday movements. The criss-cross design of the muscles in your torsos should tell you that you’re designed to be strong when generating and resisting rotational movements, particularly through the core.
Fortunately, the landmine provides the ideal platform to train this transverse plane and give you more ‘X-factor’ power when generating force through your shoulder and opposite hip, useful for everything from throwing a punch to climbing the stairs.
The landmine has a final trick up its sleeve if you’re looking to improve your grip strength, which is key indicator of longevity, as well as a secret weapon for improving all kinds of lifts. This is because the barbell end is thicker than most dumbbell handles and other gear, which forces the muscles in your forearm and hands to grip with more intensity, making them stronger in the process!
So, how can you maximise these benefits and combine landmine moves into a time-saving, muscle-boosting, full body workout? Read on to find out…
Ten best landmine moves
This pair of workouts can be arranged into a 2-3 sessions per week schedule to hit your whole body. Progressively increase the resistance week on week but take care to follow proper form.
Warm-up
You should always do a 10-15 minute warm-up ahead of a resistance workout, and in the spirit of using the landmine as the ‘corner gym’, you can do some of the workout moves below with low weight and slow sped as part of a great functional warm up.
Landmine safety tips
- Use a secure anchor point such as a squat rack attachment, especially for heavier exercises.
- Start with lower weights and slower tempos until you have mastered the movements.
- When holding the ends of the barbell, place hands together rather than stacked above each other and place your thumbs over the end for a secure grip.
- Be aware of the bar height when picking up off the floor – an unloaded bar is more demanding of flexibility, whereas large bumper plates, such as those used for Olympic lifts, are better than smaller traditional weight plates.
Total Body Workout One
This landmine-only workout features lower body push and upper body pull exercises.
- Top-loaded Reverse Lunge
Sets: 3, Reps: 12 (each side)
A classic quad, glute and hamstring exercise – to load more weight, you can place the end of the bar on the shoulder opposite the forward leg.
- Stand tall with feet flat and stacked directly under the hips.
- Keep elbows tight in and slowly step back with the right leg.
- Drive through the forward foot to bring your body back up.
2. Staggered Meadows Row
Sets: 3, Reps: 12 (each side)
This move targets the lats, biceps and upper back while using a landmine will develop isometric hip and core stability into the bargain.
- Hinge the hips and place most of your weight onto the forward leg.
- Pull the right elbow up and back so the right hand travels up to the bottom ribs.
3. Heels-Elevated Landmine Goblet Squat
Sets: 3, Reps 12
Targets the quads, upper back and glutes as you would expect but the landmine also loads the front core.
- Shift your slightly into the balls of your feet with heels elevated onto weight plates or wedges.
- Keep arms tights to the body and slowly lower before exhaling and pushing back up.
4. Lateral Raise
Sets: 3, Reps: 12 (each side)
This move uses the arc of the landmine to challenge your shoulders into growth.
- Brace the core and maintain a very slight bend in the right arm to avoid lockout.
- Bring the right hand up and out away from the body in an arc until it is in line with the body and return.
5. Offset Core Rotations
Sets: 3, Reps: 12 (each side)
A rotational move to strengthen the lower back and obliques.
- Stand with your body parallel to the barbell so that it sticks out slightly beyond your left side .
- Rotate through the core with stiff arms to bring the barbell up and out to the right side until the landmine is parallel with your body then return.
Total body workout two
This landmine-only workout features lower body pull and upper body push exercises.
1. Rotational RDL-to-Press
Sets 3, Reps: 12 (each side)
Ideal as a low-weight, slow-speed functional full-body warm up that hits the glutes and core and builds rotational stability.
- Stand with a soft bend in the left knee then break at the hips so the landmine travels in line with or slightly below the knee.
- Drive up and to the right off of the left foot and rotate the entire body to finish with the landmine in a locked-out position.
- Simultaneously rotate the feet with the hips for a solid split-stance.
2. Single-arm Z-Press
Sets: 3 Reps: 12 (each side)
Hit your shoulders, triceps and upper chest in one go while stabilising through the pelvis.
- Sit with legs approximately 45 degrees and maintain a natural curvature of the spine.
- Press the barbell overhead until your right arm is fully locked out in line with the shoulder.
3. Landmine Sumo Deadlift
Sets: 3, Reps: 12
A powerful move that targets the hamstrings, adductors and glutes using a body position that you’ll be able to load up.
- Feet at least double hip width and toes turned slightly out.
- Brace the core and break at the hips and knees to sit back.
- Maintain core tension and push back up through your feet.
4. Standing Chest Fly
Sets: 3 Reps: 12 (each side)
A move to hit the chest and front shoulder that’s surprisingly tough because of the long arm lever.
- Angle feet slightly 45 degrees away from the landmine anchor point.
- Maintaining a slight bend in the lifting elbow, raise the bar up and across the and actively squeeze your chest at the top.
5. Landmine Bear Crawl
Sets: 3 Reps: One minute
This will hit your whole body but specifically hits your abs and obliques.
- Place your hands directly under your shoulders, push your shoulder blades ‘apart’ and bend your knees to achieve a flat back position.
- Slowly take small ‘bear crawl’ steps with the feet as far as the landmine can safely travel in one direction then switch sides.
• 82 landmine exercises and 35 workout programs are available in the new book out now The Complete Guide to Landmine Training from Human Kinetics by David Otey and Joe Drake us.humankinetics.com
