You are one lucky lifter if you have access to a landmine exercise at your gym.
This unassuming-looking device, which consists of a short tube attached to a swivel joint.
And normally, it is tucked away in a gym corner, is one of the most adaptable and effective exercise equipment for improving functional strength and athletic performance.
You can load the opposite end of an Olympic bar into the landmine to conduct a variety of angular and rotational strength exercise by inserting one end of the bar into the landmine.
In a pinch, you can just slam a barbell into the corner of the room to stabilize it and hopefully not through the drywall.
What distinguishes the landmine training from other mines?
Consider this: The core athletic actions of pushing, pulling, squatting, lunging, and rotation should always be included in your training plan.
Even though they're the first variants most lifters try, the barbell-loaded versions of the first four of those motions are often the most difficult to pull off with acceptable technique.
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What are the benefits of landmine drills?
Landmine exercises are a type of weightlifting that can help you improve your fitness in a variety of ways.
These adaptable workouts aid in the development of strength and muscular hypertrophy.
Landmine training also helps to enhance balance and stability while also correcting body alignment issues.
18 Landmine Exercises
Here's a sample video of 18 Landmine Exercises. Watch it to learn more!
The Secrets To Landmine Removal That Isn't Dangerous
For the first few sessions, concentrate on form and adapting to the exercises.
When beginning off, start with a lighter weight.
With the landmine squat, it doesn't take much to physically tax you.
Increase the weight once you've become used to the movements.
One of the landmine's best features is that it can be loaded with landmine attachment in both large and tiny increments.
The greater the resistance, because to the distinctive arc-shaped bar path, the lower the weighted end of the landmine is to the floor.
As a result, performing an action like landmine press while kneeling is more difficult than doing so while standing.
On pressing actions, keep the landmine bar in line with your shoulder and close to your upper body for safety.
1. Squats on Landmines
Benefits:
- Legs gain strength, muscle, and explosiveness.
- Because the arc of the bar naturally travels back, it helps beginners learn the appropriate squat pattern by making it simpler to sit back and stay upright at the bottom of the squat.
- For people who are unable to practice regular squats due to injury or mobility concerns, this is a great alternative.
- Back and front squats with a barbell are less taxing on the joints than typical barbell squats.
The world would be a considerably less wounded place if everyone who did a questionable back squat in your gym switched to landmine squats instead.
If you do them for reps, you'll be able to give your legs all the work they need without putting your back through the wringer.
How to do it:
Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor while holding the bar against your chest.
Use your elbows as a gauge for squat depth: when they touch the tops of your thighs (or just inside your knees if you have a wider stance), you're in the right place.
Maintain a straight back. Return to a standing position by fully extending your legs and contracting your glutes.
2. Thruster for Landmines
Benefits:
- Strengthens and powers the entire body
- Legs, buttocks, shoulders, back, core…pretty much everything is worked on.
- Metabolic requirement is really high.
- Barbell thrusters are easier to complete and are better for your shoulders.
Hate it when you have to make the awkward transition from a front squat rack to a press in a barbell thruster?
That's very understandable.
The thruster version is just as taxing in terms of exertion, but it's a lot easier on the wrists, shoulders, and T-spine.
You won't be sorry if you finish your WOD with these.
How to do it:
- Thrusters are set up similarly to landmine squats.
- Squat down until your thighs are parallel to the floor while keeping the bar against your chest.
- However, as you return to the beginning position, thrust the weight forward explosively by fully extending your arms and legs.
3. Single-Arm Rotational Press
Benefits:
- Rotational strength and power are increased.
- Great for learning how to use glutes to generate power.
- Strong training transfer, especially in rotational sports (such as baseball, tennis, golf, and boxing/MMA).
- Strength coaches use landmine-press variations because the bar's minor forward movement makes it more shoulder-friendly than fully vertical press variations.
- Other advantages of the rotational variation include bringing in the core and glutes to encourage perfect pressing form, full-body muscle integration, and maintaining a strong shoulder.
How to do it:
Start by angling your body toward the landmine at a 45-degree angle.
Hold the loaded bar in your right hand and place it just inside your right shoulder at chest level.
As you descend into a quarter-squat, shift your weight to your right rear leg slightly.
As you pivot from your right foot, generate power by driving and turning from the back of your right hip, with your waist and shoulder following closely behind.
At the top of the movement, fully extend your right arm as you shift your weight to your front leg, maintaining the bar in line with your shoulder.
4. Anti-rotation of landmines
Benefits:
- Strengthens core stabilization
- It aids in the prevention of low-back pain.
These are known by a variety of names, including landmine 180s, twists, and rotations.
Antirotations is a name I like because it better describes the goal, which is to fight the weight's direction.
Strengthening the core to stabilize and restrict movement is the most important aspect of developing a strong core—not just one that appears strong.
The landmine uses a standing posture with movement pattern, almost like a standing, dynamic plank, to work the core's antirotator function. If you can master these, you'll have a strong core.
5. Combo Squat/Row Split
Benefits:
- Metabolic demand is high.
- Strengthens and coordinates the entire body
- Assists in the integration of upper and lower body musculature as well as the posterior chain.
Yes, you may use the landmine to perform a standard bodybuilder-style row, often known as a Meadows row. This variant, which is nearly like a full-body row, is my personal favorite.
As you rise from the split squat into the row, your opposite side glute and lat are concurrently activated, strengthening both and connecting them together in the cross-body athletic gait pattern that is so important for athletes.
How to accomplish it:
Stand in a split-stance with your back to the landmine and your leg closest to the bar behind you.
Pick up the bar with the arm closest to the bar, clutching just below the collar, using an open grip.
Maintain tension on the bar as you drop into a split squat, halting just before your back knee lands.
Return to a standing position by extending your front leg while rowing the bar at the same time.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The landmine is a versatile training tool that can be used to increase strength and muscular mass.
Many landmine workouts are less taxing on the joints than barbell, dumbbell, or machine exercises, and they're also more functional.
Landmine twists work the entire core muscle and tone the obliques, which are important for protecting your lower back and spine.
The sissy squat is a great workout for increasing quads, hip flexors, and core strength all at the same time.
It entails locking your feet in place and bending right back, with the tension on your thighs, before pulling yourself back up – best done with a Sissy Squat Bench.
