Landmine exercises are a novel way to train the body as they can help you better isolate muscles and diversity your workouts. Some landmine exercises, however, are more flashy than effective, so we put together a complete list of the best landmine exercises for muscle growth (and left out ones you should skip).
The 12 best landmine exercises you can do to address muscle imbalances, build mass, and add variety to your workouts are:
- Landmine Meadows Row
- Landmine Bench Supported Single Arm Row
- Landmine T Bar Row
- Landmine Hack Squat
- Landmine Reverse Lunge
- Landmine Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
- Landmine Upper Chest Press
- Landmine Shoulder Press
- Landmine Viking Press
- Landmine Push Press
- Landmine Rotations
- Landmine Punch Throw
To help you get the most out of your landmine training, I’ll share with you 12 of my favorite landmine exercises and teach you how to perform them. I’ll also give you a 3-day workout program that you can use to build strength, and muscle, and improve unilateral performance in as little as 6 weeks.
If you struggle to build full-body muscle and strength, let Fitbod help. On average, a new Fitbod user who trains 3 times a week for about 45 minutes will see a 34% strength increase after 3 months. Try Fitbod for free.
What Is A Landmine?
A landmine is a barbell setup that has you place one end of the barbell into a holster that is on the ground or attached to a power rack, which allows you to grab the other end of the barbell to perform movements.
When the barbell is anchored in the holster on the floor, you can perform movements with the barbell moving up and down on an angle or side to side.
Benefits Of Training With A Landmine
There are four benefits of training with a landmine.
Add Some Variety to Your Workouts
Training the same movements month after month can get boring, and while constantly switching up your movements does not mean you will get more muscle growth, it can help you stay motivated and excited to train.
If your goal is to add more variety to your training, then landmine movements are great options. However, it’s important to understand that landmine movements generally aren’t as effective as standard barbell movements.
The 12 landmine exercises listed below are alternatives to highly effective barbell movements which can be used in a program to train many of the same muscles and attributes, but landmine variations should never fully replace standard barbell movements.
Train Around Shoulder Immobility
One of the most significant benefits of the landmine set-up is that you can train overhead pressing movements with individuals who may struggle to perform standard vertical pressing exercises with barbells, dumbbells, or machines.
Some lifters lack shoulder mobility and overhead strength, which makes it difficult to press straight overhead. Landmines allow you to work around these movement restrictions by training your shoulders and upper chest on a more diagonal path than a direct vertical one.
This also helps lifters establish better shoulder stability and strength, and over time, could help improve overhead pressing performance.
Train Unilaterally With Only a Barbell
Unilateral training is when you train one limb at a time, which can help you address muscle weaknesses and movement asymmetries. For those who only have access to a barbell, it can be challenging to train unilaterally.
Landmines allow you to train single arm rows and shoulder presses using only a barbell. You can also do some lower body unilateral exercises like RDLs and lunges with more stability which can be helpful if you struggle to maintain your balance.
Add Stability To Unilateral Movements
While this may seem counterintuitive, as one of the main reasons to do unilateral exercises is to force more stability, landmines provide some stability during the exercise so you can push the intensity.
Unilateral exercises like lunges and single-leg Romanian deadlifts can be challenging for lifters with poor balance. These individuals will be limited by their ability to balance rather than their strength.
If your balance limits you, but want to train one limb as aggressively as you can to address muscle or strength imbalances, landmines could be a great option. With a landmine, you can still train one limb at a time yet have some support so that balance is less of a limiting factor.
Related Article: Best Full Body Workout Plan to Build Muscle
12 Best Landmine Exercises
Below are 12 of the best landmine exercises you can do to add variety to your workouts without sacrificing results. It is important to note that not all landmine exercises are recommended over the barbell or machine variation.
The key when selecting new movements is to ensure you can challenge the target muscles without being limited by other factors like mobility, balance, or secondary muscles giving out first.
Note: While most of the landmine exercises below can be found in the Fitbod app, some still need to be added. You can, however, watch how to do them correctly in the videos below.
1. Landmine Meadows Row
The landmine Meadows row is a one-arm back row variation that allows you to train the back without being fully bent. This is helpful if you struggle to do bent-over rows with a flat back due to hamstrings tightness or find they aggravate your lower back.
The landmine also allows you to pull the weight up on an angle, which can help you increase the movement’s range of motion and match the muscles’ angle as they contract.
How To Do It
- Stand with a staggered stance with your inside leg (closest to the end of the landmine barbell) behind you.
- Lean forward and grab the end of the landmine with your inside hand and palm facing you. Your inside shoulder should be over the end of the barbell.
- Pull the landmine (end of the barbell) to the side of the torso, pulling the elbows up and back at a 45-degree angle. The elbow should be pulled back behind the torso.
- Slowly lower the weight and return to the starting position. Perform all reps with that side, then switch the setup and repeat.
Pro Tip
This row should be done with your elbows flared away from the body more than a dumbbell row. Think about pulling the weight up and outwards rather than just up into your side.
2. Landmine Bench Supported Single Arm Row
The landmine bench supported single arm row is a one-arm row variant that has you use a bench for added support.
By using a bench for added support, you do not need to hold your body in the bent-over position. This is ideal if you have trouble maintaining proper positioning as you get tired, or if your legs are sore from prior workouts.
Remember, the goal of the back row is to train the back, so if other muscle groups are limiting your ability to train the back to failure, then you need to find a better exercise that allows you to do that.
How To Do It
- Place a bench perpendicular to the end of the landmine, and set yourself up with your outside knee on the bench and your inside leg next to the end of the landmine.
- Your inside shoulder should be above the landmine.
- Grab the end of the landmine with the inside hand, palms facing towards your feet, and pull the elbows up and out as you lift the weight past your torso.
- Slowly lower the weight and return to the starting position. Perform all reps with that side, then switch the setup and repeat.
Pro Tip
Try to keep your back close to flat as possible, however, it does not need to be as flat to the ground as a normal dumbbell row because of the angle of the landmine. I like to keep my back almost parallel to the floor, but not fully.
3. Landmine T-Bar Row
The landmine T-bar row is similar to the T-bar machine row, which allows you to train the back without needing to be fully bent over.
This is a great option to train the back without placing a ton of stress on the hips and lower back.
How To Do It
- Stand upright as you straddle the end of a landmine barbell, facing away from the anchor.
- With a D handle attached, hinge down with a flat back and grab the D handles with your palms facing one another.
- While remaining bent over, straighten your arms with the weight resting on the ground.
- Pull the elbows back towards your ribcage without letting your hips drop or rise upwards.
- Once the handles reach your stomach, lower the weight and repeat.
Pro Tip
I prefer to use smaller, 25lbs plates for this as larger plates tend to limit your ability to pull the weight all the way up to your body (45lbs plates touch the chest too soon). Larger plates also hit the ground more quickly, which decreases your range of motion.
4. Landmine Hack Squat
The landmine hack squat is a hack squat machine alternative that allows you to train the quads more directly than a squat while decreasing back stress.
The key is to sit low and lean back into the weight plate, which will help you emphasize knee flexion (bending) and quad growth.
How To Do It
- Stand facing the end of the landmine barbell and load weight onto the end.
- Bend down and grab the end of the landmine. Stand up and lift it to the shoulder while rotating your body 180 degrees so now you are facing away from the landmine with the end of the barbell resting over your shoulder.
- Move your feet forward 2-3’ so you can lean back into the weight.
- With flat feet and toes pointed forward, bend at the knees and sit down into a squat as you lean back into the weight plate.
- Sit as low as you can while keeping your heels down. The lower you go, the higher your potential for muscle growth.
- Stand up, and repeat.
Pro Tip
This movement can’t be performed with maximal loads because the heavier the weight, the more awkward it is to set up and bring down.
If you are a stronger lifter, I recommend you back or front squat first to train the legs harder, and then do these with lighter or moderate weights and slower reps (4-5 seconds lowering phase) to increase time under tension and get more muscle growth with fewer weights.
5. Landmine Reverse Lunge
The landmine reverse lunge is a glute and quad exercise that can be a good option if you don’t have access to dumbbells or have poor balance doing barbell reverse lunges.
The landmine provides stability which allows you to train heavier without losing your balance.
How To Do It
- Stand with the side of your body facing the end of the landmine. The end of the landmine should be in line with your hips.
- With your inside leg staggered behind you and your outside leg forward, step back into a reverse lunge and grab the end of the barbell with the inside hand (palm facing you).
- Stand up and bring the feet back in line with one another, and then start your first step back while holding the weight.
- Once your inside knee is on the ground, stand up by pressing through the outside leg and repeat.
- Switch sides and repeat.
Pro Tip
I recommend you elevate your front foot on a plate or platform at least 2-3”, as the more significant weight plates will limit the depth at which you can lunge downwards (the weights will hit the ground before you go down).
I recommend a larger range of motion because the deeper the lunge, the better you can target your quads and glutes.
6. Landmine Single-Leg Romanian Deadlift
The landmine single-leg Romanian deadlift is a one-leg hamstring and glute exercise that requires less balance than a dumbbell single-leg RDL.
This movement gives you more stability so that you can focus on your mind-muscle connection and use heavier loads to challenge the muscles.
How To Do It
- Stand with the side of your body facing the end of the landmine.
- With the feet together and hips in line with the bar, bend down with a neutral spine and grab the handle with the inside hand. Your palm should be facing you.
- Shift your weight onto your inside leg and pick up your other foot off the ground.
- You can lean into the plate if you want (see pro tip below), or stay vertical.
- With a soft bend in your inside knee, hinge your hips back and lower the bar down the thigh and shin until the weight touches the ground, then return to the starting position.
Pro Tip
You can also lean into the weight plate to shift more weight into the hip of the inside leg. This can be helpful for lifters who struggle to feel the glutes working.
7. Landmine Upper Chest Press
The landmine upper chest press can be done to target the upper chest as well as the front delts.
You can do this with just the landmine, or you can also use a D-handle landmine attachment.
How To Do It
- Stand facing the landmine and grab the end of the barbell in both hands.
- With the palms facing each other, move the end of the barbell to the middle of your upper chest.
- With your feet shoulder-width apart and core braced, press your hands up and away from you, using your upper chest, shoulders, and triceps.
- Straighten the elbows, and then slowly lower the weights down to the chest and repeat.
Pro Tip
You can also do this from a kneeling or seated position. Both of these will minimize the amount of body lean and legs you can use to assist in the movement, which can help you isolate the chest more. Doing them seated and standing can also decrease the stress on the lower back.
8. Landmine Shoulder Press
The landmine shoulder press is a one-arm shoulder pressing movement that you can incorporate to work on muscle imbalances.
This is a good option for those who cannot perform fully overhead work due to limited mobility or lack of scapular stability.
How To Do It
- Stand facing the landmine, and grab the end of the barbell in your right hand.
- Step to your left 6” or so to line your right shoulder up with the end of the barbell.
- With the hand by the right shoulder, press the end of the landmine up and away from you until your elbow is straight.
- Slowly lower the weight to the front of the shoulder, and then repeat reps on that side before switching to the left side.
Pro Tip
Think about reaching the arm away as you move the weight away from you. This will help you keep your focus on using the upper back to assist in the movement and help improve scapular stability.
9. Landmine Viking Press
The landmine Viking press is a specialty attachment exercise that you can do to increase strength and muscle growth of the triceps, shoulders, and upper chest.
This requires that you have the Viking press attachment.
How To Do It
- Stand facing the landmine, and grab the Viking attachment handles. You can start by holding the handles that are shoulder-width apart and have the palms facing one another.
- With the hands resting on the upper chest/shoulders and feet hip-width apart, press the weight up and away from you without letting your hips shoot forward.
- Straighten the elbows at the movement’s top, and push your head through at the top.
- Slowly lower the handles down to the starting position and repeat.
Pro Tip
Be sure not to let the hips slide forward as you press. If your hips come forward, you will increase the stress on the lower back and spine.
Think about keeping your hips slightly behind you at all times. You can also keep a soft bend in the knees and hips to help provide more stability and absorb the weight as you lower it.
10. Landmine Push Press
The landmine push press is an upper-body exercise that trains the shoulders, upper chest, and triceps.
This exercise allows you to use your legs to help generate momentum to move the weight overhead and develop upper body power.
How To Do It
- Stand facing the landmine, and grab it with one arm, standing slightly off-center to ensure the handle is by the shoulder.
- With the feet hip-width apart, slightly bend the knees and hips a few inches and then aggressively stand up and press the weight using your legs and upper body.
- Straighten the elbows at the top of the movement, then slowly lower the weight to the body and repeat. After performing all of your prescribed reps, switch sides.
Pro Tip
When dipping down to use your legs, ensure your hips stay back over your heels. Do not let your heels lift or your hip slide forward, as this will prevent you from using your hips efficiently and potentially increase stress on the lower back.
11. Landmine Rotations
The landmine rotation trains the obliques (sides of the torso) in a twisting motion.
This exercise can also help increase rotational power and strength for sports like golf and hockey.
How To Do It
- Place the end of the barbell in a landmine attachment and load with weight.
- With a wide stance (2-3 feet apart), bend down, grab the barbell’s end, and face the landmine.
- Hold the bar up in front of you with straight arms, keeping a slight bend in the elbows.
- Rotate the hips and trunk to swing the barbell all the way down to your left side, keeping your arms straight.
- Reverse the motion and rotate everything to the right side.
- Continue to repeat this back and forth for reps.
Pro Tip
When you rotate your hips and truck, make sure that your feet also rotate so that your toes are facing the direction of the knees.
When you rotate to the right, the left foot should rotate with you; when you rotate to the left, the right foot should rotate with you. If you keep your feet planted, you could increase stress on the knees.
12. Landmine Punch Throw
The landmine punch throw is a specific exercise to increase upper body power.
This can be helpful for lifters looking to increase the upper body’s power output, such as boxers, fighters, and throwing athletes. This does require a partner to catch the bar and keep it in a good path as you throw it and reload the movement.
How To Do It
- Place the end of the barbell in a landmine attachment and load with weight.
- With a hip-width stance, bend down, grab the barbell’s end with the left hand, and face the landmine with the end lined up on the shoulder.
- Rotate the hips and trunk to the right while extending the left arm to throw the weight upwards and away from you. Your partner should then catch the bar and guide it back to you.
- Receive the bar as it comes back down, rotate the hips back to the start, and then repeat the movement.
Pro Tip
The key to this is not to try to increase the weight but rather focus on increasing the speed of the throw. You want to use a weight that you can explosively throw without having to shrug your shoulders or distort your movement. This is typically around 30-60% of your max landmine shoulder press.
Related Article: 30-Minute HIIT Workouts to Target the Full Body
Sample Landmine Workout Routine
Below are three full-body sample landmine workouts. These workouts can be used as a 3-day workout program to help build muscle and strength while improving muscle imbalances (general imbalances between legs and arms).
Note that each workout also includes other barbell movements (non-landmine). This is because some landmine exercises are less practical than the barbell version, so we want to ensure you get the most out of each workout.
Day 1
- Barbell Back Squat: 4 sets of 8 reps, resting 2-3 minutes between sets. If you do not have a barbell squat stand, you can do front squats or lunges instead.
- Landmine Meadows Row: 4 sets of 8 reps, resting 1-2 minutes between sets. You can sleep 30 seconds between sides.
- Landmine Reverse Lunge: 3 sets of 8 reps on each side. Rest 30 seconds between legs, then directly into the single-leg RDL.
- Landmine Single Leg Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets of 8 reps on each side. Rest 30 seconds between legs, then rest 1-2 minutes after each set.
- Landmine Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 8 reps for each arm, resting 30 seconds between sides, then going directly into the front press.
- Landmine Front Press: 3 sets to 8 reps. Rest for 1-2 minutes after each set.
Day 2
- Barbell Bench Press: 4 sets of 8 reps, resting 2-3 minutes between sets. If you do not have a barbell rack to bench in, you can do barbell floor presses instead.
- Landmine T Bar Row: 4 sets of 8 reps, resting 1-2 minutes between sets. You can rest for 30 seconds between the sides.
- Landmine Hack Squat: 4 sets of 10 reps with a tempo of 3030 (3 seconds lowering, 3 seconds standing up., No resting at the bottom or top of the movement). Go directly into the dumbbell walking lunges.
- Dumbbell Walking Lunge: 3 sets of 20-30 total steps, resting 1-2 minutes after each set.
- Landmine Shoulder Press: 4 sets of 10 reps with a tempo of 3030 (3 seconds lowering, 3 seconds standing up., No resting at the bottom or top of the movement). Go directly into the dumbbell lateral raise.
- Dumbbell Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 10-15 reps, resting 1-2 minutes after each set.
Day 3
- Barbell Deadlift: 4 sets of 8 reps, resting 2-3 minutes between sets.
- Landmine Meadows Row: 4 sets of 15 reps, resting 1-2 minutes between sets.
- Landmine Viking Press: 4 sets of 15 reps, resting 1-2 minutes between sets.
- Landmine Hack Squat: 4 sets of 15 reps, resting 1-2 minutes between sets.
- Landmine Rotations: 4 sets of 15 reps per side, resting 30 seconds between sides and 1-2 minutes between sets.
Looking for a workout program? Try using the Fitbod App, which will design your program based on your logged training data and goals. The workouts will adapt automatically to your levels of recovery and rate of progress. With over 600 movements and exercises videos, you can be sure to perform the movements correctly for optimal results. Take the guesswork out of your workouts. Try Fitbod for free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are landmines a good workout?
Landmines are a good workout for some movements, but with others, they miss the mark. With the right exercises, the landmine allows you to train the muscle more directly and with intensity rather than being limited by other factors (balance, immobility).
What muscles do landmine exercises work?
Like any weighted movement, landmines challenge the muscles responsible for the movement. They often also challenge your grip because you have to hold the bar (which can be awkward). While this may seem like a bonus, it can also detract from your ability to train your target muscle more effectively.
Is the landmine squat worth doing?
If your goal is muscle and strength gain, you’ll get more benefit out of the barbell back squat, leg press, or hack squat. While landmine squats may offer some advantages, they are not nearly as effective as those movements and will often be limited by your grip or upper body holding the bar rather than your legs.
Is the landmine press worth doing?
The landmine press can be a fine shoulder exercise, especially if you want to train one arm at a time but want more of a guided path than a dumbbell. The landmine does allow you to take a neutral grip which can be helpful for some lifters. That said, it is not better or worse than other movements, just different.
About The Author
Mike holds a Master’s in Exercise Physiology and a Bachelor’s in Exercise Science. He’s a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), USA Weightlifting Advanced Coach, and has over 10+ years of experience working with collegiate athletes, national level lifters, and beginners alike. Mike is Founder of J2FIT Strength and Conditioning, a growing global training company with gyms in New York City, Cincinnati, and online offering personal training, online custom coaching programs.
