Landmine Rows (How To, Muscles Worked, Benefits)
Landmine Rows are an excellent horizontal rowing exercise that can add some variety to your workouts. If you’re getting bored with Barbell Bent Rows and Dumbbell One Arm Rows, this is definitely a movement worth putting in your program.
In this guide, I’ll teach you how to do Landmine Rows including some alternatives that can work in their place. (Before you immediately head to the alternatives, check out how you can DIY a Landmine Attachment setup with only a tennis ball.)
How To Do Landmine Rows
Equipment Needed
- Barbell
- Weight Plates
- Landmine Attachment
Muscles Worked
- Lats
- Upper and lower back
- Biceps
- Abdominal muscles (Stabilizing the horizontal lifting position)
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Setup your landmine attachment.
- Load the open end of the barbell with the desired amount of plates.
- Grab the barbell toward the plate side using your hands or a cable attachment.
- Use a shoulder-width stance, bend the knees, braced core and flat back.
- Pull the plates up off the floor and begin rowing by pulling the bar toward you.
- Most often you will be able to row until the weight plates touch your chest.
- Control the eccentric portion of the lift back to arms extended and repeat.
Coaching Points
Using a cable machine attachment on the bar (like a V Bar) for Landmine Rows has its pro and cons. It makes the setup more comfortable and convenient to row, but if you place metal straight on your barbell it can scratch it up. Keep that in mind if you’re planning on using one.
Benefits of Landmine Rows
Landmine Rows have many of the same strength gain benefits you’ll find in other rowing variations like Bent Over Barbell Rows and Dumbbell One Arm Rows.
However, Landmine Rows really shine in their versatility. You can do Landmine Rows with both hands, one arm at a time or with numerous attachments like a V Bar or even by looping a towel around the bar.
Combine that with the fact that they’re already an ‘out-of-the-box’ exercise for many people and Landmine Rows can do a great job of simply adding variety to a strength program and keep your workouts from getting stale.
Landmine Row Alternatives
Have Landmine Rows on your workout sheet, but don’t have the equipment needed? Here are a few alternatives you can sub in their place. Want even more options? Here are my 10 favorite Landmine Row Alternatives.
Barbell Bent Over Row
My first recommendation to replace Landmine Rows is the Barbell Bent Over Row. Not only is it one of the best rowing exercises to build size and strength, but all that you need is a barbell with some weight plates – two things most garage gym owners have.
Dumbbell One Arm Row
If you don’t have a barbell, but you do have dumbbells – DB One Arm Rows may be an option.
With this dumbbell alternative, you can use one arm to brace your upper body, taking stress off of the low back from the rowing position.
More Links and Info
Looking for more upper-body movements? The Upper Body Lifts Section of our Exercise Library has dozens of exercises focused on lifts for the chest, back and shoulders.
