Upgrade Your Workouts: 5 Landmine Exercises You Need to Try
The landmine attachment is one of the most versatile and effective tools in the gym, yet many people overlook it. Whether your goal is to build strength, improve athleticism, or train with less joint stress, landmine exercises can be a game-changer.
Unlike traditional barbell or dumbbell movements, the angled resistance of the landmine creates a unique training stimulus that:
✔ Builds full-body strength while improving coordination.
✔ Provides joint-friendly alternatives to common lifts.
✔ Helps develop core stability and rotational power for athletes.
In this article, we’ll cover five of the best landmine exercises and explain how they can enhance your workouts. Whether you’re new to the landmine or looking for new ways to use it, these exercises will help you get the most out of your training.
Why Use Landmine Exercises?
Landmine training isn’t just about variety—it offers real benefits that can improve your strength, movement quality, and overall performance. Here’s why landmine exercises should be part of your routine:
1. Easier on the Joints
- The landmine’s fixed arc of movement makes it easier on the shoulders, wrists, and lower back compared to traditional barbell exercises.
- Great for people with shoulder mobility issues or those recovering from injuries.
2. Improves Core Stability
- Many landmine movements require anti-rotational control, meaning your core has to work harder to stabilize.
- Exercises like single-leg deadlifts and landmine presses challenge your balance while strengthening your core.
3. Builds Explosive Power
- Landmine exercises allow you to generate force in multiple directions, which is key for sports performance.
- Great for athletes who need rotational power (baseball, golf, MMA) or full-body explosiveness (football, sprinting).
4. Highly Versatile
- You can use the landmine for pressing, pulling, squatting, hinging, and rotational exercises—all with one setup.
- Works well for both beginners and advanced lifters due to its controlled movement pattern.
5. Beginner-Friendly
- The landmine provides a stable path of movement, making it easier to learn than free weights.
- A great starting point for those new to strength training or anyone looking for safer, controlled movement patterns.
The 5 Best Landmine Exercises
Now that we’ve covered why landmine exercises are so effective, let’s dive into the five best movements to incorporate into your training. These exercises will help you build strength, power, stability, and muscle while being easier on your joints than traditional barbell lifts.
1. Landmine Squat to Press
Why It’s Great:
This full-body movement builds lower-body strength, upper-body power, and core stability in a single exercise. The landmine’s movement pattern allows for a more natural pressing motion, reducing strain on the shoulders.
Muscles Worked:
Quads, glutes, shoulders, triceps, core
How to Do It:
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, holding the landmine at chest level with both hands.
- Squat down, keeping your chest up and core engaged.
- Explode upward and press the bar overhead in one motion.
- Lower the weight back to your chest with control and repeat.
Progression: Use one arm instead of both for an asymmetrical challenge and increased core engagement.
2. Landmine Single-Leg Deadlift
Why It’s Great:
This movement improves balance, coordination, and unilateral strength while reducing lower back strain. It’s an excellent alternative to traditional deadlifts for those with mobility limitations.
Muscles Worked:
Glutes, hamstrings, core, stabilizers
How to Do It:
- Stand holding the landmine with one hand while balancing on the opposite leg.
- Hinge at the hips, lowering the bar as your free leg extends behind you.
- Keep a flat back and tight core throughout the movement.
- Drive through your standing heel to return to the starting position.
Progression: Add weight or slow down the lowering phase to increase difficulty.
3. Landmine Press (Single-Arm or Two-Handed)
Why It’s Great:
This is a shoulder-friendly alternative to traditional overhead pressing, reducing strain on the joints while still building upper-body strength and stability.
Muscles Worked:
Shoulders, triceps, upper chest, core
How to Do It:
- Stand in a staggered stance and hold the landmine at shoulder height.
- Brace your core and press the bar up and slightly forward.
- Lower with control and repeat.
Progression: Use one arm at a time to increase core engagement and balance demands.
4. Landmine Row
Why It’s Great:
This is a joint-friendly alternative to barbell rows that targets the upper back, lats, and rear delts while reducing strain on the lower back.
Muscles Worked:
Lats, traps, rhomboids, rear delts, core
How to Do It:
- Hinge at the hips and grab the bar with one or both hands.
- Keep your back flat and pull the bar toward your lower ribs.
- Lower it slowly to maintain tension.
Progression: Use a single-arm grip for additional core activation and unilateral strength development.
5. Landmine Rotations
Why It’s Great:
One of the best core-building exercises, this movement improves rotational power and stability, making it ideal for athletes and lifters alike.
Muscles Worked:
Core, obliques, shoulders, legs
How to Do It:
- Hold the landmine with both hands and stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
- Rotate the bar from one side to the other while keeping your core engaged.
- Avoid using momentum; focus on controlled movement.
Progression: Try single-arm landmine rotations for increased difficulty and core activation.
How to Incorporate Landmine Exercises Into Your Training
- For Strength: Use lower reps (3–6) with heavier weights for movements like deadlifts and presses.
- For Hypertrophy: Stick to moderate reps (8–12) with controlled tempo to maximize muscle activation.
- For Athletic Performance: Use explosive reps (5–8) for power-focused exercises like landmine squats and rotations.
- For Conditioning: Combine multiple landmine exercises into a circuit (e.g., squats, presses, rows) for a full-body workout.
Conclusion
- Landmine exercises are one of the most effective and joint-friendly ways to build strength, power, and stability.
- They offer unique movement patterns that improve functional fitness, core engagement, and total-body coordination.
Your Challenge: Add at least two of these landmine exercises into your weekly routine for the next month and track your strength gains.
Train smart, lift strong, and start incorporating landmine work today!
