Are you looking to add something different to your workout routine? When you’re in a gym, you may find yourself tempted to go for the more intense machines and heavier weights. You’re there to build muscle mass after all, and you’ll want to progress as much as you can in one session. This is why you’ll see a lot of people invest a lot of time in barbell exercises. Doing things like the bench press puts a lot of pressure and strain on your muscles, allowing for fast development. Have you considered adding in some landmine exercises, though? It’s a heavily underrated exercise tool that, true to its name, can help you get explosive gains with each session. To find out how you can utilize the landmine in any gym that you go to, read below. Here are our favorite exercises that use the gym’s hidden gem.
Landmine Squats
This is among the best landmine exercises despite being a simple one. This exercise covers the usual muscles that basic squats cover. The quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings all get a good workout with this. However, it also covers muscles upper parts of your body. The trapezius, deltoids, obliques, and rectus abdominis also get worked out with a good session. Even the scapular stabilizers by your shoulder blades get attention when doing this. This is because you also exert effort to lift the bar that you hold by your chest with each squat. To perform effective landmine squats, you first need to assume the proper stance. First, place your feet at shoulder width to stabilize yourself. With your palms facing up, grip the bar and set it at chest level. Engage your core while bending your knees to lengthen your spine as you do your squats. Stop when your thighs are parallel to the floor and start to engage your glutes. Slowly start to stand up and return to your start position. Doing this is a great way to develop even the smallest muscles on your back. You can add more weights to the bar to increase the intensity of your squats. Because of how simple it is, it’s one of the best barbell exercises to do if you want to
stay fit at home.
Landmine Rows
If you’re looking to develop your back muscles, landmine rows are the best way for you to do so. A basic row has you standing over the bar with your knees only slightly bent. You grab the bar with one hand and lift it close to your chest before lowering it again. You do reps with this with each hand. This develops muscles ranging from your shoulder to your back, to your arms. Different landmine row variations can help develop
different muscle groups. The cross-body row, for example, is a much lighter exercise to help develop the muscles along your arm. This variation has you on one side of the bar, instead of standing right on top of it. You stagger your feet to balance yourself and grab the bar with only one hand. You point down towards the floor with your other hand. Doing this stretches the ligaments in one hand, stretching out your body more. You then row your the bar until your elbow points to the wall. It’s one of the strength building exercises that don’t strain you as much. Another variation is more intense, but safer for people with back problems. The bent-over row allows you to stand taller as you row. This is because the weight isn’t directly downward, meaning gravity doesn’t have as much of a pull on the bar. This is a great way to work your rear deltoids and rhomboids. You can add accessories like a V-grip to have a more comfortable time pulling the bar to your chest.
Landmine Press
If you’re looking to develop your arms and back muscles at the same time, the landmine overhead press is a great way to do so. This is the perfect workout for anyone with a shoulder injury. A
rotator cuff injury often prevents people from developing their shoulder and some of their back muscles. Overhead presses with the landmine don’t put strain on the shoulders. This is because the slight angle of lift puts most of the strain on the back. This makes it one of the better barbell exercises as it’s easier and safer to perform compared to a traditional shoulder press. To assume the position, you first stand in front of the landmine while you hold the bar at its tip. With the bar in hand, take some small steps back until you’re leaning towards the landmine. Press your weight onto the bar, and lift it overhead until your arms are by the sides of your face. That’s one rep, and around 20-25 is great for one round. There are also some press variations for you to try. The Pigeon Press has you kneeling to increase core demand. It’s a great way to increase core strength while developing upper body strength. If you don’t have problems with your shoulders, you can try one of the more intense variants of these landmine exercises. The banded push press involves a resistance band that you stand on. You then loop the band around the bar to increase the effort it takes to push it overhead. What’s great about this is that it improves your control of the bar. It can drastically improve endurance and athleticism if paired with the right diet.
Landmine Deadlift
Deadlifts and bench presses are among the most demanding barbell exercises around. They take a lot of effort, which is why you need someone to spot you while you’re lifting the bars. With the
current health situation, though, it’s not advisable to have someone close to you. With a landmine, you won’t need a spotter. First, you need to stand in front of the landmine with your feet farther apart than usual. You’ll need a strong base to support the weight you’ll lift. Grab the barbell off the floor, making sure your knees are soft and bent right while squatting. With a firm grip, raise the bar until your back is flat. Leave your arms slack while doing so. Leaving your arms relaxed ensures a total body workout. Lifting will focus more on your forearms and shoulder muscles. It’s one of the few landmine barbell exercises that provide good development all over. If you want a more intense deadlift workout, try the 2 to 1 variation. You’ll need to assume your
proper deadlift form to pull this off. It’s the most demanding of the landmine exercises, so you should prepare for the effort you’ll exert. Once you’ve assumed the stance, bend your knees enough to pick up the bar. Once you have a firm underhanded grip, quickly lift the weight all the way up. Make sure that you’re lifting only with one hand as it passes your head and goes up. As you place it down, grab it with your free hand. You’ll then lift it with the free hand, swapping hands between reps. It’s a great way to develop your upper body quickly.
Landmine Lunges
This workout is a great one for you to do if you’re still starting in bodybuilding exercises. You only need to stand with the landmine in front of you. Place both hands on your torso and grip the barbell with one of them. With the foot on the same side you’re gripping the barbell with, step behind and drop. Your knee should be hovering right above the floor. This is the reverse lunge and it’s great at developing every muscle in your legs. You can also do regular lunges to improve your core control and lower body stability. When doing this, you push the weighted landmine against your body as you move forward. Doing this puts some strain on your shoulders and your core. Your goal is to prevent the landmine from shaking too much as you lower it while withdrawing from your lunge. What’s great about these landmine barbell exercises is that they also help you strengthen your hips and ankles. It’s one of the landmine exercises that promote total body development. It’s a great way to prepare your body against the degeneration of your ankles and hips as you age. For professionals, you can amp up the routine by adding more weight plates to the bar. Doing this will further test your stability and strength as you perform each lunge.
Add These Explosive Landmine Exercises to Your Next Session
Explosive gains are something that you’re sure to have with the help of these landmine exercises. You’ll see noticeable progress with your strength and mobility as well as seeing improved muscle gains when added to your current training program.
