The landmine press is one of the best exercises for major upper body muscle groups like deltoids, triceps, and upper chest muscles. Read on to know more about the technique, the benefits, helpful tips, and more.
What Is A Landmine Press
The landmine press is a single-arm movement that involves upper body muscles, improving core stability and increasing your strength. Many athletes recommend a landmine press for enhancing and strengthening the shoulders’ muscles. The main principle of this exercise is to lift one end of the rod with each hand alternately. During lifting, the bar moves along an arc-like trajectory.
Such movements are most natural and almost do not stress the elbow and shoulder joints. Therefore, the exercise is suitable even for those who suffer from shoulder pain. To practice landmine press, you will need special equipment. A weighted rod must be fixed on the floor, with the other end moving freely from the chest upwards.
What Muscles Does Landmine Press Work
Landmine Press is a strength exercise that primarily develops:
- deltoids
- triceps
- trapezius muscles
- upper chest muscles
The landmine press is an excellent exercise for those who want to emphasize their deltoid muscles. As in any other exercise, muscles work differently during the execution of the landmine press. Shoulders, chest, and triceps receive the highest load. However, the core, glutes, and upper back are partially engaged as they provide a stable body position during lifting.
How to Perform Landmine Press
To perform this exercise, you will need a barbell, a plate, and a specific setup for the landmine. Can you practice without a landmine attachment? Yes, it’s possible! All you need to do is find a corner to stick the barbell in. You might use a sandbag to stabilize the bar’s end. Then, choose the weight you are going to lift and put the plates on the bar. It’s critical to select a weight that enables you to have a consistent form throughout all sets of an exercise. Once the equipment preparation has been completed, you can proceed directly to the training.
Step 1. Select the starting position
The two most popular starting positions for landmine press are standing position and position on bent knees. Decide which hand you will use to lift the bar. Make sure your toes (knees) are lined up with the bumper plate by stepping your opposite leg forward. For example, if you start with your left hand, put your right foot a bit forward. Ensure you are in a neutral core position without arching your lower back.
Step 2. Right grip
Before lifting the bar, you need to do the proper grip. To do this, raise the weight to the shoulder line. The elbow should touch your ribs, and the wrist should be in line with the forearm. It’s not recommended to stand too straight. Leaning a bit forward will help you with stabilization and emphasizing more of the upper chest.
Step 3. Tighten your muscles and push
To successfully lift the load and pump all the muscles, you need to flex your arms, shoulders, back, and legs. Flex your glutes and keep your core flexed too. Then, press the bar up as high as you can. Hold the weight for a second, keeping the core tight. Return to the starting position. Repeat everything from step 1 to step 3 as many times as possible.
Benefits of Landmine Press
Landmine press favorably differs from many exercises in that it allows you to develop power and speed. That’s why it is often used during general physical training for fighters, powerlifters, and bodybuilders.
What benefits can this exercise give you besides strength and speed? The answer is stability. Regular workouts contribute to core and scapular stability. Landmine press teaches your body to stay balanced in challenging positions. Professionals also call this ability anti-rotation strength. It’s crucial when it goes about lifting a heavy weight overhead.
5 Landmine Press Variations
The half-kneeling landmine press
Do you want to target your delts and upper chest while keeping your joints healthy? Then practice landmine press in a half-kneeling position. It’s an excellent alternative for training the opposing side of the body at the chest area, as the legs are solid in the split stance posture.
The kneeling variation targets the core exceptionally well. The movement in the shoulder joint is flexion. The agonist is the anterior deltoid. The upper pectoralis assists in shoulder flexion. The lower trapezius and serratus anterior rotate the scapula upward. The core muscles stabilize the trunk. A common mistake is an extension in the spine or the hip. It usually happens because of weak delt or lack of awareness.
Landmine Press + Torso Rotation
In this exercise, the oblique muscles will play a more significant role. You’ll be able to lift more weight if your shoulders aren’t being overworked. The movement starts with a tight stomach and flexing the left glute. Then it’s needed to bring the barbell to the right side under control and once again get to an end range. The next step is to bring yourself back up and continue to do reps.
Standing Landmine Press
This exercise variation makes it easy to add weight to the bar, especially if you lift the weight with both hands. Once you get your plates loaded, lift your barbell up. Hold the top of the barbell, having it close to your chest. As you lift the weight up, your feet should stay shoulder apart. Keep your core and glutes flexed as you do the reps.
Landmine Press With A Band
Do you have injuries connected to the shoulders and joints? This standing banded landmine press might become your go-to for increasing pressing power and strength. The technique remains the same. The only thing to change is to wrap a light band around the barbell’s collar before exercising.
Landmine Squat Press
This exercise variation works well for those who want to target legs and chest simultaneously. Hold the end of the barbell close to the chest. Squat down, raise and push the barbell up with both hands. Keep your body tight in the core the entire time. The target muscles are the quadriceps femoris, gluteus, and anterior deltoid. It’s crucial not to hold the bar with a staggered grip, not choke up on it, and not stand too far away from the barbell.
FAQs
What is a landmine press?
The landmine press is a variation of a shoulder press that is done with a barbell in a landmine setup.. An attachment is used to secure the opposite end of the barbell and maintain it in place while a sportsman lifts a weight overhead.
Is landmine press good for the chest?
Yes, the landmine press is suitable for upper- and middle chest muscles. Also, the exercise targets the deltoid, tricep, trapezius muscle, pectoral and improves core stability.
Is landmine press effective?
The exercise has the power to increase the strength and stability of your shoulders and core. It is also good for people with physical restrictions because of minimal tension on joints.
Conclusion
When it comes to weight training, landmine exercises are a great complement to any routine, but they’re particularly beneficial for those who are just getting started. They serve as a bridge between the unweighted exercises and the complete, loaded-barbell ones. If you don’t have a landmine, you may still perform the exercise with one end of a barbell put into a corner. The landmine press is an excellent upper-body workout that targets most upper-body muscles.