The landmine might be the most underrated piece of equipment in the gym. It takes a barbell you already have access to and turns it into a tool for building strength, power, explosiveness, and rotational core strength — the stuff that actually carries over to real life and holds up as you get older.
Below are 10 of my favorite landmine exercises currently. These are in no particular order. I'm going to break down each movement, walk you through the technique, and give you a few ways to modify if something feels sketchy. I'll also show you how to set the landmine up whether you're training in a big commercial gym or in your garage.
Watch the full breakdown below👇🏻
How to Set Up a Landmine
You obviously need a barbell. From there, you've got options depending on what you have and what you're willing to spend.
The tennis ball setup. Cheapest and easiest. Cut a tennis ball, slide one end of the barbell into it, and place that end against the wall. The ball protects the wall and it protects the end of your barbell. Since almost all of the weight is sitting on the loaded end, it stays put pretty well on its own.
The wedged setup. Even more secure. Take the same tennis-ball end and wedge it between two heavy objects — two kettlebells or two dumbbells work great. Now the bar isn't going anywhere while you're being explosive with it.
The towel setup. No tennis ball? Wrap a towel around the end of the barbell and press it against the wall. Same idea, same protection.
The landmine attachment. If you don't mind spending a little cash, grab an actual landmine attachment off Amazon. There are probably a hundred companies making them and they're not expensive — definitely under a hundred bucks. You lock the base under a plate, slide the barbell in, and tighten it down with the screw. I wouldn't spend big money here unless you're using it constantly. Something in the middle — not dirt cheap, not top of the line — is the right target for most people.
The 10 Exercises
1. Clean to Rotational Press. This is probably my favorite landmine exercise, period. It's a full-body movement that builds strength and rotational power at the same time. Set up with the front foot close to the plate, feet about shoulder width, and hinge at the hips — engage the hamstrings and glutes, pull the lats down and back. Explosively stand tall and shrug. From there, step out slightly, catch the barbell with the other hand, and rotate through the hips to press the weight overhead. Then reverse it: step the foot back, take the bar back with the original hand, and lower to the start. Be as explosive as you can through every portion of the movement. If you're new to this, slow it down until you're comfortable with the hand switch. And if the switch feels sketchy, keep both hands on the bar — hand closest to the plate pronated, other hand supinated — so you can stay focused on being explosive without worrying about the transition.
2. Standing Core Rotation. Another full-body strength and rotational power movement, this one with a heavy emphasis on the core. Start in a goblet-style position with your hands wedged hand over hand on the end of the barbell, feet a little wider than shoulder width. Pivot on the foot opposite the side you're rotating toward — heel comes up — keep the elbow tight to the body, brace the core, and engage the obliques as you explosively pull the weight up and over. Then switch the feet and repeat to the other side. What I love about this one is that you can be explosive on the way up and then really decelerate on the way back down. Controlling that weight back to the start takes serious core strength. Pause for a second at the bottom, then pull it back up and over. If you're just starting out, slow the whole thing down — you'll still build excellent rotational core strength.
3. Kneeling Single Arm Explosive Shoulder Press. You can do this standing, but I do it kneeling because my garage gym ceilings are low. Kneeling also puts more demand on the core, since you lose all the assistance from the lower body as you start to fatigue. Start tall in the kneeling position with good posture, shoulders pulled down and back, core braced, barbell in the front rack with the elbow tight to the body. Brace and explosively press, fully extending and driving the weight as high as you can. As it reaches the top, bring the other hand up to catch it, then switch and decelerate the weight back down to the front rack. Keep that core braced the entire time.
4. Split Jerk Switch. Great full-body movement for building explosive strength. Start in the front rack position, elbow tight to the body, and step back with the leg opposite the arm holding the bar. Get a slight bend in the knee so you can generate real hip extension and power through the lower body. From there, explode with the legs and press overhead while switching your feet — as fast as you possibly can. You want the front foot making contact at the same moment you hit full extension overhead. Then step in with the front foot, step in with the back foot, lower the bar, and reset.
5. Single Arm Chest Fly Push-Up. This one hits single-arm pushing strength — chest, triceps, shoulders — plus a lot of core. Set up with one hand in the push-up position and the other on the barbell, shoulder stacked directly over the wrist, feet about shoulder width. Start with the barbell close and tight to the body. As you lower into the push-up, extend that arm out into the fly, bringing your chest all the way to the floor. Press back up through the down hand while simultaneously pulling in with the bar hand — so you're pushing and pulling at the same time to get back to the start. Lower slowly with control, really stretch the pec on the fly, then push-pull your way back in.
6. Back Lunge Thruster. Quads, glutes, and explosive pressing power in one movement. Grab the barbell in the front rack, elbow tight, and take a big step back with the same-side leg as the arm holding the bar. Keep the chest up and lower slowly until the back knee lightly touches the floor, driving that front knee outward the whole way down. Then explosively press the barbell overhead as you bring the back foot up to the starting position. Slow deceleration into the lunge, light touch at the bottom, fast and explosive into the press.
7. Kneeling Split Stance Single Arm Shoulder Press. This works shoulders and pressing strength, but the real story is anti-rotational core strength. Being in a split-stance kneeling position while holding weight off to one side means the weight is constantly trying to pull you sideways, and your core has to fight to keep you upright with good posture. Get the bar into the front rack with the elbow tight, brace the core, take a breath in, and press all the way overhead. Stay braced at the top, exhale, then lower down and pause for a second at the bottom before the next rep.
8. Split Stance Single Arm Row. Obviously this builds the back, but you're also getting anti-rotational core strength plus lower body balance and stability. Set up with the front leg fairly close to the barbell. Throughout the entire movement, drive that front knee outward — you're externally rotating the hip and turning the glute on. Never let the knee cave in. Back leg goes long behind you; play around with heel down or up on the toes, whatever feels best. Hinge at the hips, push the butt back, and grab the barbell with the lats pulled down and back and the chest tall. Row toward the belt line, squeeze the lat, then lower slowly all the way back to a full stretch at the bottom.
9. Kneeling Core Rotation. Taking the core rotation to the knees shifts even more of the work onto the core and the anti-rotational demand. Same idea as the standing version: keep the elbow tight and think about pulling your elbow behind your body to really engage and contract that oblique. Core stays engaged as you explosively pull the weight up and over, then decelerate it down to the other side. Pull that elbow behind the body, pause for a second, then explosively pull back up to the other side. Exhale as you lower.
10. Side Lunge to Explosive Knee Drive. Single leg strength and power plus a good amount of core. Hold the barbell in one hand — let's say the left — and take a big step out to the side with the right leg. The trail leg stays completely straight with the toes pointed straight ahead. Lower down as far as you can on the working leg, driving that knee outward and never letting it cave in, keeping the chest tall. Pause at the bottom, then explosively drive up and pull the knee above the crease of the hip, really flexing and contracting the core at the top. Balance there, then lower under control and repeat. If you're less advanced, put the foot down between reps so you can dial in the technique.
Why I Program These
Every one of these movements checks more than one box. You're getting strength, power, and core work in the same rep — usually with some rotation or anti-rotation built in, which is exactly the quality most training programs leave out. That's a big part of what makes the landmine so valuable, especially for those of us 35 and up who want to keep moving well, keep building muscle, and stay explosive instead of slowly giving it away.
If you want these kinds of movements programmed for you — strength, power, muscle, conditioning, and mobility all trained the right way, week after week — that's exactly what I built the JTM FIT app for. Head over to jtmfit.com and try a full week completely FREE inside The Functional Method.
– Jay
