Todays post comes from Meghan Callaway, who just released her new resource, The Ultimate Landmine Program, the hotly anticipated follow up to her amazing resource The Ultimate Pullup Program. Check it out today until June 29th and save $30!

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I’ve been a huge fan of landmine training for a long time, but over the past few years I’ve especially come to realize just how beneficial landmine training is. Landmine training is not just trendy. This style of training is a total game-changer! Landmine training provides a huge bang for your buck, produces similar results to many more technically demanding or higher risk exercises that are performed with a barbell or dumbbells, and is absolutely empowering!

In case you are unfamiliar with landmine exercises, they involve an angled barbell movement. One end of the barbell is in a fixed position on the ground (or in a landmine attachment), and the opposite end of the barbell is held by the trainee. While having a landmine attachment is great, it is not mandatory. The one prerequisite is that the barbell is stable and will not slip. You can rest the barbell against a secure surface like a wall, box/other object, in a corner, or on a no-slip surface.

Now I’m going to discuss some of the countless benefits that landmine training delivers. If you haven’t performed any landmine exercises yet, I highly recommend you do.

 

Landmine training is efficient, and provides a huge bang for your buck.

Landmine training is extremely efficient. You can often seamlessly transition from one exercise to the next, so you can get more done in less time. Who doesn’t want that?  

Here is an example. In this video I am performing a push/pull superset. As you can see, I transition from one exercise to the next in the blink of an eye.

 

Landmine training requires minimal equipment.

 

With landmine training, all you need is a barbell, and perhaps several weight plates. So you can perform killer workouts using very little equipment, and while taking up an extremely small amount of space. In the video above, you can see I’m using a minimal amount of equipment, and am taking up very little room.

 

Landmine training is very user friendly, and is extremely helpful for developing and advancing lifters.

 

Landmine exercises mimic many movements that are done with barbells and dumbbells, but are often easier to learn. This is largely due to the fixed position of the one end of the barbell, and the natural arc that the barbell travels. As a result, landmine exercises can often be performed by a greater number of trainees since they cater to a wider range of fitness levels and abilities.  

 

Here is a video of my client Sue performing landmine squats. She is 74 years young.

 

 

Landmine training targets most fundamental movements.

 

Landmine exercises can be extremely useful in helping trainees master most of the key fundamental movements (squatting, hinging, lunging, pushing, pulling). Due to the more stable and predictable nature of the bar-path, trainees are often able to use more resistance than they would during similar variations that involve a barbell or dumbbells. This can mean more progressive overload and better results!

 

This video showcases a variety of landmine exercises that cover many of the key fundamental movements.

 

Landmine training bridges the gap between may variations of the same movement.

 

Landmine exercises can be a great way to regress or progress movements, and can bridge the gap between many movements. Here is a great example using the squatting movement. While someone might not be ready to perform barbell squats, they have mastered goblet squats, and have reached the maximum amount of weight they are able to hold in the goblet position. This is often a barrier many trainees encounter. In essence, their upper body strength becomes the limiting factor, and restricts the amount of weight they are able to lift using their lower body.

 

Landmine squats can be a viable option as they often allow trainees to use significantly more weight than they’d otherwise be able to use during goblet squats. Also, if this is a goal of theirs, landmine squats can sometimes serve as a stepping stone to helping trainees progress to performing barbell squats.

 

Landmine exercises are not very intimidating, and they are fun to do!  

 

Let’s face it, not everyone has the desire to perform barbell lifts, and there is nothing wrong with this whatsoever. Many barbell lifts can be intimidating, and feeling pressured to perform them can lead many people to shy away from strength training.  As I discussed above, landmine exercises provide similar benefits to many of the barbell exercises, and are much less daunting to perform. Training should be fun and empowering, and should not bring you needless stress.

 

In this video I am doing a landmine workout with a friend. This is a skater squat variation, and is pretty badass!

 

Landmine training provides many great alternatives to overhead pressing movements.

 

Overhead pressing is a movement many trainees of all fitness levels and abilities struggle to execute, and for a wide array of reasons. The great news is that there are many different landmine pressing variations that provide similar benefits to overhead pressing, and other unsupported pressing movements. In some instances, performing landmine pressing movements can bridge the gap, and can help some trainees progress to eventually being able to execute overhead pressing or other unsupported pressing movements.

 

 

Landmine training provides similar benefits to many Olympic lifts.

 

Landmine “power” exercises can be a great tool for athletes, and often provide similar benefits to Olympic lifts, but are easier to learn, and are generally lower risk. As a result, because explosiveness is a key component in enhancing performance in many sports, and even in every-day life, many more people will be able to reap the benefits of power training.

 

Here are two of my clients performing landmine “power” exercises. Brendan is in his 30s and is a MMA fighter, and Sue is 74!

 

 

Landmine training can be helpful in injury recovery, or training around an injury.

 

Due to the more stable and predictable bar path, landmine exercises can be an extremely valuable tool to use during injury recovery. Depending on the nature and severity of the injury, you can possibly work around the injury and can perform similar movements you might not currently be able to do using a barbell or even dumbbells.

 

Losing your hard earned results due to an injury can be incredibly frustrating. I know as I’ve been there. In fact, I’m sure we all have. Landmine training can help prevent these frustrating losses from happening. In fact, you might even notice some “gainz.” To be clear, if you are dealing with any sort of injury or issue, make sure you get clearance from a qualified physician before you participate in any training program.  

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From Tuesday, June 25th until June 29th at 11:59pm PST, you can take advantage of the special sale price and can get The Ultimate Landmine Program for only $67. After that the price will increase to $97.