Landmine Squats: Benefits, Alternatives, Landmine Squats for Glutes, How To Do, Variations & More
Today I'm going to show you a squat variation that's significantly more joint-friendly than barbell squats.
Okay, so if you're someone that suffers from either knee pain or lower back pain, maybe you feel like your mobility is restricted and you struggle to get into a good position, this squat type is going to be a lot better for you.
It's called the "landmine squat." Even if you don't suffer from pain or mobility restrictions, it's a very very good exercise for you to learn.
It's always good to incorporate different squat variations into our workouts. The landmine squat in particular, again super joint-friendly, very demanding on the core, and also just excellent for building leg strength and muscle mass, if that's your goal.
How to Properly Perform the Landmine Squat
The landmine refers to the attachment point that you slot a barbell into. Most gyms around the world have one nowadays, but if yours doesn't, it's okay, you can just wedge the bar into any gap or any corner of a room and you're good to go.
Next, you're gonna need to stack the barbell up onto a bench and a plate.
Now, this is super important, a lot of people will just land mine squat off the floor. They'll just clean the weight up, now if you're handing a lightweight that's okay, but if you want to actually challenge yourself with this squat exercise, then it's not going to be very good, nor going to be very safe.
More on Squats:
- Everything You Need To About Goblet Squats
- Are Cable Squats Effective + How To Do It?
- What Is Box Squat? How To Do It? What Are The Benefits?
You're not going to be able to handle heavy loads. So, I want you to stack the barbell up onto a bench and possibly a plate too depending on how tall you are.
We just want it to be enough that you can get into position before lifting that way up with a nice neutral spine.
The next thing I want to talk about is the grip. So we're going to take the hands right at the end of the barbell heels of the hand directly under the bar, and then fingers stacked over it (see the tutorial video below).
Are Landmine Squats Any Effective?
As I said in the beginning, landmine squats are super demanding on the core, and very very friendly on the lower back and the knees.
Really effective at loading hips. Great for building strength or muscle mass if that's your goal.
In terms of applications, again, treat it like any other squat you can. We can go lower reps to build strengths, we can go higher reps for hypertrophy to build muscle mass.
It's really versatile in that way, and while you're figuring out the right position for you, a little bit of tweaking with the legs and the distance from the barbell. Start light, go through some reps, and ramp the weight up gradually.
So, that is how to perform the landmine squat. I hope this tutorial was helpful.
Author: Jack Hanrahan, fitness coach, UK
