Landmine Press: A Beginner's Form Guide

The landmine press is a pressing exercise where one end of a barbell sits in a pivot on the floor and you push the other end up and away from you, usually with one arm. Because the bar travels on an arc rather than straight overhead, it is one of the easiest presses for beginners to learn and a popular choice for people who find overhead pressing awkward.

This guide covers what the landmine press is, how to rig one if your gym has no attachment, half-kneeling versus standing, the cues that matter, the common mistakes, and how to fit it into a weekly plan alongside running or HIIT.

What is a landmine press?

"Landmine" is gym slang for a barbell with one end fixed so it can pivot. You hold the free end at shoulder height and press it up and forwards until your arm is long. The bar moves on a diagonal, somewhere between a bench press and an overhead press, so it trains the front of the shoulder, the triceps and the upper chest, while your trunk works hard to stop you twisting.

It is usually done one arm at a time. That makes it a useful way to spot and train differences between your left and right side, and it adds a core challenge similar in spirit to the anti-rotation work in our Pallof press guide.

How do you set up a landmine if your gym has no attachment?

Many gyms have a dedicated landmine unit: a sleeve on a hinge, often bolted to a rack or sitting on a heavy base plate. Slide one end of an Olympic barbell into the sleeve and you are ready. If there is no attachment, you have two common options:

• The corner method. Wedge one end of the bar into the corner of a room or a solid wall junction. Wrap the end in a towel to protect the wall and stop it slipping. Check with staff first, as some gyms do not allow it.
• The plate method. Lay a heavy weight plate flat and push the bar end into the centre hole, or stand the bar end inside the hole of a plate pinned against a rack upright. It works, but it can shift, so keep loads modest and check it before every set.

Load plates on the free end only. A standard Olympic bar weighs around 20kg, but because one end is supported you only lift part of that, which is why an empty bar is a sensible starting weight for most beginners. Use a collar so plates cannot slide off when the bar tips.

Should beginners press half-kneeling or standing?

Start half-kneeling. Kneeling on one knee takes your ankles, knees and much of your hips out of the movement, so it is harder to arch your lower back or use your legs to drive the bar. It makes the press honest and lets you feel what your shoulder and trunk are doing.

• Half-kneeling: kneel on the same side as the pressing arm (right knee down, right arm pressing). Put a pad under the knee. Front foot flat, knee over ankle, hips stacked under your shoulders, glute of the down leg gently squeezed.
• Tall kneeling: both knees down, a step between the two. Useful if half-kneeling balance is shaky.
• Standing split stance: once half-kneeling feels solid, stand in a short staggered stance with the opposite foot forward. You can usually handle a little more weight here.
• Standing square: feet hip-width apart. The most athletic version, and the easiest one to cheat with a lean back.

How do you do a landmine press, step by step?

• Set your distance. Kneel or stand so the end of the bar sits at the front of your shoulder, roughly by your collarbone, when you hold it. Too close and the press becomes vertical; too far and you lean forwards.
• Grip the end of the sleeve. Hold the thick end of the bar with your fingers wrapped around it, wrist stacked over your forearm, elbow tucked slightly in front of your body rather than flared out to the side.
• Brace. Take a breath, set your ribs down over your pelvis, and squeeze your glutes. Imagine a short belt of tension around your middle.
• Press up and away. Push the bar along its natural arc until your arm is straight. Let your shoulder blade glide around your rib cage as you go.
• Reach at the top. Finish with a small reach, as if trying to push the bar a centimetre further. This lets the shoulder blade move fully rather than staying pinned back.
• Lower with control. Take around two seconds to bring the bar back to your shoulder. Do not let it drop and bounce.
• Breathe. Exhale as you press, inhale as you lower, and reset your brace between reps if you need to.

What are the best cues for the landmine press?

• "Ribs down." Keep your rib cage stacked over your hips rather than flaring up.
• "Push the floor away from the bar." Stay tall through the kneeling or standing stance.
• "Punch the ceiling on a slope." The bar goes up and forwards, not straight up.
• "Reach and let the shoulder blade follow." Do not lock it back like a bench press.
• "Square to the front." Your chest and hips stay facing forwards, with no twist to help the bar up.

What are the most common landmine press mistakes?

• Leaning back. Arching the lower back turns the press into a flatter, chest-dominant push and loads the spine. Lighten the bar and go back to half-kneeling.
• Twisting the torso. Rotating to help the bar up takes work away from the shoulder. Keep your hips and chest square.
• Flaring the elbow. A wide elbow can feel pinchy at the front of the shoulder. Keep it slightly in front of your body.
• Shrugging hard from the start. A little reach at the top is good. Hiking the shoulder towards your ear from rep one is not.
• Standing too close or too far. If the bar path feels very vertical or you tip forwards, move your stance.
• Dropping the bar. A fast, uncontrolled lowering wastes half of each rep. Lower it slowly.
• Adding weight too quickly. Small jumps of 1.25kg to 2.5kg are plenty, because the lever changes how heavy each plate feels.

Is the landmine press easier on the shoulders?

Many coaches use it as a shoulder-friendly press, and plenty of people who find a barbell overhead press uncomfortable can landmine press without bother. The likely reasons are the angled path, which needs less overhead range than pressing straight up, and the freedom for the shoulder blade to move naturally since you are not pinned to a bench.

That said, "friendly" is not a guarantee. Shoulders differ, and comfort depends on load, technique and your history. If any press causes sharp pain, or a niggle that lingers after training, stop and get it checked by a physio rather than trying to push through.

Who is the landmine press good for?

• New lifters who want a simple, self-guiding press that is hard to get badly wrong.
• People with limited overhead mobility who cannot yet press straight up with a neutral back.
• Runners who want upper-body and trunk strength without long sessions. One-arm pressing in a split stance also asks your hips and trunk to stay steady, which links neatly to how you hold posture on a run.
• Hybrid and HIIT trainers who want a push that pairs well with lower-body work in a circuit.

Once you are comfortable, it also makes a good stepping stone to the barbell or dumbbell press covered in our overhead press guide.

How many sets and reps should beginners do?

Keep it simple and progress slowly. Work your weaker side first and match the reps on the stronger side.

Once or twice a week is enough. Pair it with a pull, such as a one-arm row, and a lower-body move for a balanced session. If you run, place it on an easy day or after a run rather than before a hard session. If you train at home without a bar, a slow push-up progression builds similar pressing strength.

What are good landmine press variations?

• Two-hand landmine press: hold the end with both hands, chest height, and press forwards. A very gentle starting point.
• Landmine push press: a small knee dip drives the bar up, then you lower slowly. More power, more load.
• Kneeling to standing progression: tall kneeling, half-kneeling, split stance, then square stance.
• Landmine press with a pause: hold for two seconds at the top reach to build control.

If you would rather not plan sets and progressions yourself, Edge Pro builds a fully personalised plan across running, strength, HIIT and mobility, so pressing work sits sensibly around your runs. The Edge app is free, and you can earn Edge Rewards points for logged workouts too.

This article is general guidance, not medical advice. If you are new to exercise, returning from injury, or managing a health condition, speak to your GP before starting, and see a physio for any niggle that does not settle.