Landmine Squat and Press
What Is the Landmine Squat and Press?
Landmine Squat and Press is a compound exercise that primarily targets the quadriceps and shoulders and also engages the glutes, triceps, upper chest and core. It is an intermediate-level movement that joins a full squat, with the end of a landmine bar held at your chest in both hands, to a two-handed press along the bar's arc, so the drive out of the bottom of the squat carries straight into the press.
It is the landmine version of the thruster. The legs start the bar moving and the shoulders and triceps finish it, so you train the timing that links leg drive to a press while working most of the body in one movement. Because the far end of the bar is anchored to the floor, the free end travels on a fixed arc that finishes in front of the head instead of straight overhead, and there is no front-rack position to hold. Many lifters find that easier on the shoulders, wrists and upper back than a Barbell Thruster. Coaches use it in full-body strength sessions and athletic circuits, and with lighter loads for higher reps as conditioning work.
The squat half is a Landmine Squat: the bar's arc lets you lean slightly into it and sit down with your torso fairly upright, and the quadriceps and glutes do most of the work to stand back up. A study comparing the landmine squat with the goblet squat in 32 men and women, both loaded at 30% of body mass, found the landmine squat produced less quadriceps activity and less vertical force than the goblet squat, and shifted more of the force horizontally. In the press, the deltoids, triceps and upper chest move the bar along the arc, the serratus anterior and upper trapezius rotate the shoulder blades upward as the arms straighten, and the abs keep the ribs down so the finish never turns into a lean back. Compared with the strict Landmine Press, the leg drive lets you move more weight or move it faster, and compared with the Landmine Kneeling Thruster, standing brings the knees and ankles into the drive.
It suits lifters who can already do a solid landmine squat and landmine press and want to link them, athletes who need to transfer force from the legs into the arms, and anyone who wants a squat with more shoulder work than a Dumbbell Goblet Squat. If a full squat is not there yet, build depth with the Bodyweight Squat and the landmine squat first, and practice the two halves separately before putting them together.
Muscles Worked
- Deltoid
- Primary
- Vastus Lateralis
- Primary
- Vastus Medialis
- Primary
- Gluteus Maximus
- High
- Rectus Femoris
- High
- Pectoralis Major
- Medium
- Serratus Anterior
- Medium
Instructions
- Secure one end of a barbell in a landmine base and load plates onto the free end.
- Stand facing the free end with your feet about shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing forward or slightly out.
- Lift the end of the bar to your chest and wrap both hands around it, fingers interlocked, with your elbows pointing down close to your ribs.
- Brace your abs, keep your chest tall and let your body lean slightly toward the bar.
- Squat by bending your knees and sitting your hips down between your feet, keeping the bar at your chest, your heels on the floor and your knees tracking over your toes.
- Go as deep as you can while your heels stay down and your back stays neutral, ideally with your thighs at least parallel to the floor.
- Drive through your whole foot to stand up, and as your hips and knees approach full extension, carry that momentum into the press.
- Press the bar up and forward along its arc until both arms are straight and your hands are above and in front of your head, finishing tall with your legs straight and your ribs down.
- Lower the bar under control back to your chest, then go straight into the next squat.
- After the last rep, bend your knees and lower the bar end to the floor.
Common Mistakes
Pressing before standing
Starting the press while still deep in the squat wastes the leg drive, tips the torso forward and leaves the shoulders to lift the bar on their own.
Leaning back at the top
Finishing the press by arching the lower back and flaring the ribs moves the stress from the shoulders onto the spine.
Heels lifting
Shifting your weight onto your toes in the squat pitches the torso forward and pushes the bar off its arc.
Knees caving in
Letting the knees collapse inward as you drive up strains the knees and leaks force that should go into the press.
Squatting deeper than your back allows
Dropping below the depth you can hold with a neutral spine lets the lower back round at the bottom under load.
Dropping the bar to the chest
Letting the bar fall back between reps jars the shoulders and wrists and breaks the setup for the next squat.
Injuries
Landmine Squat and Press is a medium risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The fixed arc and front-loaded bar keep the torso fairly upright and the arms short of a strict overhead position, but every rep loads the knees, the lower back and the shoulders in turn, and form tends to slip late in long conditioning sets.
The lower back takes the strain in two places: rounding at the bottom of a squat that is deeper than your mobility allows, and arching at the top when the ribs flare and the torso leans back to finish the press. Squat only as deep as you can with your heels down and your back neutral, brace before every rep and finish tall with your ribs down. The knees are stressed when they cave inward on the way up, so keep them tracking over your toes. The shoulders and wrists take a jolt when the bar is dropped back to the chest, so lower it under control with your elbows under the bar end.
To regress, split the movement into its parts with the Landmine Squat and the Landmine Press, or take the squat out with the Landmine Kneeling Thruster. To progress, add load in small steps, or move on to the Dumbbell Thruster, Kettlebell Thruster or Barbell Thruster, which take the load straight overhead.
Stop the set if you feel sharp pain in the knee or lower back, a pinching pain at the front or top of the shoulder during the press, or numbness or tingling down the arms, and have it checked if it persists.
Other Names for the Landmine Squat and Press
The Landmine Squat and Press is also known as:
- Landmine Thruster
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Is the Landmine Squat and Press the same as a landmine thruster?
Yes, coaches use both names for this movement: a two-handed landmine squat that drives straight into a landmine press. The kneeling version, which swaps the squat for a hip drive, is the Landmine Kneeling Thruster.
- Q: Should I press as I stand up or after I stand?
Link them, starting the press as your legs reach full extension so the drive from the squat helps move the bar. Standing fully and then pressing strictly is a good way to learn the pattern or to put more of the work on the shoulders, but it lets you handle less weight.
- Q: How does it compare with a barbell thruster?
The landmine bar is held at the chest with both hands and travels up and forward on a fixed arc, so there is no front-rack position and no need to press straight overhead, which many lifters find easier on the shoulders, wrists and upper back. The Barbell Thruster trains strength in the fully overhead position, so choose it when that is the goal and your shoulders allow it.
- Q: How heavy should I go and how many reps?
Pick a load your legs can drive up and your arms can press without leaning back, often for 6 to 12 reps in strength work, with lighter loads and longer sets for conditioning. End the set when the squat gets shallow, your heels lift or the press turns into a lean back.
- Q: What if I can't squat deep enough?
Squat only as deep as you can with your heels down and your back neutral, since a shallower squat still trains the pattern. Build depth over time with the Bodyweight Squat and the Landmine Squat before adding load here.