Landmine Stand-Up to High Knee
What Is the Landmine Stand-Up to High Knee?
Landmine Stand-Up to High Knee is a compound exercise that primarily targets the glutes and quadriceps and also engages the adductors, calves, hip flexors and trunk. It is an intermediate-level movement that starts in a half-kneeling position with the end of a landmine barbell held at the chest, rises to standing on the front leg and finishes with the rear knee driven up to hip height.
The exercise trains two things in one rep. The stand-up builds single-leg strength from a deep, dead-stop start, since the rear knee rests on the floor and there is no bounce out of the bottom. The finish then asks you to balance on one foot with a load at your chest while the other hip flexes, the same split between one extended hip and one flexed hip you pass through when climbing stairs or running. It also rehearses getting up off the floor from one knee, a skill worth keeping strong. It has no role as a competition lift or a fitness test, and it usually sits in the unilateral accessory slot of a lower-body session or, with a light load, in an athletic warm-up.
The front leg does the lifting: the quadriceps straighten the knee and the glutes extend the hip from the bottom position. At the top, the gluteus medius and adductors of the standing leg keep the pelvis level while the hip flexors of the other leg hold the knee up, and the calf and foot handle balance. Holding the bar at the chest loads the front of the body, so the trunk works to keep you upright. Compared with a Step-Up, you rise from the floor rather than onto a box, from a deeper knee and hip angle. Compared with the Landmine Reverse Lunge, the rep ends on one foot instead of two. The anchored bar moves on a fixed arc, which gives the hands a steady point of contact and makes the balance demand more manageable than holding a free weight.
The movement suits lifters who already handle split squats and reverse lunges with good control and want more single-leg and balance work. Balance at the top usually limits the load before leg strength does, so it is trained with moderate weights. If it is too hard, build up with the Bodyweight Reverse Lunge, the Dumbbell Split Squat and the Step-Up, or practice the stand-up and knee drive without the bar first.
Muscles Worked
- Gluteus Maximus
- Primary
- Vastus Lateralis
- Primary
- Vastus Medialis
- Primary
- Rectus Femoris
- High
- Adductor Magnus
- Medium
- Gluteus Medius
- Medium
- Soleus
- Low
Instructions
- Load a barbell in a landmine base and place a pad on the floor where your rear knee will rest, facing the anchor.
- Kneel on one knee with the rear knee under your hip and the rear toes tucked. Place the front foot flat with the shin close to vertical, so both knees are bent about 90 degrees, and keep the feet hip-width apart side to side.
- Lift the end of the bar and hold it at the middle of your chest with both hands clasped over the end, elbows pointing down.
- Brace your trunk, squeeze the glute of the kneeling leg and stack your ribs over your pelvis.
- Shift your weight onto the front foot and push through the whole foot to stand up, straightening the front hip and knee together without launching off the rear toes.
- As the front leg straightens, bring the rear leg through and drive that knee up to hip height, standing tall on the front leg with the pelvis level.
- Pause briefly on one leg with the bar still against your chest and your torso upright.
- Step the raised foot back into a long reverse lunge and lower under control until the rear knee touches the pad lightly.
- Reset your position, complete all reps on one side, then switch legs.
Common Mistakes
Pushing off the back foot
Launching off the tucked rear toes supplies momentum, so the front leg skips the hardest part of the rise.
Leaning back at the top
Arching the lower back to lift the knee higher moves the work out of the hips and into the spine.
Feet in a straight line
Lining the front foot up directly in front of the rear knee narrows the base and makes the single-leg finish wobble.
Letting the bar drift away
Holding the bar end out in front instead of against the chest lets the load pull you forward and off balance.
Front knee caving in
Allowing the front knee to collapse inward as you stand takes the glute out of the movement and stresses the knee.
Dropping onto the rear knee
Falling back into the kneeling position instead of lowering under control jars the kneecap on every rep.
Injuries
Landmine Stand-Up to High Knee is a low risk exercise when performed with proper technique. The bar is anchored at one end and held at the chest, so the load cannot travel far, and the weights used are usually moderate. Most problems come from the kneeling start, a loss of balance at the top or leaning back with the bar.
The usual strain points are the rear kneecap, which takes pressure every time it meets the floor, and the front knee, which works hardest at the start, where it is bent to about 90 degrees with the kneecap pressed against the thigh bone. Kneel on a pad, lower the rear knee to it softly instead of dropping onto it, and drive with the glute as well as the thigh so the front knee does not do all the work. Keep the ribs stacked over the pelvis as the knee comes up, because leaning back to lift the knee higher shifts the load into the lower back. Set the feet hip-width apart side to side and choose a load you can hold still on one leg, since a wobble with a heavy bar is how ankles and knees get twisted.
To regress, remove the bar and practice the stand-up and knee drive with your hands on your hips, or start with the Bodyweight Reverse Lunge and the Step-Up. To progress, add load gradually, lower more slowly into the kneeling position, or hold the knee-up position for a longer pause. Stop if you feel sharp pain in either knee, pain at the front of the hip of the driving leg, or pain in the lower back, and replace kneeling with a hovering reverse lunge if the rear knee stays sore on a pad.
- Modality
- Strength
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
Alternative Exercises
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: Can I do this without a landmine?
Yes. Holding a dumbbell or kettlebell at your chest in a goblet position trains the same pattern, but the free weight does not run on a fixed arc, so it asks a little more of your balance at the top.
- Q: Should I alternate legs or finish one side first?
Finishing all reps on one side and then switching is the simpler option, because the kneeling setup changes with the leg. Alternating works too if you reset your stance carefully before every rep.
- Q: How heavy should I go?
Use a load you can hold still on one leg for a short pause at the top. For most people balance runs out before leg strength does, so sets of 6 to 10 reps per leg with a moderate weight work better than chasing heavy loads.
- Q: My rear knee hurts on the floor. What can I change?
Kneel on a thick pad and lower the knee to it gently rather than dropping onto it. If it still hurts, start each rep from the bottom of a reverse lunge with the rear knee hovering just above the floor.
- Q: How is it different from a step-up with a knee drive?
Both finish on one leg with the other knee up, but here you rise from the floor out of a half-kneeling position instead of onto a box. The start is deeper at the knee and hip, and no box height sets the range. For the box version, see the Step-Up.