The 3 Landmine Exercises For Core + Abs Strength And Sample Workout

Landmine exercises are often not considered when trying to find new abs exercises to try. Typically because there aren’t many exercise variations when it comes to training the abs and the core. This doesn’t mean that the few exercises available aren’t some of the most effective core exercises you can add into your training.

5 min read
Sean Klein
Written by
Sean Klein
Published on
04/03/22
Last updated
23/05/24
Core
Trunk
Rotation
Core
Full Body
Rotation
Core
Trunk
Rotation

Get weekly roundups of the best training tools in your inbox, every Monday.

No spam – just thoughtful training advice

In This Resource
  • Benefits Of Landmine Core Exercises
  • 1. Rotation Emphasis
  • 2. Speed Generation
  • 3. Easy To Load
  • How To Use Landmine Ab Exercises
  • 1. Keep Weights Light
  • 2. Ensure Good Technique
  • 3. Only Use If Able
  • 3 Landmine Exercises For Core Strength
  • Sample Core Workout (with Landmine exercise included)
  • More Landmine Exercises
  • What Is The Landmine Exercise Good For?
  • Do Landmine Exercises Build Abs?

The landmine is a very versatile tool that can be used to train all the different movement patterns, including the core. Although there are few landmine core exercises the ones that are available are some of the most effective exercises, especially for advanced trainees and athletes. Let’s have a look at the three landmine core exercises you should consider adding to your training programme.

Benefits Of Landmine Core Exercises

1. Rotation Emphasis

The landmine offers a great opportunity to work rotation due to its positioning. The landmine rotation is a brilliant way to increase trunk strength and dynamism for athletes and the general public. Finding exercises to improve rotation in the gym can be challenging, making these landmine exercises a very good tool to have knowledge of.

2. Speed Generation

The landmine full contact twist is on of the most effective dynamic core exercises for athletes to use in their training. It mimics the movements athletes will need to make as they generate force through their legs and rotate their trunks.

3. Easy To Load

Landmine Core exercises are extremely easy to load progressively as such small increments can be used, unlike using a kettlebell where often the next jump up is a 4kg increase. Due to the nature of the weight bearing adding 1.25 or 2.5 can make the exercises just slightly harder but still very achievable.

How To Use Landmine Ab Exercises

1. Keep Weights Light

When using all three of these landmine core exercises make sure you start with light weights or just the barbell itself. Adapting to these movements doesn’t require the use of heavy loads. In-fact it often requires a light load with speed or stability.

2. Ensure Good Technique

These are challenging exercises for the body that need to be performed with good technique in order to achieve the desired adaptation. If the landmine anti-rotation is done without control it will have little effect and if the landmine full contact twist is performed without speed and precision it will also have little effect. Pay attention to the videos available and make sure you’r doing your best to perform the exercises as prescribed.

3. Only Use If Able

As these are advanced exercises, only use them if you have a lot of experience in the weight room. A beginner would be far better off using something like banded resistance, the movements would be less complex and therefore it would be easier to achieve the desired adaptation.

3 Landmine Exercises For Core Strength

Buy Landmines
Core
Trunk
Rotation
Buy Landmines
Core
Full Body
Rotation
Buy Landmines
Core
Trunk
Rotation

Sample Core Workout (with Landmine exercise included)

Complete 3 rounds

1. Landmine Full Contact Twist

Complete 5 repetitions

2. Banded Deadbug Pulses

Complete 10 repetitions

More Landmine Exercises

Buy Landmines
Primary
Upper Body
Vertical Press
Buy Landmines
Secondary
Lower Body
Squat

What Is The Landmine Exercise Good For?

Landmine exercises are probably most effective for athletes and beginners. This can seem counter intuitive because one is advanced physically and the other isn’t. The thing that makes it effective for both athletes and beginners is that fact that they are often low skill, meaning athletes can find physiological adaptation and beginners don’t feel intimidated by too much skill acquisition. Although landmines are particularly effective for these two groups, they can be used by anyone in a form of full body resistance training. The really arn’t very affective for body builders or powerlifters and they require a lot of core stabilisation, meaning the hypertrophic effect will be lower.

Do Landmine Exercises Build Abs?

No. Abs are built by a large variety of movement patterns within which there is a very large amount of exercise variety. Landmines offer very few options to build the core specifically, however it works the core as a secondary effect because they require a lot of core stabilisation. Take a look at all the information and exercises library we have curated to learn how to build a strong core and abs.

If you enjoyed this resource you can find more below or try Programme, a fitness app that plans every workout for you – based on your progress, equipment and lifestyle.

This resource was written by Sean Klein. Sean Richard Klein has thousands of hours of coaching experience and a BSc in Sports Science with Management from Loughborough University. He owns a gym in Bayonne France, CrossFit Essor, which runs group classes and a Personal training studio.

Sean Klein

Signature

Programme is a workout app that plans every workout for you

Programme learns from your past workouts, training experience and available equipment to create your optimal workout plan that adapts to your progress.