The Landmine Row: What It Does, How to Do It, and Who It Suits

The landmine row is a row performed with one end of an olympic bar anchored in a floor sleeve or simply wedged into a corner of the room. Because of that fixed pivot, the bar travels along an arc instead of a straight line, which changes both the direction of resistance and how the shoulder blades work. Here is what that difference actually buys you, how to execute the movement, and when it belongs in your program.

What it does

The main benefit is that you can load your back properly without your lower back being the limiting factor. In a conventional barbell bent-over row, your trunk holds a horizontal position against the full weight of the bar, and the lumbar spine usually gives out before the muscles you are actually targeting. With the landmine version, the floor carries one end of the bar through the sleeve, so the load in your hands is roughly half of what is on the bar. An empty 20 kg olympic bar in this setup feels like about 10 kg in the hand.

The second benefit is the path. The arc naturally keeps your elbow close to the body and finishes the pull somewhere around the lower ribs, which hits the lats and lower traps well. The third is practical: most gyms have either a landmine sleeve or a free corner, so you are not waiting for the T-bar station.

What works:

• latissimus dorsi and teres major — the primary movers
• mid and lower traps and rhomboids — scapular retraction
• rear deltoid
• biceps, brachialis and forearms through the grip
• spinal erectors and hamstrings — isometrically, holding the position

Technique, step by step

1. Set the bar in the sleeve or in a corner. If you use a corner, drape a towel over the end or block it with a 10 kg plate so it does not slide out or damage the wall.
2. Stand beside the bar or straddle it, feet hip-width apart, knees bent 15-20 degrees.
3. Push your hips back until your torso is at roughly 45 degrees to the floor. Back flat, eyes on the floor about a metre and a half in front of your feet.
4. Grip the bar end or a handle slid over it. Extend the arm fully and let the shoulder blade travel forward slightly at the bottom — that is full range, not a fault.
5. Pull the elbow back and along the ribs until the bar end touches your lower chest or upper abdomen. The last five centimetres should come from the shoulder blade, not the biceps.
6. Hold half a second at the top, then lower for about 2 seconds to a fully extended arm.

Inhale at the bottom, exhale as you pull. Do not hold your breath through a whole set of 12.

Common mistakes

• Standing up through the set. If your torso is at 70 degrees by rep 6, the weight is too heavy. Drop 5 kg.
• Elbow flaring wide. That turns it into a rear-delt exercise and your back gets very little. Keep the elbow against your ribs.
• Hip rotation on the single-arm version. Keep your hips level, as if balancing a tray on your lower back.
• Cutting the bottom short. The arm has to straighten fully before every rep.

Sets, reps and loading

For muscle growth: 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps, 90-120 seconds of rest. The single-arm version runs 3 sets of 10-12 per side — always start with the weaker side and give the stronger side the same number of reps, not more.

Starting weight for someone with 6-12 months of training: an empty 20 kg bar plus 10-15 kg for the two-handed version, empty bar or plus 5 kg for single-arm. Progress by adding 2,5 kg or one rep per set each week until you hit the top of the rep range, then add weight and drop back to the bottom of the range.

Once or twice a week is enough, with 10-16 total weekly sets for back across all exercises. The landmine row works best as the second or third back movement, after pull-ups or lat pulldowns, once you have 5-6 minutes of warm-up behind you.

Who it suits, and who it does not

It is worth it if conventional bent-over rows leave your lower back aching, if your gym has no T-bar station, if you are returning to training after a long break, or if you have a strength difference between sides — the single-arm version is simply a better tool for that than a straight bar.

It is not worth it if your goal is maximum rowing strength under heavy loads, since the arc and the fixed pivot cap how much you can sensibly load. And if you have acute shoulder pain that shows up during pulling, no row variation will fix that on its own.

When to see a doctor

See a doctor or physiotherapist if you have pain radiating from the back into a leg or from the neck into an arm, numbness or weakness in the hand, pain that wakes you at night, or low back pain that has not settled after 10-14 days of relative rest and gentle movement. The same applies to swelling after training or an inability to raise your arm overhead. Stop the exercise the day you feel sharp pain — do not try to push through to the end of the set.

The short version

• The landmine row loads the back well while putting less demand on the lower back than a conventional bent-over row.
• Effective load in the hand is roughly half of what is on the bar — an empty 20 kg bar gives you about 10 kg.
• Torso at 45 degrees, elbow along the ribs, full extension at the bottom, 2-second lowering.
• 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps, 90-120 seconds rest, once or twice a week.
• Pain radiating into a leg or arm, numbness, or hand weakness means a doctor, not a change of exercise.