How many reps of the landmine kneeling anti-rotation should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Start with 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 controlled arcs per side using an empty or lightly loaded bar, letting the arc travel only a short distance at first. Add plate weight before you add how far the bar arcs out.

What can I use instead of a landmine setup for this anti-rotation drill?

Wedge the end of the bar tightly into a sturdy corner if you have no landmine attachment, or swap the bar entirely for a band anchored low and pressed out to the side in the same kneeling stance. Either replaces the arcing load path closely enough to train the same braking pattern.

What does the landmine kneeling anti-rotation train and when should you choose a band or cable version instead?

The arcing bar path is a heavier, less forgiving anti-rotation challenge than a band or cable, which suits lifters who already control those versions well and want more load. Choose a band or cable version instead if the bar's arc keeps pulling your hips off square, since a straight-line resistance is easier to control while that strength is still developing.

Intermediate

Landmine Kneeling Anti-Rotation

Unlike a full landmine rotation, the anti-rotation version keeps the hips locked and square while the arcing bar tries to pull your torso off center. Guiding the bar out to one side and controlling it back trains the obliques to brake rotation, which is exactly the demand of catching, blocking, and single-arm carrying. The kneeling base keeps the legs quiet so the core has to earn every rep.

Equipment: Barbell, Landmine
Body part: Abs
Type: Functional, Strength
Browse by muscle: Abdominal External Oblique
Browse by movement: Anti-Rotation

How to do it

1
Wedge one end of a barbell into a landmine holder or a corner.
2
Kneel tall facing the bar and hold the free end with both hands at your chest.
3
Brace your abs and squeeze your glutes to fix your hips square.
4
Press the bar out and let it arc slowly toward one side.
5
Resist the twist and guide the bar back to center under control.
6
Alternate sides while keeping your torso from rotating.

Tips

Let the bar travel only as far as you can control without your hips following it.
Keep your arms fairly straight so the core, not the shoulders, does the braking.
Move slowly at the far side; that is where the rotation is hardest to resist.

Variations

Common mistakes

The hips rotate along with the bar as it arcs out to the side, so the trunk gets a free ride instead of doing the braking work the exercise is built around.
Gripping the bar too far out toward the far end changes the leverage and makes the arc swing wider and faster than the trunk can control at the current strength level.
The bar snaps back through the center point instead of pausing there, so both sides never get an equal, controlled dose of the anti-rotation demand.
The elbows bend to muscle the bar back to center, letting the arms take over a return that is supposed to come from the braking trunk.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the landmine kneeling anti-rotation should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Start with 2 to 3 sets of 6 to 8 controlled arcs per side using an empty or lightly loaded bar, letting the arc travel only a short distance at first. Add plate weight before you add how far the bar arcs out.
What can I use instead of a landmine setup for this anti-rotation drill?: Wedge the end of the bar tightly into a sturdy corner if you have no landmine attachment, or swap the bar entirely for a band anchored low and pressed out to the side in the same kneeling stance. Either replaces the arcing load path closely enough to train the same braking pattern.
What does the landmine kneeling anti-rotation train and when should you choose a band or cable version instead?: The arcing bar path is a heavier, less forgiving anti-rotation challenge than a band or cable, which suits lifters who already control those versions well and want more load. Choose a band or cable version instead if the bar's arc keeps pulling your hips off square, since a straight-line resistance is easier to control while that strength is still developing.

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