How many sets and reps of the landmine pullover should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Start with three sets of 10 on an empty or lightly loaded sleeve to learn the pivot before adding plates; increase the load only once the arc feels smooth and repeatable.

What can I do instead of the landmine pullover with no landmine attachment?

Wedge one end of a barbell into a corner to improvise a landmine, or fall back on a single dumbbell pullover, which trains a similar overhead arc.

What is the landmine pullover good for and when should you use something else?

The fixed pivot makes the groove very repeatable, which helps lifters who find free-weight pullovers hard to control build confidence loading the lats overhead. It's not the right pick if you specifically want a straight vertical overhead stretch, since the landmine's pivot sends the bar on a diagonal arc rather than straight up and down.

Intermediate

Landmine Pullover

Anchoring the bar in a landmine gives the pullover an arcing path that stays kind to the shoulders at the bottom while still loading the lats hard through the pull. The fixed pivot makes the groove very repeatable, which is useful for lifters who find free-weight pullovers hard to control. Treat it as a lat-focused accessory after your main pulls.

Equipment: Barbell, Landmine
Body part: Chest, Lats
Type: Strength
Browse by muscle: Latissimus Dorsi
Browse by movement: Vertical Pull

How to do it

1
Set one end of a barbell in a landmine and lie on a low bench or the floor in line with the bar.
2
Grip the sleeve end with both hands and hold it over your chest with slightly bent elbows.
3
Brace your abs and keep your lower back flat.
4
Lower the bar back and overhead along its arc until the lats stretch.
5
Pull the bar back over your chest by driving through the lats, exhaling at the top.
6
Keep the elbow angle constant and the movement smooth.

Tips

Line your torso up with the bar so the arc tracks straight over your chest.
Load the sleeve modestly at first to learn the pivot.
Let the armpits initiate the pull rather than the arms.

Variations

Common mistakes

The torso ends up off to one side of the bar's pivot line, sending the sleeve on a diagonal arc that loads the shoulder sideways instead of straight through it.
Once the pivot feels smooth, the loaded plates jump up several increments at once, well beyond what the shoulder has learned to control through this new arc.
The elbows bend and straighten through the rep instead of holding one fixed angle, so the sleeve's path stops following a clean, repeatable arc.
Pulling with the arms instead of driving through the armpits turns the movement into a triceps press along the bar's arc.

Frequently asked

How many sets and reps of the landmine pullover should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Start with three sets of 10 on an empty or lightly loaded sleeve to learn the pivot before adding plates; increase the load only once the arc feels smooth and repeatable.
What can I do instead of the landmine pullover with no landmine attachment?: Wedge one end of a barbell into a corner to improvise a landmine, or fall back on a single dumbbell pullover, which trains a similar overhead arc.
What is the landmine pullover good for and when should you use something else?: The fixed pivot makes the groove very repeatable, which helps lifters who find free-weight pullovers hard to control build confidence loading the lats overhead. It's not the right pick if you specifically want a straight vertical overhead stretch, since the landmine's pivot sends the bar on a diagonal arc rather than straight up and down.

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