How many reps of the landmine squat to press should you do when you are new to the exercise?

Start light for 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, pausing briefly at the bottom of the squat until the leg-drive-into-press timing feels automatic. Once the arc feels smooth, add weight in small jumps before you add more reps.

What can you do instead of the landmine squat to press if you don't have a landmine attachment?

A dumbbell or kettlebell thruster, held at the chest and pressed straight overhead, trains the same leg-to-shoulder power chain without a landmine. With no weight at all, a bodyweight squat that finishes with both arms reaching overhead keeps the same sequencing pattern.

What is the landmine squat to press good for, and when should you skip it?

It is a joint-friendly total-body power move that suits shoulders and low backs that can't tolerate a thruster's straight overhead path. Skip it for pure overhead pressing strength, since the arc reduces top-end shoulder loading, or for max-load leg training, since the fixed arc limits how heavy you can safely go.

Intermediate

Landmine Squat to Press

Holding the end of a landmine bar at your chest, you squat and then use the drive out of the hole to press the bar up and forward along its arc. It builds the same leg-to-shoulder power chain as a thruster, but the fixed pivot is easier on the shoulders and low back, which makes it friendly for a wide range of trainees. The quads and glutes power the squat while the anterior delts and triceps finish the press. It works well as a conditioning piece or a joint-friendly total-body strength move.

Equipment: Barbell, Landmine
Body part: Quads, Shoulder
Type: Functional, Strength
Browse by muscle: Rectus Femoris, Vastus Lateralis, Gluteus Maximus, Deltoid Anterior
Browse by movement: Squat, Vertical Press

How to do it

1
Anchor one end of the bar and load the free sleeve with a plate.
2
Cup the end of the bar in both hands at chest height and stand tall.
3
Set your feet shoulder-width and brace your trunk.
4
Squat to depth while keeping your chest up and the bar close.
5
Drive out of the squat and press the bar up and forward to lockout.
6
Reverse the arc to bring the bar back to your chest and repeat.

Tips

Let the leg drive start the press so it flows as one smooth movement.
Follow the bar's natural arc rather than fighting it straight up.
Keep your ribs down and abs braced so the low back does not arch at lockout.

Variations

Common mistakes

The bar gets pressed in a straight vertical line instead of following its natural arc, which fights the pivot and stalls the bar mid-press.
Squatting down and pressing up as two separate movements with a pause between them loses the leg-drive momentum that should carry the bar.
The low back arches at lockout as the ribs flare up to find extra reach at the top of the press.
The knees cave in during the squat, which is easy to miss because the bar sits right in front of your view of it.
Setting up too close to the anchor shortens the bar's arc, turning the press into a short punch instead of a full lockout.

Frequently asked

How many reps of the landmine squat to press should you do when you are new to the exercise?: Start light for 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps, pausing briefly at the bottom of the squat until the leg-drive-into-press timing feels automatic. Once the arc feels smooth, add weight in small jumps before you add more reps.
What can you do instead of the landmine squat to press if you don't have a landmine attachment?: A dumbbell or kettlebell thruster, held at the chest and pressed straight overhead, trains the same leg-to-shoulder power chain without a landmine. With no weight at all, a bodyweight squat that finishes with both arms reaching overhead keeps the same sequencing pattern.
What is the landmine squat to press good for, and when should you skip it?: It is a joint-friendly total-body power move that suits shoulders and low backs that can't tolerate a thruster's straight overhead path. Skip it for pure overhead pressing strength, since the arc reduces top-end shoulder loading, or for max-load leg training, since the fixed arc limits how heavy you can safely go.

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