If I Could Only Use a Landmine for Upper Body Gains—Here’s EXACTLY What I’d Do
And no, Karen, I’m not skipping leg day… I’m just letting them rest for a few days.
Let’s get one thing straight.
If I were stranded on a desert island and could only bring one piece of gym equipment? It wouldn’t be a dumbbell. Not a barbell. Not even resistance bands.
Nope. I’m grabbing my Landmine setup.
Why? Because the Landmine is the Swiss Army knife of upper body training—versatile, humbling, and devastatingly effective. It slaps harder than your 7th scoop of pre-workout.
So if I had to build a massive, functional, can’t-fit-through-doorways kind of upper body using only a Landmine… here’s exactly how I’d do it.
The Setup
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Total Time: ~45 minutes
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Sets/Movement: 3–4
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Reps: 6–10 (unless otherwise noted)
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Rest: 60–90 seconds (or the length of one Instagram scroll)
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Split: Full upper body in one shot — because we’re not playing cute with chest-only days.
1. Landmine Standing Press
The chest/shoulder hybrid you never knew you needed.
Like an incline press and overhead press had a powerful baby. This move torches your front delts, upper chest, and triceps.
🔥 Pro Tip: Press the bar up and slightly forward—like yeeting a hot take into the void.
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4 sets of 8
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First set’s a warm-up. Last one should humble you.
2. Landmine Meadows Row
The most disrespectful back builder you can do with one arm.
Upper back thickness doesn’t come from baby lat pulldowns. This move targets your rhomboids, traps, and mid-back—aka the part that makes your shirt look shrink-wrapped.
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3 sets of 10 each arm
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Go heavy. Use straps if your grip taps out before your soul.
3. Landmine Floor Press
Bench press energy—on the floor, because we’re raw like that.
It’s stable, joint-friendly, and delivers a deep triceps burn without wrecking your shoulders.
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3 sets of 8
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Pause at the bottom. Embrace the struggle.
4. Landmine Chest-Supported Rear Delt Row
This is how you stop looking like a front-heavy gorilla.
Rear delts matter. This one slaps your upper back and posterior delts into balance—so you don’t walk around looking like a human question mark.
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3 sets of 12–15
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Control the tempo like your life depends on it. (Your gains do.)
5. Landmine Single-Arm Kneeling Press
Shoulder stability just got called out.
This one hits your delts and core with a unilateral blast. You’ll find out real fast which side’s stealing the gains.
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3 sets of 10 each side
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Keep it strict. No twisty TikTok dancing here.
6. Landmine Curl-to-Press Combo
For when you want arms that threaten shirt seams.
Biceps. Shoulders. Forearms. All in one fluid, nasty superset.
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3 sets of 8
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No rest between curl and press.
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Optional: Growl between reps. It helps. Probably.
7. Landmine Overhead Triceps Extension
Ever wanted horseshoes instead of twigs for arms?
This awkward-looking movement is a triceps killer. Targets the long head hard—where size lives.
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3 sets of 10–12
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Go lighter. Focus on stretch and control. And don’t drop it on your face.
Bonus Finisher: Landmine Shoulder Rotations (aka “Iron Haloes”)
Because healthy shoulders = more time lifting, less time icing.
Rotator cuff, delts, traps—all activated. Great way to armor up your joints while finishing with a pump.
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2 sets of 12 slow, controlled rotations in each direction
But What About Legs?
Because this is an upper body session. We’re here to blast shoulders, crush chest, and row until your spine questions your life decisions.
Legs are resting.
Landmine squats? Not today.
Skip leg day? Never. Just postponed for maximum glory.
Final Takeaway
If your gym bag had to go minimalist and all you had was a Landmine, you'd still walk out with:
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A chest like a battering ram
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Biceps that peek around corners
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A back that makes people rethink their entire routine
This workout is fast. Brutal. Stupidly effective.
No fluff. No frills. Just function and fire.
So grab that Landmine Bar, jam it into your rack, and train like the rest of your equipment caught fire.
Want to see these moves in action?
👉 Head to ExponentEdge.com and check out the Edge Landmine Bar—your new favorite piece of gear.
#LandmineTraining #NoLegsNoShame #UpperBodyDomination #TrainSmartTrainSavage #BuiltDifferent #ExponentEdge
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