The landmine is one of my favorite pieces of equipment. Its versatility and ease of use makes it one of the most efficient and effective tools out there for building strength, endurance, and cardiovascular capacity.

When time is limited, you can strategically use the landmine to help you shorten the length of your workout by putting together several complex movement patterns in all the essential planes of motion (squat, hinge, push, pull, core stability). Pairing different muscle groups makes your heart work harder to shuttle blood back and forth between the working muscles. Your increased heart rate means more calories burned, and training multiple areas of the body at once leads to shorter, more intense, and more effective workouts.

I crafted a strategic total-body landmine complex workout that will save you time in the gym, target all the major movement patterns, and get your body working as a highly efficient, integrated unit. Each exercise has unilateral focus (bar held to one side) so your core will be taxed to brace against heavy weight.

Don’t have a landmine? No problem. Use a dumbbell and get to work.

Perform each movement back-to-back without rest. In this complex, we’ll be putting together a horizontal row, hinge, squat, and vertical press.

Landmine Complex:

Directions: Perform each move in the following sequence for 5 reps and repeat the entire sequence twice before switching sides. Take 60 seconds to rest between rounds. Repeat 5 times on each side.

Starting Position:

Stand with your feet together, perpendicular to the end of the barbell with the right side of your body towards the landmine.  Grab the end of the barbell with your right hand and adjust your feet so the cap of the barbell is at the midline of your body. Get into a split stance position by moving your right leg out and back so your legs are about hip-width apart and right toe is in line with your left heel. Keep a slight bend in your left leg and stay on the toe of your right foot. This will be your starting position.

Pro tips:

• To get the desired effect of combining these exercises, make sure they are done well with perfect form. Practice the movements on their own before completing the sequence.
• Grip the barbell with your four fingers, but not your thumb – this will make it easy to transition to different movements and take load off your grip strength.
• Before you begin, find the max amount you can do for 5 reps on exercise #4, the Reverse Lunge to press, and set the weight for the entire circuit accordingly.

1. Split Stance Barbell Row

How To: Start off by hinging your hips so your torso is roughly parallel with the floor. First, tuck your ribcage in towards your pelvis to engage the core. Keep a slight bend in your left knee and bend from the hip joint by setting the hips back as far as you can while maintaining a neutral spine. In this position, drive your right elbow to pull the barbell towards your body retracting your shoulder blades. Lower the bar back down and repeat. The angle of the barbell will challenge your core to prevent rotating during the rows. Maintain a rigid core and keep your torso square to the ground throughout the movement.

Good For: Back, Hamstrings, Anti-Rotation Core Stability

2. Split Stance Deadlift

How To: After five pulls, drive your hips forward again, contracting the glutes at the standing position. Keep the barbell close to your body and repeat the above hinge pattern for five reps. Use your core to prevent side-bending at the top of the rep. Continue to maintain a rigid core and neutral spine.

Good For: Hamstrings, Glutes, Anti-Rotation & Anti-Lateral Flexion Core Stability

3. Transition: Clean

How To: The clean here is a transition for your next movements. Perform the clean by slightly hinging with the hips, barbell close to the body, then explosively drive your glutes forward while pulling and rotating the barbell up to chest height and turning your body towards the landmine. Adjust so your feet are together and there’s a bit of a gap from the end of the barbell and your body.

Good For: Power, Speed, Rotational Core Strength, Vertical Pull

4. Reverse Lunge to Shoulder Press

How to: Perform a reverse lunge on the right side, stepping your right foot back and bending at the knees to lower your body until your right knee is just above the ground. Drive from your legs back to bring yourself back to standing, and press the barbell upwards. Think about transferring that energy from your lower body up to the press. You should feel this less in the shoulders if you are properly exploding from the lower half. Be sure to maintain a flat back as you press. Don’t overextend your lower back away from the barbell. Lower the barbell and lower yourself back into the lunge.

Good For: Power, Quads, Glutes, Shoulders, Anti-Extension, Anti-Lateral Flexion, Anti-Extension Core Stability

5. Transition – Clean

How to: Rotate the landmine and your body back into your split stance starting position and repeat the sequence.

To see more from Darren, follow him on Instagram: @darrentomasso