Landmine Row

What is the Landmine Row?

The landmine row is a T-bar-style horizontal pull performed with one end of a barbell anchored in a landmine and a handle looped around the loaded sleeve. The anchored pivot gives a fixed arc and a neutral grip, letting you row heavy with less balance demand than a free barbell, which makes it a reliable mid-back thickness builder that’s easy to load and control.

Muscles worked

Primary: Back

The mid-back (lats, rhomboids, and mid-traps) drives the elbows back to pull the loaded sleeve to the torso along the landmine’s fixed arc.

Secondary: Biceps, Traps

The biceps assist by flexing the elbows, and the traps retract and hold the shoulder blades at the squeezed top position.

Stabilizers

The spinal erectors and braced trunk hold the hinged-over torso rigid, and the legs anchor the base so the back can row.

How to perform the Landmine Row

1. Load one end of a barbell into a landmine anchor or a corner and stand over it facing the anchor, feet hip-width and knees softly bent.
2. Hinge to a flat-backed bent-over position and grip the sleeve or a V-handle looped under the bar with both hands.
3. Let the bar hang so the lats stretch, keeping the spine neutral and the core braced hard against the low back.
4. Row the bar up toward your torso, following the slight arc the landmine pivot imposes rather than a purely vertical line.
5. Drive the elbows back and squeeze the shoulder blades at the top, keeping the hips from popping up to heave the weight.
6. Lower the bar under control to full extension, maintaining the flat back so the lumbar spine stays protected under load.

Suggested working range: 8–12 reps. Default progression: double progression.

Mechanics

A bilateral horizontal pull from a bent-over hinge: the barbell pivots on its anchored end while the shoulders extend and the elbows flex to bring the handle to the chest or belly. As a compound it works the back and arms together; the anchored pivot and neutral handle let you row heavy with less balancing than a free barbell row, similar to a T-bar setup.

Form cues

• •Straddle the bar, hinge to a flat, braced torso, and loop a close-grip handle around the loaded sleeve.
• •Row the sleeve to the lower chest or belly by driving the elbows back and squeezing the shoulder blades.
• •Keep the torso angle fixed through every rep rather than standing up to heave the weight.
• •Lower to a full stretch under control instead of dropping the weight or bouncing at the bottom.

Common mistakes

• •Popping the hips up and heaving with the low back rather than keeping a fixed hinge and pulling with the back.
• •Rounding the lumbar spine over the bar, the main injury risk of any loaded bent-over row.
• •Fighting the natural landmine arc by forcing a purely vertical pull rather than following the pivot path.
• •Cutting the range short and never letting the bar hang to a full lat stretch at the bottom.

Variations & alternatives

• •T-bar row: the same anchored-bar idea on a dedicated T-bar platform with chest support options.
• •Meadows row: a single-arm landmine row that biases each lat from an angled arc.
• •Barbell row: the free-standing version that demands more balance and trunk stability.
• •Chest-supported row: a pad removes the hinge so the lower back and momentum can’t contribute.

Conventional Deadlift

Back · Barbell

Barbell Row

Back · Barbell

Pull-Up

Back · Bodyweight

Lat Pulldown

Back · Machine

Seated Cable Row

Back · Cable

Programming: sets, reps & when to use it

Program the landmine row as a primary back-thickness movement in the library’s 8–12 rep range. The anchored, fixed path lets you push close to failure with heavy loads while keeping a strict torso angle, so it’s a great main horizontal pull when a T-bar machine isn’t available. Pair it with a vertical pull to cover both directions. Two to four hard sets build the mid-back well.

Frequently asked questions