The war between free weights and machines is over. Or at least it should be.

We all know by now that both have their place. Free weights allow your body to move naturally while demanding more from your stabilising muscles. Machines provide enough stability for you to focus almost entirely on the muscles you’re actually trying to train.

That stability can be particularly useful when your goal is building muscle. With less energy spent controlling the weight, you can focus on pushing hard and placing tension where it counts.

The problem? You don’t always have access to a well-equipped machine room.

This is where the landmine comes into its own.

With one end of a bar fixed firmly in place, you get some of the stability and predictability of a machine. But because the opposite end can still move freely, you retain much of the natural movement of traditional free-weight training.

The half-kneeling landmine press is a perfect example.

Its angled bar path sends the weight forwards as well as upwards rather than forcing your arm directly overhead, offering an alternative for lifters who find conventional overhead presses uncomfortable. But don’t confuse comfortable with easy. The fixed end of the bar gives you enough stability to load the movement heavily and attack your shoulders with serious intent.

Part free weight, part machine, it might just offer the best of both worlds.

The half-kneeling landmine press is a single-arm shoulder press performed with one end of a barbell anchored to the floor.

Rather than pressing the bar vertically overhead, you push it upwards and forwards, following the natural arc created by the anchored bar.

Kneeling on one knee also reduces the opportunity to generate momentum with your legs, while forcing your glutes and core to keep your torso stable as you press with one arm.

The result is a shoulder exercise that allows you to push hard while still demanding plenty from the rest of your body.

• Place one end of a barbell into a landmine attachment or securely into a corner. Kneel in front of the loaded end with one knee on the floor, in a lunge position. Keep your torso upright and bring the end of the bar to shoulder height.
• Squeeze your glutes hard, brace your abs and pull your ribs down. Avoid sitting back towards your heels or allowing your lower back to arch. Think about creating one strong line through your torso.
• Drive the end of the bar upwards and forwards, following its natural arc. Keep your elbow underneath your wrist and avoid rotating through your torso as your arm extends. Squeezing your opposite fist can help create more tension through your trunk.
• Finish with your arm fully extended. Pause briefly, then lower the bar back towards your shoulder under control. Keep your hips square and core braced throughout, completing all of your reps on one side before switching arms.

1. Build Bigger Shoulders Without a Press Machine

Fixing one end of the bar removes some of the instability you’d encounter with a completely free-weight.

That doesn’t turn the landmine into a machine, but it does give you a more predictable path to press against. You can concentrate on driving the bar away from you rather than spending quite as much effort controlling where the weight is going.

Load it appropriately and take your sets close to failure and you’ve got a very capable shoulder-building movement without needing access to a dedicated shoulder-press machine.

2. Press Without Going Straight Overhead

Not everybody gets on with conventional overhead presses.

The landmine travels along an angled path, allowing you to press forwards and upwards rather than finishing with the weight directly above your head.

For lifters who find straight overhead pressing uncomfortable, that different path can make the landmine press a useful alternative. It isn’t automatically ‘safer’ for every shoulder, but it does give you another pressing angle to work with.

3. Build Strength Without Using Momentum

Perform the landmine press standing and it’s relatively easy to turn it into a full-body movement, dipping at the knees and using your legs to help launch the bar.

That’s great when power is the goal. Less so when you’re trying to make your delts do the work.

The half-kneeling position makes cheating basically impossible, encouraging you to keep your torso tall and generate the majority of the pressing force from your shoulders.

4. Train Your Core While You Press

You’re pressing a loaded bar with one arm while kneeling in an asymmetrical position.

Your torso would quite happily rotate towards the weight if you let it, which means your abs, obliques and glutes have to create enough tension to keep your hips and shoulders square.

Shoulders: Your delts drive the bar upwards and forwards, with the front delts taking on much of the pressing work.

Triceps: Extend your elbow as you drive the bar away from your shoulder and reach full lockout.

Upper chest: Assists the shoulders as you press the bar forwards and upwards along its angled path.

Core: Your abs and obliques resist rotation and extension as you press with one arm.

Glutes: Keep your pelvis stable and help maintain a tall, strong half-kneeling position.

Serratus anterior: Helps your shoulder blade move around your ribcage as you reach into the top of each press.

If there’s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it’s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in – all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.

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