There are numerous great core training exercises to choose from; however, some default to the classics, such as planks or those featured on their Instagram feed. While those coolest and classics have their place, they only scratch the surface of what your core can do. If you want to build a core that’s both show and go, it’s time to think outside the crunch. Enter the landmine rollout, an effective anti-extension core exercise that combines plank tension with the intensity of an ab rollout. With a barbell and a landmine attachment, this move challenges your abs, lats, shoulders, and grip.
If your goal is to develop core strength that carries over to improved performance and heavier lifting, the landmine rollout needs to be your go-to exercise. Let’s explain why it works, how to do it right, and the benefits you’ll gain.
What Is The Landmine Rollout?
The landmine rollout is a dynamic core exercise that combines the tension of a plank with the movement of an ab wheel rollout. Using an anchored barbell, grip the sleeve end and slowly push the barbell away from your body, extending your arms and torso as far as your core can control. Then, pull it back with the same tension.
The landmine rollout trains your body to resist low-back extension and maintain a neutral spine under load. Because the landmine setup allows for a slightly arced path and slower tempo, it’s forgiving for lifters with cranky lower backs.
How To Do It
Here is how to do it right, step by step.
- Place a barbell into a landmine attachment or wedge it into the corner of a wall and load it with a 25-pound or 45-pound plate.
- Assume a tall kneeling position and grip the barbell sleeve with your preferred grip, ensuring your wrists, elbows, and shoulders are stacked, and the barbell is positioned slightly forward of you.
- Brace your anterior core, glutes, and lats, and slowly roll the barbell away from you, keeping your hips and shoulders moving together as a unit.
- Roll out only as far as you can maintain a neutral spine and braced core.
- Pull the barbell back toward your knees by initiating the movement from your lats and core, rather than from your arms. Reset and repeat.
Muscles Trained
Unlike many core exercises, the landmine rollout ties your core and shoulders together, and the muscles it trains prove that.
- Rectus Abdominis: Resists spinal extension as you roll out and return.
- Transverse Abdominis: The deep core stabilizer that creates intra-abdominal pressure to support your spine.
- Obliques: Provide rotational control as you extend and return to the starting position.
- Lats: Engage during the return phase to help pull the barbell back to the starting position.
- Deltoids and Serratus Anterior: Assist in shoulder extension and stability as you reach forward.
- Glutes: Keep the hips tucked and provide tension to lock in the lower back.
- Erector Spinae: Work isometrically to maintain spinal alignment and avoid unnecessary flexion and extension.
Common Mistakes and Fixes
The Landmine Rollout may seem simple, but performing it incorrectly can reduce its benefits and leave your lower back unhappy. Here are the common mistakes and their solutions.
It’s All In the Hips & Back
Allowing your hips to sag and your lower back to arch puts stress on your lower back while losing core tension.
The Fix: Squeeze your glutes and keep a slight posterior pelvic tilt (tuck your tailbone) throughout the movement.
Going Too Far
A little is good, so more should be better, right? Wrong. Rolling out too far causes your spine to extend and ribs to flare, shifting tension away from your core.
The Fix: Only roll out as far as you can maintain a braced core and neutral spine.
Leading with the Arms
Generating the movement from your shoulders turns this into a shoulder reach instead of a core challenge.
The Fix: Initiate the movement from your torso and hips, think of your arms as guides, not engines.
What’s The Hurry?
Rushing through rollouts removes control and muscular tension by letting momentum do the work, rather than your abs.
The Fix: Slow down. Perform each repetition with a 3-second rollout, brief pause, and 2-second return.
Benefits of The Landmine Rollout Exercise
The landmine rollout is a core exercise that delivers multiple benefits, and here’s why it deserves a spot in your routine.
Serious Core Strength
It trains your abs to resist extension under load, arguably the most critical function of your core. Additionally, it achieves this in an extended range of motion that many core exercises lack. That means better form during heavy squats, deadlifts, and overhead presses.
Enhances Full-Body Tension
Like a moving plank on steroids, the Landmine Rollout teaches you how to brace everything from your lats to your glutes. That full-body tension carries over to every compound lift in your workout.
Lower Back Strength
By requiring you to stay braced and avoid lower back overextension, the rollout helps build the lower back strength and endurance that keep your spine safe during heavy squats, deadlifts, and high-speed movements.
Improves Shoulder Stability and Lat Engagement
Controlling the rollout and return requires shoulder blade stability and active lats. It’s one of the few core exercises that effectively connects your shoulders to your core in a functional way.
Sets and Reps
The landmine rollout is best performed fresh and before you hit the weights. It works well as part of your warm-up or in a core tri-set. Two to three sets of 6 to 8 reps per side will give your core all it can handle.