Build Explosive Power by Adding The Rotational Landmine Clean & Press to Your Workout

The traditional approach to strength, power, and conditioning workouts often involves dividing these components into separate sessions. However, the rotational landmine clean and press is a dynamic, full-body move that combines a rotational clean with an overhead press, delivering explosive power from the ground up. This exercise trains your legs, glutes, core, shoulders, and lungs in a single move, without the steep learning curve associated with Olympic lifts.

By training in the transverse plane, an often-neglected aspect of fitness, you develop rotational strength, core stability, and transferable athleticism. Whether your goal is to enhance performance, build muscle, or improve conditioning, the rotational landmine clean and press is a versatile exercise that covers all bases. To understand what makes this move effective, let’s break it down.

Understanding the Rotational Landmine Clean and Press

The rotational landmine clean and press combines a rotational clean with an overhead landmine press in one seamless sequence. Unlike the barbell clean and press, the landmine version adds a rotational component that engages your body across multiple planes of motion. You begin with a dynamic pivot and pull across the body, then quickly switch to an overhead press, training your hips, core, shoulders, and grip in ways that mimic athletic performance.

This exercise is easier on the joints than traditional Olympic lifting, while still delivering the speed-strength stimulus that builds muscle and power. To perform the rotational landmine clean and press correctly, follow these steps:

Executing the Rotational Landmine Clean and Press

To start, stand sideways to the bar with a slightly staggered stance, feet about shoulder-width apart. Grip the end of the bar with your inside hand, keeping your chest up, core tight, and hips hinged. As you initiate the clean, begin to rotate your torso toward the opposite side while pivoting on the back foot. Use your hips and glutes to power the barbell up and across your body.

As the bar reaches shoulder height, catch it at the opposite side shoulder with your outside hand and immediately press the bar overhead. Lower the bar under control back to shoulder height, then rotate and guide it down to the starting position in one smooth motion. This exercise works multiple muscle groups, including your glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, shoulders, chest, triceps, core, upper back, and forearms.

Muscles Trained and Benefits

The rotational landmine clean and press is a comprehensive exercise that targets your entire body. The muscles trained include your glutes and hamstrings, which fire during the hip-drive and clean phases, as well as your quadriceps, which assist in the clean phase and provide leg drive during the press. Your shoulders, chest, triceps, core, upper back, and forearms are also engaged throughout the movement.

The benefits of this exercise are numerous. It builds explosive power, total-body strength, and core and anti-rotation strength, making it an excellent option for those looking to enhance their athletic performance or improve their overall fitness. Additionally, the rotational landmine clean and press is a joint-friendly alternative to Olympic lifts, allowing for natural pressing and pulling mechanics that are easier on the joints.

Common Mistakes and Fixes

When performing the rotational landmine clean and press, it’s essential to avoid common mistakes that can reduce the effectiveness of the exercise. Going too heavy can lead to a loss of control, while muscling the bar can turn the exercise into an inefficient movement. Rotating in all the wrong places can put stress on the knees and lower back, and failing to engage the core can limit power and increase injury risk.

To fix these mistakes, focus on choosing a load that allows for control, initiating the clean with an explosive hip hinge, pivoting your feet, and engaging your core. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can ensure a safe and effective workout.

Programming Suggestions

The rotational landmine clean and press is best performed after your warm-up and before any heavy lifting to ensure crisp execution. Aim to perform this exercise 1-2 times per week, using it as a power primer on lower-body days. For power, focus on 4-5 sets of 3-5 reps per side, resting 90-120 seconds between sets. For strength and muscle, use moderate loads with controlled eccentric, performing 4 sets of 6-8 reps per side and resting 90 seconds between sets.

By incorporating the rotational landmine clean and press into your workout routine, you can build explosive power, total-body strength, and core stability, while also improving your overall athletic performance. For more information on this exercise and how to incorporate it into your training, visit Here

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