Does Landmine Press Help Bench Press?
Table of Contents
Introduction
This standard landmine press can be performed standing or kneeling and resembles a high incline bench press to some degree. There is also another variation of a landmine press that I will talk about later in this article.
This article will explore the standard landmine press. Will you gain strength on your bench press from this movement or will it help you in another way?
Does Landmine Press Help Bench Press?
The landmine press will not significantly help improve your max bench press. There will be a small carryover if you go quite heavy on the landmine press. The movement is similar to an incline bench press.
The big benefit of the landmine press is it can help to keep your shoulders healthy. Many people experience shoulder problems from bench pressing, so the landmine press may help you to have greater longevity bench pressing.
In this way it can help your bench press. There is also a landmine floor press variation which will have a lot more carryover to your bench press. This is essentially a one arm bench press from the floor and it resembles a dumbbell floor press.
Landmine Press Could Replace An Incline Bench
The landmine press and incline bench press are similar movements. They are correlated in terms of the plane of movement. Therefore, making progress with the landmine press and getting stronger on it will indirectly improve your bench press to a degree.
The carryover won’t be huge and arguably an incline bench will carryover better. This is because you have more overall stability on an incline bench. By using a bench you will be able to handle heavier weights as you are well supported.
Standing landmine presses involve a lot more core stabilisation and therefore you can’t really utilise them as a power exercise to the same degree as you can with an incline bench press.
The same is true with kneeling landmine presses. You are still in a weaker position to press in than you would be on an incline bench press.
>> Is The Decline Bench A Waste Of Time?
Landmine Press Is Good For Shoulder Health
Some people find that the standing overhead press can cause them some mild shoulder discomfort. This all depends on the person, but the landmine press can improve your longevity when it comes to bench pressing.
Many people suffer shoulder issues from the bench press. By keeping your shoulders healthier in general you will be able to bench for a lot more time. This will serve to improve your bench press a lot over time.
Injuries are very detrimental for lifters and can result in stalled progress or making no progress at all in certain cases. Below is a good video from the late John Meadows showcasing the landmine press.
In the video he also explains how the landmine press is really good for improving your level of muscularity in the shoulders. You have to be sure to not get sloppy on this exercise. Every rep should be performed with precision.
The Landmine Floor Press
The landmine floor press is an exercise that will have a far higher carryover to the bench press. You can use this exercise as a power movement and it is done on the floor.
For people who workout at home without a bench, this exercise is perfect for building great pressing strength. All you need is a barbell and some plates and a corner to jam your barbell into.
This exercise is intended to be performed one arm at a time. It is similar to a one arm dumbbell floor press. However, the landmine variation is slightly easier to stabilise than a dumbbell.
This allows you to use the landmine floor press to build serious power. There is stabilisation required, but not as much as the dumbbell variation. You can use this exercise to build extra muscle in the pecs and increase your pressing power.
The video below shows how the landmine floor press should be performed. Like the man in the video explains, the landmine bench will really help your lockout on the bench press.
Specificity Is Still King
When it comes to carryover though, specificity is still king. The biggest carryover comes from movements that are most highly correlated to one another.
For the bench press, the greatest carryover will come from an incline bench press, a barbell floor press or a dumbbell floor press. The landmine floor press would be on par with the dumbbell floor press in terms of carryover, maybe even slightly better.
This is always an important consideration when you are selecting exercises. You should pick specific exercises that will allow you to get stronger on the movements you want to get stronger on.
Final Thoughts
Does landmine press help bench press? The standard landmine press would help to improve your shoulder musculature and shoulder health. This would then result in greater longevity when bench pressing.
The landmine floor press would have a greater carryover to the bench press. This is because it is more closely correlated than the landmine press. In addition, the landmine floor press allows you to really overload the movement with a very high intensity.
Heavy weights build a lot of strength, this strength would transfer very well to the barbell bench press.
If you have any comments on the landmine press or landmine floor press please leave them below.
As always, stay safe and enjoy your training!
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