Training guide
A landmine row is a row with one end of a barbell anchored in a landmine or wedged into a corner, so the loaded end moves in an arc as you pull it. You can row it with one arm in a staggered stance, with both hands on the bar, with a V-handle, or side-on with your hand on the end of the sleeve: the Meadows row.
Nobody has measured any landmine row, so this guide uses what other rows show: the two-hand version holds the same bent-over hinge as a barbell row, one-arm rows ask less of your lower back and more of your sides, and claims about the "lower lats" are untested. The weight you hold is less than the plates suggest, by our own lever arithmetic.
It covers the steps on the 3D figure, the set-up without a landmine, the Meadows row, what the bar weighs in your hands, how heavy and how many, and your lower back.
A strength-coaching column describes the landmine row as an upper-body pull "using a barbell as a lever". One end sits in a landmine or a corner, you row the loaded end up from a hip hinge, and it moves in an arc. A National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) article calls landmine rows a comfortable horizontal pull for older clients.
We found no study of muscle activity, spine load or training in any landmine, T-bar or Meadows row, and a 2026 review of 23 lat studies includes none. What we know comes from other rows, such as a study of 7 men in which the bent-over row loaded the lower spine most of three rows.
The two-hand row is a full bent-over hinge. In 15 trained men, two-arm free-weight rows drew 12% more lower-back activity than one-arm rows, and one-arm rows worked the muscles at the sides of the trunk harder. A hand braced on your thigh or knee takes some load too (our reading).
Wedge the bar's end into the corner of a room with a towel wrapped round it, check it can't slip, then load the other end, as our T-bar row and landmine press guides show.
The Meadows row is a one-arm landmine row done side-on, gripping the end of the sleeve. Coaching pages say it targets the lower lats, but no study has measured it, and in an EMG study the lat showed "no clear pattern" of working in separate regions.
Source 6
Only part of the bar reaches your hands, so judge the load by reps in reserve, not the plates. Start with 2 sets of 10 to 12 with 3 or 4 reps to spare, then 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 (each side for one arm), stopping 2 or 3 reps short: the move pages' dose. People misjudge their reps in reserve by about one, so be honest with yourself.
Source 7
One arm, standing beside the bar in a staggered stance with your free hand on your thigh (the 3D demo); one arm bent further over, with your trunk near level and your hand on your knee; two hands on the bar, one in front of the other, standing astride it; or a V-handle hooked under the bar, which is the T-bar row our T-bar row guide teaches. Because the bar pivots, the loaded end travels up and slightly towards the anchor as you pull.
Source 1
Your lats, the middle and lower trapezius, the rhomboids, the back of your shoulders and your biceps do the pulling, while your lower back, glutes and hamstrings hold the hinge and your grip holds the bar. Elbows close favour the lats, elbows out the upper back, and one-arm versions work the obliques at your sides harder. These come from studies of other rows.
"A steady hip hinge and the one-arm dumbbell row" for the one-arm versions, and "a steady hip hinge and a bent-over dumbbell row" for the two-hand row, as the move pages say.
Smaller plates let the bar travel further, which helps taller lifters and those with long arms (the move page's cue). If your hips are stiff, the staggered one-arm stance with a hand on your thigh is easier to hold than the deep two-hand hinge (our view). One arm at a time stops a stronger side covering for a weaker one, as our dumbbell row guide says.
Most row studies use EMG (electromyography: electrodes measuring how hard a muscle works over a few reps), which isn't a validated predictor of growth. No row has been shown to build more muscle than another.
Source 8
Push one end of the bar fully into the sleeve and check it can't slip out before you load the other end, as the move pages warn.
Wedge one end of the bar into the corner of a room with a towel wrapped round it, so it can't slide or mark the walls, as our T-bar row and landmine press guides set it up. Use a corner that won't let the bar skid sideways, and never ask someone to hold or stand on the bar's end (our safety note).
Small plates let the bar travel further before they touch the floor, and leave room to hold the sleeve for a Meadows row.
A V-handle hooked under the bar gives a close, palms-in grip for two hands. You don't need one: hands on the bar, one in front of the other, work too.
The move page's steps and cues ("Keep the hips and shoulders square; don't twist the bar up"), with the staggered stance from our landmine workout and the corner set-up from our T-bar row and landmine press guides. The breathing cue is our breathing guide's. The figure doesn't draw the plates.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: One-arm landmine row
The move page's 4 steps. Its caution: the bent-over hold loads your lower back throughout, so choose a load you can row without your trunk rising or rounding.
Loading the 3D figure…
The movement on the figure: Two-hand landmine row (hands on the bar)
No 3D demo shows the Meadows row: follow the one-arm landmine row on the figure, standing side-on and holding the sleeve's end. The steps are coaching practice; no study has measured it.
A one-arm landmine row done side-on, with your hand on the end of the bar's sleeve. Coaching sites credit it to the bodybuilding coach John Meadows; we found no primary source for that.
Use the one-arm landmine row's dose, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 each side, stopping 2 or 3 reps short (our editorial starting point). The thick sleeve tests your grip: chalk or straps are fine if your grip gives out first, as our bent-over row guide says.
That's claimed, not tested. In an EMG study of the lat at four electrode sites, there were no differences between sites in maximal contractions and only small ones in lifting tasks: "No clear pattern of compartmentalization was uncovered." Row it because you like it, not to reach one part of a muscle.
Source 6
We searched the research and found no study of muscle activity, spine load or training in the landmine, T-bar or Meadows row. A technique column describes the landmine row's muscles, variations and cues, and a 2026 review of 23 lat studies found none of these rows. Everything below comes from other rows.
In 7 men, the standing bent-over row put the largest load on the lower spine of three rows, and in 15 trained men a two-arm free-weight row drew 34% more lower-back activity than a machine row. The two-hand landmine row is the same unsupported hinge, so expect the same of it (our inference).
In the same 15 men, two-arm free-weight rows drew 12% more lower-back activity than one-arm free-weight rows, and two-arm rows drew only 37 to 41% of the external oblique activity of one-arm rows.
Source 5
In seated row studies, a narrower grip and lower elbows went with more lat activity, and wider grips and higher elbows with more trapezius and rear-shoulder activity. No row has been shown to build more muscle than another: none of the 23 studies followed people through training.
Source 3
This is our own lever arithmetic for a straight-up pull, not a measurement. Our landmine press guide uses a different figure because a press pushes up and forward along the arm, a different movement.
With one end anchored, part of the bar's weight rests on the anchor. With your hands just behind the plates, about 1.75 m from the anchor, about 12 to 13 kg of a 20 kg, 2.2 m Olympic bar reaches your hands (20 kg × 1.1 m ÷ 1.75 m), the same figure as our T-bar row guide's. Holding the end of the sleeve for a Meadows row, about 2.15 m out, it's about 10 kg.
With your hands just behind the plates, the plates sit slightly further from the anchor than your hands, so they count in full or a little more. With the Meadows grip on the sleeve's end, they count a little under their weight.
Some pages say the bar lightens as it arcs up. Over a row's short range the bar stays fairly flat, so the effort barely changes (our reading of the mechanics).
Bars, plates and set-ups differ, so landmine weight calculators can't know yours. Choose a load you could lift 2 or 3 more times at the end of each set; people misjudge this by about one rep, so err on the light side at first.
Source 7
Hip-hinge practice, 2 sets of 8 then a 20 to 30 second hold (our bent-over row technique workout); the one-arm dumbbell row on a bench, 3 sets of 10 to 12 each side (our pull day workout B); the one-arm landmine row, the bent-over one-arm landmine row and the two-hand landmine row, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 (each side for one arm), stopping 2 or 3 reps short (their move pages' dose); then the T-bar row with a V-handle, 3 sets of 6 to 10, about 2 reps short (our back and biceps workout). The Meadows row and the kneeling landmine row have no 3D demo.
3D demoHip-hinge practiceBeginner · No equipment
3D demoSupported single-arm dumbbell rowIntermediate · A dumbbell + A bench or box
3D demoOne-arm landmine rowIntermediate · A barbell
3D demoBent-over one-arm landmine rowIntermediate · A barbell
3D demoTwo-hand landmine row (hands on the bar)Intermediate · A barbell
3D demoT-bar rowAdvanced · A barbellNobody has tested landmine rows in people with back pain. Exercise in general helps: across 249 trials it eased long-lasting low back pain by about 15 points on a 100-point scale against no treatment or usual care, with moderate certainty, and NICE suggests group exercise programmes.
The two-hand row holds a full hinge like a bent-over row. The one-arm versions ask less of your lower back and let you brace a hand on your thigh or knee. With a sore back, use a one-arm version or the chest-supported row while it settles (our suggestion).
Pain you'd call mild to moderate, no more than about 5 out of 10, that settles within an hour or so, with your back no worse the next morning, is acceptable; if it is worse, do less next time (fewer reps, a smaller range, a lighter load), not nothing. Stop or shrink any movement that sends pain, pins and needles or numbness further down your leg. That's our back pain guides' rule.
The UK consensus advises avoiding postures with a high degree of spinal bending. Keep your back long, and use the chest-supported row if holding the hinge is hard, as our bent-over row guide suggests.
Source 11
Seat it fully in the landmine, or wedge it in a corner that can't let it skid, and check before loading.
Go lighter and keep your hips and shoulders square, as the move page cues.
In the two-hand row, hold the hinge still so only your arms move. If your chest rises to help the bar up, the weight is too heavy for now.
Stop each rep just above the floor, and use smaller plates.
Chalk, or straps, as our bent-over row guide suggests.
Raise the bar's end on a plate, or use the staggered one-arm stance with your hand on your thigh.
Breathe out as you row. Holding your breath drives blood pressure up sharply in hard efforts, as our breathing guide explains.
Source 12
No study has tested landmine row doses. These are the move pages' doses and our editorial starting points, matching our plans, workouts and T-bar row guide.
2 sets of 10 to 12 (each side for one arm), stopping with 3 or 4 reps to spare, as our plans advise for any new lift.
2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 (each side for one arm), stopping 2 or 3 reps short: the one-arm, bent-over one-arm and two-hand landmine rows' move page dose, and our landmine workout's. Failure added a trivial amount of growth at most across 15 studies, and people misjudge the reps they have left by about one.
With two hands or a V-handle, 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10, stopping about 2 reps short, with about 2 minutes' rest, as our T-bar row guide suggests.
90 seconds to 2 minutes, as our plans advise for compound lifts; resting more than about a minute gave a small growth benefit in a review of 9 studies.
Source 14
Add reps to the top of the range, then the smallest plates (1.25 or 2.5 kg), and drop back to the bottom of the range, as our plans do. Adding reps and adding load both worked in 43 trained people.
Source 15
Count landmine rows in your 10 or so hard sets a week for your back, across rows and pulls, over two sessions (our bigger back guide). More weekly sets built more muscle across 67 studies, with smaller gains from each extra set. The NHS asks for strength work on at least 2 days a week.
3 to 5 minutes of easy movement, a few hip hinges and shoulder circles, then a light first set, as our plans and the NHS suggest.
Source 18
With a V-handle astride the bar, a two-hand landmine row is the T-bar row: our T-bar row guide covers it and the T-bar machine. The one-arm and Meadows versions are landmine rows only.
The two-hand landmine row holds the same hinge; the anchored bar moves in an arc and takes a close grip. Our bent-over row guide covers the barbell.
Both work one side at a time. The bench row holds your trunk with a hand and knee; the landmine row lets you go heavier than your dumbbells, with your back holding a hinge. Our dumbbell row guide covers it.
No hinge to hold: the swap when your lower back is tired or sore. Our chest-supported row guide covers it.
Upright with no hinge, and the stack adds weight in small steps. Our seated cable row guide covers it.
Warm up with shoulder circles, 3 slow circles each way with each arm (the move page's dose), band pull-aparts, 15 reps (our landmine workout), and thoracic rotations, 6 each side (the move page's dose). Pair it with the half-kneeling landmine press, 3 sets of 8 to 12 each side with no dip (our landmine workout), and add landmine 180s, 2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 each side (the move page's dose), the half-kneeling Pallof press, 2 sets of 8 to 10 each side (our full-body gym workout B), face pulls, 2 sets of 15 (our landmine workout), and farmer's carries for your grip, 2 to 3 walks of 30 m (our full-body gym and dumbbell workouts). The chest-supported dumbbell row, 3 sets of 10 to 12 (our pull day workout), is the swap when your back is tired.
3D demoShoulder CARs (controlled articular rotations)Beginner · No equipment
3D demoBand pull-apartIntermediate · A band
3D demoThoracic rotationBeginner · No equipment
3D demoOne-arm landmine jammerIntermediate · A barbell
3D demoLandmine 180 (landmine rotation)Intermediate · A barbell + An anchor point
3D demoHalf-kneeling Pallof pressBeginner · A band + An anchor point
3D demoFace pullIntermediate · A band
3D demoFarmer's carryIntermediate · A dumbbell + A kettlebell
3D demoChest-supported dumbbell rowBeginner · A dumbbell + A bench or boxOur landmine workout pairs the standing landmine press with the two-hand landmine row and adds one-arm rows and landmine 180s. The back and biceps workout uses the T-bar row with a handle, and a two-hand landmine row can fill the barbell row's slot in our pull day workout at 3 sets of 6 to 10 (our suggestion).
A 40-minute landmine session with one barbell anchored in a landmine or a corner: kneeling and standing presses, rows, rotations and shoulder care.
40 minIntermediate13 movesA band, A barbellA 55-minute gym session for a split: a pulldown, the T-bar row, a seated cable row and a reverse fly for your back, then two curls for your biceps.
55 minIntermediate11 movesPull-up bar, A bandA pull day workout for back and biceps: pull-ups, barbell rows, chest-supported rows, face pulls and curls, with sets, reps and rest.
55 minIntermediate10 movesPull-up bar, A barbellEach of these plans uses our pull day workout, where a landmine row can take the barbell row's place.
A 6-day push/pull/legs plan for experienced lifters: two push, two pull and two leg days, with sets, reps, rest and lighter weeks.
6 training days55 minAdvanced5 days a weekA 5-day gym split that trains every muscle twice a week: upper, lower, push, pull and legs, with an honest look at the bro split.
5 training days50 minIntermediateUse a one-arm version with your hand braced, or the chest-supported row, within the back pain rule above; our back pain guide covers the pain itself.
Keep your back long and flat, and choose the chest-supported row if holding the hinge is hard. Our exercise guide for osteoporosis has more.
Source 11
A palms-in grip or V-handle may be kinder than holding the bar's sleeve, and a lighter load helps (our suggestion). Our elbow pain from lifting guide has more.
Breathe out as you row and keep the weight moderate: heavy lifts to failure with a held breath sent blood pressure to 320/250 mmHg on average in 5 bodybuilders. The American Heart Association calls low- to moderate-intensity strength training with proper breathing safe when blood pressure is controlled.
The NHS says strength training at a gym is fine if you already do it, but not to start new vigorous activity. The one-arm versions keep the bar beside you rather than under you (our view); a pregnancy charity advises avoiding exercises where a weight could hit your bump, and says pregnancy is not the time to lift your heaviest weights.
If you get chest pain or pressure, feel faint or dizzy, are unusually breathless, or your heart races or beats irregularly during exercise, as our plans advise. The American Heart Association says these need immediate medical evaluation.
Source 19
For chest pain that comes on suddenly and doesn't go away, feels tight or like squeezing, spreads to your arms, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, feeling sick, light-headedness or breathlessness; severe difficulty breathing; someone who faints while exercising; palpitations that don't go away, or come with chest pain, shortness of breath or feeling faint; or a headache that starts suddenly and is extremely painful, especially while lifting or straining, or comes with numbness or weakness, difficulty speaking or loss of vision. The NHS says a bleed on the brain may be more likely when lifting something heavy. Don't drive yourself to A&E.
Call 999 or go to A&E: loss of feeling or numbness around the genitals or bottom, new trouble peeing or controlling your bladder or bowels, changes in genital sensation during sex or problems with erections or orgasm, or pain, tingling, weakness or numbness in both legs. These are signs of cauda equina syndrome, which needs treating in hospital urgently. Don't drive yourself.
Same day (GP or NHS 111): back pain and you feel hot, cold, shivery or generally unwell, or severe pain that starts suddenly or is getting worse quickly.
Source 28
See a GP if pain spreading down a leg hasn't improved after a few weeks of home treatment, is getting worse or stops your normal activities. Sciatica on both sides, or weakness or numbness in both legs that's severe or getting worse, is a 999 call or a trip to A&E.
Source 29
A sudden pop at the front of the elbow during a heavy pull, with bruising, a gap at the front of the elbow or a bulge in the upper arm, can be a torn biceps tendon. Go to an urgent treatment centre or A&E (in the US, urgent care or the emergency department), and don't wait for it to settle: repair is best done within the first 2 to 3 weeks.
A sudden sharp pain in your back, side or armpit during a row may be a strained muscle. Get help from NHS 111 or an urgent treatment centre if it's very painful or getting worse, there's a lot of swelling or bruising, it's very stiff, or it isn't getting better with self-care.
Source 32
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 for sudden or very bad shoulder pain, an arm you can't move, a shoulder that has changed shape or is badly swollen, pins and needles that don't go away, no feeling in your arm or shoulder, an arm or shoulder that's hot or cold to touch, pain after an injury or a fall, or severe pain in both shoulders. Go to A&E if, after an injury, you can't move your arm or your shoulder looks out of place or has changed shape. See a GP if shoulder pain is getting worse or hasn't improved after 2 weeks.
Stop and re-set. If a dropped bar or plate leaves you with a crack, a change in shape, numbness or a part that has turned blue, grey or cold, call 999 or go to A&E, as our Pendlay row guide sets out.
Speak to your GP first if you haven't exercised for some time or have medical conditions or concerns, as the NHS advises. Get advice before heavy lifting or hard straining work if your blood pressure is uncontrolled, or you have heart disease or chest pain when you're active, a pacemaker or defibrillator, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma, a hernia, recent eye or tummy surgery, or you're pregnant, as our breathing guide lists. After a recent shoulder dislocation or shoulder surgery, follow our shoulder dislocation guide or your surgical team first.
Source 17
Rows work the lats, the trapezius and rhomboids, the back of the shoulders and the biceps, and the hinge works your back and hips. Where your elbows go shifts the balance. No study has measured the landmine row itself.
A corner of a room with a towel round the bar's end works, if the corner can't let the bar skid and you check it before loading, as our T-bar row and landmine press guides show.
Nobody has measured the Meadows row, and lat activity showed no clear regional pattern across four electrode sites in an EMG study.
Source 6
No study has tested them. The two-hand row holds the same hinge as a bent-over row; the one-arm versions with a hand braced are gentler, by our reading. With a sore back, the chest-supported row takes the hinge out.
Over a row's short range the bar stays fairly flat, so the effort barely changes, by our lever arithmetic; the plates count roughly in full.
Strengthening programmes, rows among them, improved measured forward-shoulder angles in the 18 trials that measured them (of 28 small trials, 901 people, in the review), but their effects on pain and function were inconsistent, and strengthening changed upper-back and neck posture in a review of 23 studies. We found no trial of rows on their own, and a review of 41 reviews found no consensus that posture causes back pain. Heavy loads aren't needed either. Row because it builds your back; our rounded shoulders guide covers what posture work can change.
Anchor one end of a barbell in a landmine or a corner, load the other end, and stand beside it. Hinge forward with your free hand on your thigh, grip the bar near the plates, and row it up to your side, then lower it until your arm is long.
Wedge the bar's end into the corner of a room with a towel round it, so it can't slide or mark the walls, and check it can't slip before you load the other end. Then row as normal.
Your lats, middle back, rear shoulders and biceps, with your lower back, hips and grip holding you in place. No study has measured the landmine row itself; elbows close favour the lats, elbows out the upper back.
A one-arm landmine row done side-on: a staggered stance, your hand gripping the end of the bar's sleeve and your other forearm on your front thigh. Coaching sites credit it to the bodybuilding coach John Meadows; no study has measured it.
That's claimed but untested. In an EMG study, the lat didn't show a clear pattern of working in separate regions, so treat "lower lats" claims with caution.
Only part of the bar reaches your hands: about 12 to 13 kg of a 20 kg Olympic bar with your hands behind the plates, or about 10 kg holding the sleeve's end, by our own lever arithmetic rather than a measurement. The plates count roughly in full, so judge the load by reps in reserve.
One arm asks less of your lower back (two-arm free-weight rows drew 12% more lower-back activity in one study) and lets each side work alone. Two hands let you row heavier and hold a full bent-over hinge.
With a V-handle astride the bar, they're the same lift: our T-bar row guide covers it and the T-bar machine. The one-arm and Meadows versions are landmine rows only.
No study has tested them. The two-hand version is a held hinge, like a bent-over row; with a sore back, use a one-arm version with your hand braced, or a chest-supported row, within the back pain rule.
2 to 3 sets of 8 to 12 (each side for one arm), stopping 2 or 3 reps short, as the move pages and our landmine workout do. As a heavy main row with two hands, 3 to 4 sets of 6 to 10 with about 2 minutes' rest.
No. Hold the bar with both hands, one in front of the other, just behind the plates, or row one arm at a time. A V-handle gives a close, palms-in grip.
Yes: our landmine workout pairs the standing landmine press with the two-hand landmine row, resting after the pair. It saves time without the two moves competing for the same muscles.
Exercise education, not a personal prescription, and clinical review of these guides is pending. Check with a GP before starting hard training if you have a heart condition, chest pain, dizziness or breathlessness when active, and stop for sharp or increasing pain. Health disclaimer.
