There are not many fast and dynamic exercises that everyone can learn and practice. But the landmine push press is something that can be recommended for almost anyone.
Once you have taught someone the basic movements that teach skill and body control related to each type of movement and exercise, you must choose the movements that are best for you.
If you instill these basic moves firmly from the start, learning more complex athletic moves and exercises becomes more intuitive. One of them is the push press.
What is the Push Press?
The push press is considered a secondary lift for Olympic weightlifting. There are athletes who do it with traditional bar, but in other cases it is best to use kettlebells or dumbbells to develop more stability or mobility.
The best version for athletes, weight training beginners, or those with restrictions is the push press with landmine (the bar that has one end anchored to the ground).
Why do it with landmine?
When you learn to push, you understand how you can and must move in a coordinated athletic effort to move something heavy.
This exercise will help if you build rigidity throughout your core to deliver the force created from your lower body as you push off the ground, into your upper body, and then to lift the load onto your shoulders. You need maintain balance and pressure through your feet to complete this quick jumping action with enough force and precision to push the bar overhead in the correct direction.
But pushing weights directly overhead can sometimes do more harm than good. Some athletes can't stress their shoulders in this position if they want to stay healthy and strong, and some of the others are just trying to get strong and fit and need to address flexibility limitations first.
The push press with landmine solves all of this. Pushing at an angle places the shoulder and elbow in a position that you can still train a more upright pushing pattern without the same demands on shoulder tension and flexibility.
Who should do the Push Press?
If you've had shoulder pain when pressing overhead due to a previous injury or simply from inactivity, the landmine push press is the perfect tool.
Although you must continue to work to regain full dexterity of the shoulder complex, training for physical balance means that you need to develop athletic strength in pushing movements in addition to the bench press.
As you rebuild and push the weight directly overhead, signaling that you return to full natural mobility and stability in each direction of movement, you will continue to improve strength and capacity with this exercise.
Do both until you're ready for a traditional press and continue doing them as a variation to further build shoulder health and strength.
Benefits of this exercise
Just doing a strict landmine press generates a lot of force with complete stability.
The upper back muscles that control scapular movement and the stabilizing muscles of the shoulder are activated to keep the path of the bar straight. This is especially true since you only hold the end of the bar in this exercise.
By pressing, you are free to move in all directions, and it is not easy to hold it in place. So those stabilizing muscles really have to do their job. You also need to create the same stability since tu trunk to ensure that the shoulder maintains the integrity of the movement and pushes the weight.
When you add the dynamic drive of the legs, you learn to produce stability and strength faster and more efficiently because the movement is fast and explosive.
Converting a strict upper body center press into a full body push also allows for more overhead loading. Weight that may be too heavy to press from the shoulders alone can be lifted overhead with the momentum created by the legs extended and locked out quickly.
All the supporting muscles of the upper back and shoulders can learn a new static stability, strength levels and uno better coordination.
How do you do it with landmine?
If you can find a landmine support, all the better. Otherwise, it doesn't matter much. You can place it in any corner where you won't cause damage, or you can:
- Load the bar, lift the bar overhead (the end where you load the weight) and cup both hands.
- Place the head of the bar almost directly on your sternum.
- Put your feet somewhere between hip and shoulder width apart and straighten your toes.
- Land and lower your knees to a position similar to how you would if you were trying to jump as high as possible, but make sure your knees come to your toes and your hips back slightly without dropping your chest forward .
- Balance on your midfoot and chest up, fighting all urges to shift your weight back to your heels, or let your chest sink in or circle your upper back.
- While keeping the head of the bar on your chest, drive hard through your legs, driving both feet into the ground.
- Explosively extend your knees as you would for a jump, still making sure to push off the entire foot with both legs.
- When you find yourself on the balls of your feet due to this explosive momentum, shrug your shoulders. The bar should fly off your chest a bit.
- Without hesitation, keep your shoulders shrugged and quickly extend your elbows, pushing the bar to a 45-degree angle (almost at the crown of your head).
Is it similar to the push jerk?
They are similar exercises, but with some differences. In the push, you lock your arms and receive the bar with bent legs in a quarter squat. The timing of the dip and drive is the same, but instead of finishing with your legs straight and coming to a full stop like you do in the push press, use the weight to push it back into a quarter squat, then rise from there. , already having the weight supported with the elbows locked.
This not only will challenge your movement speed and coordination, but also will allow you to handle heavier weights and develop even higher levels of total body strength. It's not easy to learn if you've never practiced it, but if you understand the basic principles of stability and balance, it just takes a little practice.