Exercise of the Week: Supine 1-Arm Landmine Press
Landmine exercises are an SAPT fave. We use them for a variety of reasons: teaching movement patterns, joint-friendly pressing (particularly for shoulders), off-set core training, and to spice up programs.
Today's exercise is a particularly delightful variation of landmine press: the supine 1-arm landmine press. (We stole it from Ben Bruno)
*note* I missed the Shane picking the bar up, but you need to start on your side, in a fetal position, facing the bar. Hold the bar with both hands and roll onto your back. Return the bar to the floor in the same manner at the end of the set-- this will prevent any unwanted tweaks.
Who should use it: overhead athletes, people with grumpy shoulders, anyone looking for an unusual pressing variation.
Good ol' serratus anterior
Why: We use this variation specifically with our baseball boys and other males with creaky shoulders because it a) has a more favorable shoulder angle than a bench press or even floor press. There's a slight upward (over the head) motion which turns on the serratus anterior, above, a shoulder stabilizer that prevents the shoulder blade from riding superiorly and pinching rotator cuff tendons. Serratuses (serrati?) are notoriously weak in a lot of folks, so anything to strengthen them usually proves beneficial. b) The floor stops the elbow from traveling past the body which also provides shoulder protection in the form of preventing anterior humoral glide (the upper arm bone sliding forward and rubbing on all the internal structures). c) males love to press things and this will slate their thirst if they can't bench press for whatever reason.
*Bonus* For those with elbow pain, the wider hand grip (the end of the barbell) might prove more comfortable on your elbow as opposed to using a dumbbell.
How to: Set up parallel to the bar, with your head close to the end of the barbell. Grab the bar with both hands an from a fetal position, roll over onto your back. Tuck your shoulder blade down and back, keep your midsection and butt tight, and press away!
If you like this bad boy, check out this Landmine Post over at Breaking Muscle from some other permutations.
