What muscles does the landmine lunge and twist work?

The quads of the front leg do the lunge, with the glutes assisting, and the obliques turn your trunk at the bottom. Your midsection works throughout because the load is out in front of you the whole time.

When in the rep should you twist?

At the bottom, once you have arrived and stopped. Turning while you are still descending means rotating over a leg that has not fully taken your weight, which is where the balance goes.

Which way do you twist?

Toward the front leg, as the steps describe. Doing it the other way is a different movement, not a variation, because it changes which hip has to resist the turn.

How heavy should it be?

Light. You are on one leg, holding weight away from your body, and turning. Any one of those alone would cap the load. Together they cap it well below what your legs could lunge with.

Back to the library

Barbell · intermediate · upper legs

Barbell landmine reverse lunges twist

Also called Landmine lunge and twist, Reverse lunge with rotation, Landmine reverse lunge with rotation, Rotational landmine reverse lunge.

The short answer

Holding the free end of an anchored barbell at chest height, you step back into a lunge, turn your trunk toward the front leg at the bottom, come back to center and stand. Your quads do the lunge and your obliques do the turn. The whole difficulty of this movement is where those two things meet: the twist is asked for at the least stable moment of the lunge.

How to do it

Step oneStand holding the end of a landmine barbell with both hands at chest height.
Step twoStep one foot back into a reverse lunge, lowering your back knee toward the ground.
Step threeAt the bottom of the lunge, rotate your torso toward the front knee, bringing the bar to that side.
Step fourReturn to center and drive through the front foot to stand.
Step fiveRepeat on the other leg, alternating sides.

What usually goes wrong

Each starts with what you would notice.

You start turning while you are still going down.

WhyThe two halves have merged into one motion, so you are rotating on a leg that is still descending and has not taken your weight yet.

FixReach the bottom of the lunge, stop, then turn. Two things in sequence. The pause is short and it is what turns this from a wobble into an exercise.

Your front knee drops inward as you rotate toward it.

WhyTurning your trunk one way puts a force on the leg holding you up, and if the hip does not resist it the knee follows the rotation.

FixKeep the front knee pointing over the middle of that foot for the whole turn and treat any inward drift as the end of the set. Rotating over a knee that is collapsing is not a position to add reps to.

The bar swings you around rather than the other way about.

WhyYou have let the weight lead the movement, so you are following the bar through its arc instead of moving it.

FixSlow down and take weight off until your chest is clearly what turns first. On this movement the bar should feel like something you are carrying through a turn, not something pulling you into one.

What it is for

The landmine reverse lunges twist combines a reverse lunge with a rotational core movement, targeting the quadriceps and glutes while adding oblique engagement. The landmine provides a guided arc for the twist, making it a functional movement for lower body and rotational strength.

Questions people ask

What muscles does the landmine lunge and twist work?: The quads of the front leg do the lunge, with the glutes assisting, and the obliques turn your trunk at the bottom. Your midsection works throughout because the load is out in front of you the whole time.
When in the rep should you twist?: At the bottom, once you have arrived and stopped. Turning while you are still descending means rotating over a leg that has not fully taken your weight, which is where the balance goes.
Which way do you twist?: Toward the front leg, as the steps describe. Doing it the other way is a different movement, not a variation, because it changes which hip has to resist the turn.
How heavy should it be?: Light. You are on one leg, holding weight away from your body, and turning. Any one of those alone would cap the load. Together they cap it well below what your legs could lunge with.