Monday 27 May 2019

Product Review - The Ultimate Landmine Program by Meghan Callaway


               Ever since 2016 I’ve been a fan of fellow Canadian Strength Coach Meghan Callaway for her knowledge; attention to detail with exercise coaching; and authentic, no-nonsense approach to strength training nutrition as well as her authentic personality. If you follow her on social media you know she’s capable of some amazing feats of strength & coordination in some crazy exercises – some of which I’ve tried myself.
                When she asked me to review her upcoming product - The Ultimate Landmine Program I couldn’t wait to read it and review it.


 Side note: As with my review of her pullup program I am not an affiliate of Meghan and do not get any money for her products. I choose not to be an affiliate with anyone so that I can review products in an objective, unbiased fashion.

                If you’re reading this you might be wondering “what the heck is a landmine?” A landmine is a cylindrical strength training apparatus on a platform that is bolted to the floor. You can place one end of a barbell in the cylindrical portion of the apparatus – allowing you to press, pull, squat and lift the bar at various angles that are impossible to do with traditional “straight bar” movements. If you don’t have a landmine apparatus you can stick one end of the barbell in the corner of a gym or the corner of a squat rack as Meg describes.

                As you might have guessed – the program is all made up of landmine exercises. However – there is a supplement to the book which covers non-landmine exercises which can be added into the program. 

                The program consists of two progressive phases – each made up of three workouts a week that incorporate landmine variations of compound movements (i.e. squats, deadlifts, presses, rows) along with advanced core stability exercises. In Phase 2 the exercises are made more difficult by adding band resistance and/or adding extra components & movements to the exercises.

                As with the pullup program – Meghan is the most anal (I say that as a complement) person I’ve known (in-person or online) with regards to coaching proper exercise technique & ensuring proper form. In each exercise she also emphasizes total body tension and proper scapular control.

                When I reviewed the pullup program in 2017 my only hesitation was that I felt some of the exercises may not be appropriate for certain injuries (i.e. elbow, shoulder) or certain medical conditions (i.e. congenital laxity). By contrast I feel a lot more comfortable recommending this program to a general population. That said, an exercise that is appropriate for one may not be for another – and Meg would be the first to agree with it.

                The program also incorporates a lot of novel, less well known exercise variations. I must confess, coming from a powerlifting background that is highly specific and incorporates a narrow range of exercises, my training got stale – and I am looking forward to incorporating some of these exercises in my powerlifting training.

                The only critique I have is that there are common coaching cues that are repeated a lot through the book – which is what Meghan intended in order to reinforce proper form – but it does lengthen the book & the read.

                All in all I enjoyed Meg’s Landmine program and wish her all the best with her success.

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