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.
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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