M2 Fitness

Landmine Reverse Lunge + Press

Combining a reverse lunge with a press from the bottom position challenges more than just lower-body strength.

Holding the lunge while pressing forces you to maintain lower-body position while your upper body produces force—adding trunk stability, balance and coordination to the movement.

It’s a great way to train single-leg strength and upper-body pressing together without turning the exercise into two separate movements.

Key focus: Get into a strong lunge position, stay controlled at the bottom, press without shifting or losing position, then drive through the front leg to stand.

Congrats to M2 Trainer Ella on her summit of Mt. St. Helens last weekend! Hard work and dedication pay off.

Three simple shoulder mobility drills I like to incorporate into my training:

1️⃣ Dowel Shoulder Floss
Works the shoulder through multiple planes of motion while challenging controlled rotation and mobility.

2️⃣ Dowel Kayak Rotation
Adds a rotational component, combining shoulder mobility with movement through the upper back/thoracic spine.

3️⃣ Shoulder Dislocates
A classic drill for taking the shoulders through a large, controlled range of motion. Adjust your hand width based on your available mobility—don’t force the range.

🚵 Why I like these for mountain biking:
We spend a lot of time on the bike with our arms forward, shoulders loaded and upper body relatively fixed. Maintaining good shoulder and thoracic mobility can help us comfortably move around the bike, absorb impacts and find better positions through technical terrain.

But these aren’t just MTB drills.

For the general population, they’re a simple way to work on shoulder mobility and movement variability—especially for people who spend a lot of the day sitting, driving or working at a computer.

The goal isn’t to force more range. Move slowly, stay controlled and work within the range your shoulders comfortably give you.

Mobility you can actually use > forcing flexibility.

One exercise…a lot of benefits.

The banded overhead squat challenges your shoulders, core and lower body to stay stable while moving through a full squat.

For mountain bikers, this helps improve:
• Shoulder stability
• Thoracic mobility
• Core stiffness
• Hip, knee and ankle control
• Overall body awareness under load

Those same benefits also make it a fantastic exercise for my general population clients looking to move better, stay healthier and build full-body strength.

Start light, move with control, and focus on quality over weight.

Mountain biking isn’t just about having strong legs. If your shoulders and upper back fatigue before the bottom of the descent, your control and confidence suffer.

This drill strengthens the stabilizers that help keep you composed through rock gardens, braking bumps, and technical terrain while reinforcing a strong attack position.

How to perform it:
• Hands shoulder/handlebar width
• Lower into your attack position
• Hold for 3–5 seconds (or until you begin to shake)
• Return to the start under control
• Repeat for quality reps

This isn’t just for mountain bikers. It’s an excellent exercise for improving shoulder health, posture, and upper-body endurance for anyone.

Following this weeks theme of using bands…

The banded bench press isn’t just a different way to bench. For MTB, I like it because the resistance increases as you press, challenging you to continue producing force as you extend through the arms.

On the bike, upper-body strength isn’t about building a bigger bench. It’s about having the strength and control to manage the bike—pushing through the bars, maintaining position through rough terrain, handling compressions, and staying strong when fatigue sets in.

There was another reason I programmed this variation today.

I injured my elbow in a race a few months ago, so I’m still being deliberate about how I load pressing movements. Using bands allowed me to program the movement in a way that worked well for me today while still training the qualities I’m after.

The goal isn’t just getting stronger in the gym.

It’s building strength that transfers to what you want to do outside of it.

If you ride MTB, strong legs are only part of the equation. You also need to produce and control force from each leg while maintaining a strong, stable hip position.

This banded Bulgarian split squat adds a forward torso lean to bias more of the work toward the hips and glutes, while the band adds another stability demand throughout the movement.

For mountain bikers, that combination can help build the single-leg strength and control you rely on when you’re moving dynamically on the bike, absorbing terrain, and managing fatigue.

But you definitely don’t need to race bikes to benefit.

Single-leg strength, strong hips, balance, and the ability to control your body under load carry over to just about everyone—from athletes to people who simply want to move better and stay strong.

Stronger hips. Better control. Strength that transfers.

Save this one and give it a try.