The AbMat Barbell Bomb is a landmine attachment that can be used anywhere.
It’s extremely lightweight and made of durable high density foam so it won’t scratch my barbells.
Simple idea by the brilliant minds at AbMat but now it’s time to put it to the test.
Let’s check it out!
Unboxing
Table of Contents
The Barbell Bomb comes in an AbMat branded bag.
It weighs almost nothing so I was curious to see if it would work as a legit non-anchored landmine attachment.
Out of the box the bomb is made of the same durable, high-density foam AbMat products are known for.
They embossed the outline of a bomb and the product name on each side.
Right at the bottom of the bomb there’s a small hole.
The hole is there so that once you insert the barbell, there’s no air trapped inside.
This way it doesn’t create a vacuum so it’s easy to take it off the barbell sleeve.
And here’s a view of the opening.
The Barbell Bomb only works with Olympic sized barbell sleeves (2″), it won’t work with standard sized barbells (1″).
Set up is straight forward, insert the barbell sleeve into the Barbell Bomb, and I’m ready to knock out landmine exercises.
Specs
- Material – Extremely durable high density foam
- Weight – 4 oz
- Length – 7″
- Sleeve length used – 5.5″
Barbell Bomb Testing
I wanted to give the Barbell Bomb a test on multiple flooring to cover most home gyms.
So I tested it on different surfaces, different weight ranges, and different exercise tempos/speeds.
The goal of the testing was to check for movement of the Barbell Bomb.
Will it move too much or would it grip the floor?
Surfaces
Stall mats
With so many garage gyms using stall mats, testing the bomb on this surface was a no brainer.
On stall mats, the bomb did well in some exercises and in others it moves some.
Where I saw the most movement was with heavy barbell rows.
With the Barbell Bomb weighing nothing, it tends to lift at the start of the movement (it’s better if it’s pushed back against the wall).
Concrete
On concrete, the Barbell Bomb did really well.
The bomb grips the grainy surface creating a good anchor point for most exercises.
Grass
I tested the Barbell Bomb on wet grass and I was really surprised that it didn’t move much at all.
What I think happened is that the grass surrounding the bomb cradled it giving it more stability.
Vinyl
The barbell bomb did really well on laminate flooring also.
This is a non-porous surface so it’s grippy.
Tile
Here I am testing out the barbell bomb on tile floor.
This one was a bit more slippery than other surfaces I tested.
I don’t know that many people workout in tile since they could break if weights are dropped but I tested it anyway.
Wood
And finally, I tested the bomb on wood.
This is another not so common surface for home gyms but it did ok.
A few slips here and there but not bad at all.
Barbell Bomb vs Tennis Ball
You’ve probably seen people DIY a landmine attachment out of a tennis ball.
So I wanted to test a tennis ball vs the barbell bomb just to see which one would do better.
And the barbell bomb won the battle in most exercises I tried.
Of course, you can always put the tennis ball and barbell bomb against a corner or other immovable object to prevent any movement.
This was just a comparison between the two in open space.
Landmine Exercises
As far as landmine exercises go there’s a plethora of them.
Look at the videos I posted above just to get an idea of what can be done.
Anything you can do with a regular landmine attachment is possible with the barbell bomb.
Barbell Bomb Alternatives
AbMat has come out with a heavier version called the Barbell Bomb HD.
It’s made out of rubber instead of foam and weighs 2.3 lbs compared to the OG Barbell Bomb which is 4 ounces.
I haven’t had a chance to test it out yet but it may be worth checking out if you want something more stable.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Set up: Slide it into a barbell sleeve and it’s ready to use. No need to stack weight plates or anchor anything down.
- Storage: I keep mine on my barbell sleeve so it doesn’t sit on the floor taking up space
- Versatile: I can do many landmine attachment exercise
Cons
- Light: Weighing in at 4 oz, it can move in some exercises. Place something heavy behind it to back it up.
Where To Buy
The only place you can buy the Barbell Bomb at this moment is at AbMat’s official website.
AbMat Barbell Bomb Review
Overall, the Barbell Bomb makes an ok landmine attachment.
It does move in some exercises but you can always put a heavy object behind it to back it up.
Definitely easier to set up than most other landmine attachments since it just slides into the barbell sleeve.
It’s not fool proof but it’s a good alternative to a post landmine attachment where you have to set up a stack of weight plates just to get started.
Check Out the AbMat Barbell Bomb
AbMat Barbell Bomb
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