The Best Roman Chair Back Exercises

The roman chair, also known as a hyperextension bench, is an extremely useful, and surprisingly versatile piece of equipment.

Roman chairs are beloved for their effectiveness at targeting the lower back, hamstrings and glutes. They’re also great for sculpting your core, and can even be used for exercises like dips and push-ups.

In this article, I’ll go over the best roman chair exercises for back pain, for glutes, for the core, and more! I’ll also give our picks for the best roman chairs on the market today.

03/08/2024 01:34 pm GMT

Best Roman Chair Exercises

The roman chair is an amazingly effective tool for building strength and stability, particularly in the core and lower body. Here I’ll give our picks for the best roman chair exercises to incorporate into your routine.

Back Extension

The back extension is the exercise that really earns the roman chair its stellar reputation. When it comes to strengthening your lower back, there’s little else as effective as back extensions. It also also strengthens your glutes and hips as well. This awesome exercise is often done on a 45-degree bench, but can also be done at 90 degrees.

Lets go over how to perform back extensions.

• Start with your thighs on the pad, and you feet secured against the foot rollers.
• Lower your torso towards the ground, keeping your back completely straight and your abs tight.
• Lift your torso back up so that your body is straight.
• Hold this position for a second before repeating the movement.

The back extension is simple and easy-to-perform. It’s very important, however, to do this exercise slowly, with complete control. This is not a movement that you want to do dynamically whatsoever.

There’s also a debate as to whether or not it’s okay or useful to hyperextend your back when doing this exercise. The general recommendation is not to continue raising your torso, but to stop when your upper body is parallel to your lower body. This is especially true if you’re doing it with added weight. Which brings me to my next point.

If this roman chair exercise feels too easy for you, upping the intensity is super simple. Just grab a dumbbell, a plate, or anything else heavy, and hold it to your chest. Then go at the back extensions as usual. Like I said before, though, it’s even more important than usual to have proper form when you do this exercise with added weight.

Side Bend

The side bend is one of the most effective roman chair exercises for working the obliques. To perform this exercise you’ll need to:

• Lay on your side with one hip resting against the pad.
• Secure your feet using the bottom platform/handles and the roller pads.
• Cross your hands over your chest or behind your head.
• Keeping your core tight, bend your torso downwards.
• Maintain the sideways position and go as low as you comfortably can.
• Use your obliques and other core muscles to slowly lift your torso back upwards as high as you can comfortably go. You’ll want to go a bit beyond the neutral position for full effect.

When doing side bends, it’s best to stack your legs together underneath one roller pad/handle. This might not be possible or comfortable, though, depending on your particular bench. It’s also acceptable to have your legs apart, but it’s a bit more difficult to keep your body completely sideways in this position.

Also, as with any one-sided exercise, it’s important to work both sides of your body equal so as to not develop imbalances.

Isometric Glute Hold

The isometric glute hold is a great way to build strength in the glutes and the core. To do this exercise you’ll need to:

• Start face-down with your thighs resting against the main pad.
• Secure your feet with the ankle pads.
• Lift your body into the parallel position.
• Hold this position until you feel your abs, glutes or back starting to fail.

It’s important to release the isometric glute hold before failure. Once you feel your form starting to fall, you should stop. You also don’t want to do this hold in a hyperextended position. Be sure that your upper body is in line with your lower body and that your back is straight.

This is one of the best roman chair exercises for building core stability, since it trains your static strength.

Dips

While dips might not be one of the most common roman chair exercises, they are extremely effective at working the chest, triceps, and deltoids. Doing full dips on a roman chair can be a bit tricky depending on your height and the height of the bench. It’s usually best to raise the handles if they’re adjustable.

• Facing the bench, grab the handles.
• Bend your knees and lift your feet off the ground, holding your bodyweight on the handles with straight arms.
• Lower your body by bending your elbows and lowering your shoulders.
• Go down until your shoulders are slightly lower than your elbows.
• Lift yourself back up into the starting position by straightening your arms, being sure to engage your chest.

If the handles are too low for you, and you can’t raise them, it’s also possible to perform dips with your knees or feet touching the ground. Facing away from the bench and placing your heels on the ground in front of you is a popular variation that targets the triceps even more than regular dips.

Best Overall Roman Chair

Rogue Fitness is known for designing premium fitness equipment, and their Abram GHD 2.0 is a great example of the company’s excellence. The “ghd” here stands for “glute and hamstring developer”. But the GHD 2.0 can do so much more than that. This is an all around hyperextension bench if ever there was one.

This bench is perfect for hitting your glutes and hamstrings, sure. But it’s also great for targeting your lower back, your abs, your obliques, and even your chest and shoulders. The pads here are insanely comfortable, ensuring you’ll never have to cut a set short due to discomfort. And the bench is completely adjustable, allowing you to hit all of your favorite workouts no matter your height.

You can also adjust the steepness of the GHD 2.0 bench, unlike lots of cheaper, low-quality benches that are annoyingly stuck at 40 degrees.

Overall, the Rogue Abram GHD 2.0 is our pick for the best roman chair on the market today.

Best Budget Roman Chair

The Finer Form multi-functional Roman Chair and weight bench is an amazing value. You get a fully functional roman chair, with an added bench attached. Assuming you have the space, having an extra bench in your home gym is always a good idea.

The pads on the Finer Form roman chair are soft and comfortable. Both the chair and the bench are easy to adjust and feel sturdy when you’re using them.

The one issue that users have noted with this chair, is that it feels a bit cramped for tall people. Based on user reviews, I would say if you’re over 6ft 1in, (185cm) this might not be the bench for you.

Another small issue I have with this hyperextension bench is that it doesn’t have handles. I personally love being able to do dips and other exercises from the handles of my roman chair, so their absence here is a bit of a turn off for me personally.

With that being said, however, the good here far outweighs the bad. If you’re looking for a versatile hyperextension bench on a budget, look no further than the the Finer Form multi-functional roman chair.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Roman Chair

Material and Durability

It’s important to look for roman chairs that are made from solid steel. Otherwise, the bench probably won’t feel very sturdy when you’re using it. There’s little else as annoying and distracting as a wobbly, insecure hyperextension bench.

Comfortable Pads

Another very important aspect of choosing a roman chair, is finding high-quality pads. Using hyperextension benches naturally puts a lot of pressure on your feet/heels, and your legs/pelvis. If the pads aren’t comfortable enough, you won’t be able to use the bench effectively.

If you’re sensitive when it comes to putting bodyweight on pads, I would look for a bench with two separate main pads instead of a solid one. A divided pad will distribute the weight onto your thighs instead of your pelvis and groin.

Price

It’s always important to consider price when buying anything, and roman chairs are no different. The price of roman chairs varies quite a lot, with cheap models costing less than a $100, and high-end commercial models costing as much as $1000.

When it comes to roman chairs, I would advise against buying the cheapest-of-the-cheap. Unless you have very light bodyweight, the cheapest hyperextension benches probably aren’t going to be comfortable and stable enough for you to use them effectively.

With that being said, if you’re on a tight budget, you can find solid roman chairs for less than $200. If, on the other hand, you want the highest quality, highest comfort bench out there, you can expect to pay upwards of $700.

Roman Chair Frequently Asked Questions

Are Roman Chairs Worth It?

Yes, if you’re serious about strengthening your back, glutes, and hamstrings, roman chairs are absolutely worth investing in. The roman chair, or hyperextension bench, is an amazingly effective tool for working out your core, particularly your low-back, an area often neglected by many.

Furthermore, roman chairs are pretty affordable compared to lots of other gym equipment.

If you end up buying a roman chair, I’m confident you won’t regret it.

Is the roman chair a good exercise?

Yes, using roman chairs is a great workout for the core, as well as the upper and lower body. Hyperextension benches are versatile and offer many different great exercise options. You really can’t go wrong with these benches.

What Are the benefits of the Roman Chair?

The roman chair allows you to target your lower back and your glutes in a way that’s hard to replicate. I remember the first time I used a roman chair. I thought to myself, “where has this machine been my entire life?”

After just a few weeks of doing exercises with a roman chair, your core, specifically your lower back and your hips, will feel stronger and more stable than they have your entire life.

Is the Roman Chair Good for Your Back?

Yes, the roman chair is amazing for your back. When used correctly, the roman chair can quickly strengthen the lower back muscles, the muscles supporting your spine, and the glutes. All of this leads to improved posture, reduction in back-pain/fatigue, and improved athletic performance.

Is the Roman Chair Good for Your Abs?

Yes, roman chair exercises can be effective at developing your abdominal muscles. Hyperextension benches are mainly designed to strengthen the lower back and the glutes. With that said, however, they can also have a seriously positive impact on your abs as well.

Even doing traditional back extensions works your abs a bit. Things really get intense for them, however, when you start using the roman chair to target your abs specifically. Side bends, for example, will have your obliques on point like few other exercises. Roman chair crunches are another great exercise to develop your abs.

Is the Roman Chair Good for Glutes?

The roman chair is amazing for strengthening your glutes. By placing the pad beneath your hips, you can really work the glutes when doing back extensions. Static holds are another great way to develop your glutes with a roman chair.

Conclusion

The roman chair, aka the hyperextension bench. might be the single most important piece of equipment for strengthening and developing your lower back. Whether its combating back pain and instability, fixing bad posture, or building your glutes and hamstrings, the roman chair is an insanely effective and versatile piece of workout equipment.

I really hope you’ll give these great roman chair exercises a try for yourself. Until next time, good luck with all of your fitness goals, whatever they may be!