If you are in a hurry and just want to find out what the best roman chair for building powerful back muscles, then we recommend the Body-Solid Powerline PCH24X Adjustable Hyper Extension Roman Chair as the best one.
Out of the muscle groups that exist in the body, the muscles within the core region of the body can be some of the most important to develop.
These muscles are responsible maintaining the strength of the spine and hips, and also surround a vast storehouse of organs and vital body components.
One of the best devices for strengthening these important muscles is a Roman Chair machine.
However, not all Roman Chairs are the same, and in this review we will be covering the things you need to know in order to select the best Roman Chair for your core strengthening needs.
We will cover what a Roman Chair is and what specific core muscle groups that individuals use this piece of equipment to strengthen.
Well go over the core exercises that Roman Chairs are designed for you to perform with them, and the specific qualities you want to look for when choosing the right Roman Chair.
Lastly, we will cover the top 5 best Roman Chairs available on the market, and give you our #1 choice for best Roman Chair device.
So let’s dive in and see what Roman Chairs are all about!
Here are the top roman chairs we’ll be reviewing:
- TITAN Roman Chairs
- Body-Solid Powerline PCH24X Adjustable Hyper Extension Roman Chair
- ComMax Roman Chair
- Marcy Adjustable Hyperextension Roman Chair
- CAP Barbell Strength Roman Chair
Roman Chairs: What You Need To Know
If you are a beginner with fitness training, there’s a good chance that you don’t know what a Roman Chair is.
Heck, even if you exercise consistently, you may have used the equipment and not even have known what it was called.
What Is A Roman Chair? What Is It Used For?
A Roman Chair is a bench-based device with padded poles underneath it.
The bench is there to support the back and hips, while the underneath polls hold your legs in place while performing hyperextensions and certain abdominal exercises.
It’s an extremely simple device, but can be extremely valuable for strengthening the core.
As stated before, the Roman Chair is designed to strengthen to core muscles.
There are several muscle groups involved in the core, which includes the following:
- Abdominal Muscles
- Lower Back
- Glutes
Fortifying and strengthening these muscles are essential for maintaining optimal posture. In addition, lower back pain is often relieved and erased when people utilize Roman Chairs.
One of the chief causes of lower back pain is weakness in one or several core muscle groups, and Roman chairs help you strengthen all of these important muscles.
What Exercises Can You Perform With Roman Chairs?
Roman chairs can be used to perform any number of exercises for the valuable core muscles.
There are a few key exercises that are tried-and-true staples of roman chair workout regimens.
Lower Back
- Hyperextensions – This exercise is performed first by adjusting the upper and lower pads in a straight line. In a face-down position, you will rest you hips on the upper pad and fully extend both the upper and lower body regions.
You then proceed to cross your arms over your chest, and lower your upper body as far as it can go. Slowly bring yourself back to the starting position, and repeat.
There are twisting varieties for this exercise which adds to the variety and depth of this exercise.
Glutes
- Trunk Extensions – This is very similar to hyperextensions, with the difference being that your legs are placed at a 45-degree angle once you are on the machine. In order to engage your glutes, you push against the ankle pads with your legs while raising your upper body back from the lowered position.
- Isometric Glute Hold – This exercise starts by aligning the ankle pads with the pad that primarily supports the hips. From the face-down position, rest your hips on the hip pad and fully extend your legs so that they are locked in place by the ankle pads.
From here, you want to fully extend your upper body to form a straight line. do not overextend the upper body, as this can strain the lower back.
With the body in a straight line, hold this position for 10-30 seconds.
Abdomen
- Roman Chair Crunches – This exercise is pretty similar to a regular crunch but in an upright position. Placing yourself in an upright position on the machine, hook your feet under the ankle pads, forming a 135-degree angle at hips. From this position, perform crunches.
- Roman Chair Twist – To perform this exercise correctly, we have to emphasize the you keep your core active throughout the exercise. Place the ankle pads in a position below the hips and lock your feet under the ankle pads. in this position twist from one side to the next.
These are just some of the exercises that you can perform on a Roman Chair.
Each of the previously mentioned exercises have a wide degree of variations that give you wide array of core strengthening exercises.
Features: What To Look For
As we stated earlier, not all Roman Chairs are created equal. This isn’t just in the case of physical construction, but also factors such as pricing and purchasing security.
Before you look to purchase a Roman Chair, you want to consider your budget.
Home fitness equipment is often quite expensive, and some may consider Roman Chairs pricey. However, as far as fitness equipment is concerned, they are relatively inexpensive.
Due to the investment you have to make, you want to make sure that you have a machine that is made to last.
You also want a machine that you can operate comfortably so that you give yourself the best opportunity to get the most out of your workouts.
There are also specialty features to consider that cater to specific needs.
Many Roman Chairs have adjustable settings that allow you to maximize the depth and variety of the exercises you perform.
Moreover, if you are low on space, you can find Roman Chairs that have wheels and fold so that you can store them outside of general living space.
Lastly, purchasing security is a very important quality to consider.
Does the Roman Chair have a warranty that will insure my machine in case there are defects or malfunctions in my particular machine?
Top 5 Best Roman Chairs
Now that you know what Roman Chairs are and how you can use them to strengthen your core, let’s take a look at the Top 5 Best Roman Chairs on the market today.
After we review these, we’ll reveal our #1-pick for the best Roman Chair strengthening machine.
TITAN Roman Chairs
The TITAN Roman Chairs is a versatile, multipurpose machine that is designed to satisfy your core strengthening needs.
This machine has five adjustable height settings to make sure that it is a perfect fit for you.
This foldable machine is great for saving space, and makes it easy to store in closets. In addition, the fortified and well-padded bench is made to last you for years to come.
You can use this machine to target your hamstrings, glutes, abdomen and lower back, giving you a full-range of strengthening options.
In addition, Titan provides all it’s customers a 1-year warranty in case of product failure or machine defect.
Pros
- Foldable for easy storage
- Adjustable height settings
- 1-year manufacturer’s warranty
Cons
- Does not seem to cater to very short individuals
Body-Solid Powerline PCH24X Adjustable Hyper Extension Roman Chair
The Body-Solid Powerline PCH24X Adjustable Hyper Extension Roman Chair is a premiere machine brought by Body Solid.
This device allows you to perform the key exercises that target your abdomen, glutes, hamstrings and lower back.
With two-inch heavy-gauge steel construction and a wide base, this Powerline chair is built for sturdiness, durability and stability.
This machine won’t rock while your perform your exercises, ensuring that your form is not compromised with an unstable machine.
Both support pads are adjustable to fit a variety of heights and body types.
In addition Body Solid’s provides its customers a 10-year warranty for the machine frame, with a 1-year warranty for accessory parts.
Pros
- Adjustable to suit short and tall individuals
- Designed to prevent swaying
- 10-year warranty on frame, 1-year on parts
Cons
- Is not designed for easy storage
ComMax Roman Chair
The ComMax Roman Chair is designed to be a one-size fits all machine.
Not only does is have 3 adjustable angles – 30, 40, and 50 degrees – but backing length can be adjusted from 28 to 38 inches.
In addition to this, the machine folds for easy storage under furniture so that you can even use it in an apartment!
On top of suiting a variety of heights and spacing arrangements, this machine holds an impressive 300-lb weight limit.
The machine’s adjustable angles also ensure that you have an even greater depth of exercises to strengthen you hamstrings, glutes, abs, and lower back.
G4-MAX provides 30-Day free returns if you are dissatisfied with the machine in any way.
Pros
- 300-lb weight limit
- Adjustable height and angles
- Foldable and easily fits under furniture
- Relatively inexpensive
Cons
- Warranty is rather short-term
Marcy Adjustable Hyperextension Roman Chair
The Marcy Adjustable Roman Chair is primed to provide you with what you need to strengthen your important core muscles.
This home-gym is perfect for large or small spaces, as its compact design allows you to allows you to store is small areas of your home.
Marcy’s sturdy design is engineered to ensure that you have a stable exercising experience.
The adjustable pads allow you the create greater variety with each exercise, and caters to a variety of different heights.
With a 300-lb weight limit, this Roman Chair caters to both larger and smaller individuals.
Backed by a 90-day warranty, you can return the equipment in the rare event that you are dissatisfied.
Pros
- Relatively Inexpensive
- 300-lb weight limit
- Able to be stored in small spaces
Cons
- Warranty is only 3 months
CAP Barbell Strength Roman Chair
The Cap Strength Roman Chair is designed to fit and satisfy your core strengthening needs.
With an 300-lb weight limit and adjustable pads allow it to caters to the needs of large and small individuals as well.
The sturdy and durable frame is set for a stable and safe exercise experience but be careful to follow the assembly instructions carefully.
Past customers have complained about issues with stability and blamed it on product design.
However, the culprit of this issue is improper assembly, so you want to make sure you assemble the machine properly so that you can guarantee your own safety.
This bench is backed by a 30-day limited warranty that protects against defects in product design and equipment.
Pros
- Relatively Inexpensive
- 300-lb weight limit
- Small enough to be stored in small spaces
Cons
- Very limited warranty
The Verdict: What is the Best Roman Chair Machine?
Now that you have had the opportunity to thoroughly review Roman Chairs and see what these 5 brands have to offer, we want to share our top pick for the best Roman Chair.
The primary factors come down to accessibility, pricing and purchase security.
Most of the above brands had a consistent track record of stability and durability.
Some customers complained about stability, but the culprit of this problem was almost always due to poor assembly.
Of the 5 brands, 2 had a weight limit of 250 pounds, while 3 had a weight limit of 300 pounds.
However, it goes to show that neither weight limits cater to people who are considerably larger than average-size.
Lastly, we believe that purchase security is very important. The two more expensive brands both came with warranties that were a year or longer.
While they are more expensive, this insurance can save you a lot of money in the case of a breakdown.
As such, our #1 pick is actually going to two machines. This first pick goes to the Body-Solid Powerline PCH24X Adjustable Hyper Extension Roman Chair.
Powerline comes with a 10-year purchase warranty for the frame, which means that you have long-term insurance for your investment.
It also caters to people of all heights, which is also important.
The second pick goes to ComMax Roman Chair. In honesty, this machine would be the undisputed #1 best Roman Chair in our assessment for a number of reasons.
It’s foldable, which allows for storage in very tight places.
It has a 300-lb weight limit, and it’s adjustment settings helped cater to a large variety of different exercises and height variations.
It’s also less than $100. However, the primary issue is that the warranty is only 30 days, which is extremely limited in our view.
In fact, all the machines under $100 had very limited warranties that only covered for 30-90 days. This is the only reason that ComMax Roman Chair is not our undisputed first pick.
We hope you have found value with this review, and that you are better equipped to find the perfect Roman Chair for your cores strengthening needs.