Roman Chair

There are (4) USAWA Lifts that require a Roman Chair.

• Bench Press – Roman Chair (A6) – 55 records
• Abdominal Raise – On Roman Chair (D2) – 21 records
• Extension – Back (D12) – 22 records
• Roman Chair Situp (I21) – 46 records

The last time the topic of a Roman Chair was discussed in earnest was in 2011 on the forum and the website. Al does an excellent job of providing some history of the device, early lifts and the USAWA lifts.

My revisit is a little more on the practical side of actually securing a device that meets the USAWA standards.

Tuff Stuff “Roman Chair”

I unofficially tried to do these lifts on commercially available Tuff Stuff “Roman Chair” that had an angled pad which does not meet the USAWA specifications. I considered having a shop cut and re-weld the post to make it comply with the rulebook but abandoned the idea.

Dino Gym Roman Chair with Adjustable Safety

Clark’s Gym Roman Chair with Adjustable Bench Height

Frank Zane on a Roman Chair

Bruce Lee’s Original Roman Chair

Then I thought about having one fabricated in the style of Dino Gym, Clark’s Championship Gym, a design used by Frank Zane or even a design used by Bruce Lee. The Frank Zane design was part of a DIY youtube video by Buff Dudes last year.

Ad Hoc Solution

I eventually gave up and decided that it was not worth having a dedicated piece of equipment taking up space in my home gym. To contest the lifts, athletes would hook their toes under the lip of the barbell holder, sit on the utility bench and have a safety bench behind them if they lost control of the weight.

USAWA Compliant Solution

As luck would have it after 2 years of searching Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace a suitable product availed itself. It was about an hour away and overpriced, but I had to have it. I am looking forward to testing it and maybe contesting these lifts more often. The flat bench is adjustable and the foot pegs are fixed. In theory it could be used for back extensions also, but I have not tried that yet.