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THE ROMAN CHAIR – A GOOD TEST OF ABDOMINAL STRENGTH

The Roman Chair is an abdominal “core” exercise that is one of the best tests for the strength of your abdominal muscles. And it’s challenging for the upper body as well. Lots of newbies to strength training have a hard time holding themselves up because of poor shoulder strength and complain that it’s hard on their shoulders and arms. You will see them have a white-knuckle grip on the handles and begin to slowly sink down as they perform the exercise. That is why strengthening the whole body is so important, many exercises use more than one major muscle group. I often start my clients with sets of 3-6 reps and work on building their overall strength. Once you can do 10 or 20 straight legged raises, you will know that your overall strength is pretty solid. What is your goal?

4 Responses to “THE ROMAN CHAIR – A GOOD TEST OF ABDOMINAL STRENGTH

  • SanShar
    7 years ago

    Hello!

    Why is it called a Roman Chair?

    I do understand that a strong core is an essential part of your overall fitness. If your core is weak, then you are weak. A weak core is also a major contributor to bad posture.

    Many folks don’t really give much though to how your core plays a major role in overall body strength.

    • Patricia Sullivan
      7 years ago

      Hi SanShar,

      Thank you for your comment. I don’t know why it’s called that and I have heard other names like, “captain’s chair”. You are right, everything starts with a strong core!

  • This is a hard exercise. I used to do it at the gym. I was starting with leg raise but I was ending up with knee raises because I couldn’t do it anymore.

    At home I don’t have such a machine. But I have a bench with which I can stuck my feet in, incline the bench back and raise my upper body instead. I’m not sure if it is as efficient though. But I know that my abs get sore that way.

    • Patricia Sullivan
      7 years ago

      Hi Guy, Thank you for commenting. Yes if your abs get sore, it must be working. I like to change it up with the abs every few weeks, like most exercises. If you keep doing the same thing, you lose the benefit. You can change the cadence, reps or rest periods to challenge your muscles.

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