Effect of Roman chair exercise training on the development of lumbar extension strength

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of 45 degrees Roman chair exercise training on the development of lumbar extension strength. Fifteen healthy volunteers (9 women, 6 men) were recruited from a university setting and were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups. One group (n = 9) performed progressive resistance back extension exercise on a 45 degrees Roman chair once weekly for 12 weeks. Training consisted of one set of 8-20 dynamic repetitions to volitional exhaustion using hand-held metal plates for additional resistance. The other group did not train (control, n = 6). Peak isometric lumbar extension torque was measured on a lumbar extension dynamometer before and after the 12-week program. Following training, peak isometric lumbar extension torque did not increase for the Roman chair group (before: 224.0 +/- 134.1 N x m; after: 240.3 +/- 137.4 N x m; p > 0.05) compared with the control group (before: 175.6 +/- 68.9 N x m; after: 178.2 +/- 69.9 N x m; p > 0.05), despite an increase in dynamic exercise load.