Supervised by World Champion — Yusuke Suzuki

The Bench Press Gym. A bench press gym one minute from Kita-Urawa Station, supervised by a bench press world champion

That one kilo changes a life. A place to learn the bench press to a world standard.

2026.10.1Grand Open

Today 10/31 (Sat) open 10:00-22:00 / staff on site 10:00–16:00
Drop-in and free trial visits are by booking, during staffed hours only. On arrival, call "201" on the intercom at street level. Outside staffed hours the gym is for members only, who enter with a keypad code.

Book a free trial Just for a day (drop-in, from ¥2,200) Explore
World Champion ×2 Kita-Urawa Sta. 1 min Open 10:00–22:00 Eleiko IPF Rack
Notices All notices →
3D Walkthrough

Walk through the gym.

From the reception to the racks and the studio, see the actual space in 3D. Drag to look around and tap the circles on the floor to move. The icons at the bottom left switch to the dollhouse view and the floor plan (gym map).

The 3D tour is a Matterport scan of the actual premises. Open full screen

Free Trial

From booking to joining.

The trial is free: once per person, by appointment, 60 minutes. Only if you join on the day do we take the joining fee of ¥11,000 and the first month's fee.
We have designed the run-up so that those 60 minutes count.

Step 1 - Now

Book a trial

One minute on the form below. We ask about your training history and anything that bothers you right there, so your 60 minutes are designed before you arrive. A confirmation email comes straight away.

Step 2 - On the day

A 60-minute trial

Interview, form check, bench pressing, tour of the gym. Just bring clothes you can move in, indoor shoes and a drink.

Step 3 - After the trial

You can join on the spot

If you would like to join, you can apply on the spot. Nothing is charged when you apply. You are also welcome to take your time and decide later. We never pressure anyone. Apply to join

Reservation

Sixty minutes first.
Then decide.

The feel of a room does not come across in writing. Start with 60 minutes. We will not pressure you.

We cannot take walk-ins without a bookingDrop-in and free trial visits are only possible while staff are on site. Choose a time marked ○ in the table below. Members may come without booking.
  1. Pick a time
  2. Your details
  3. Send
Choose the date and time of your trial (60 minutes)

Once you choose a date and time, the next step appears.

Concept

We broke the wall around specialist gyms.

“Only for strong people” is an assumption. We broke three of them.

B.A.D. GYM URAWA is a bench press gym one minute from the west exit of Kita-Urawa Station. It has competition equipment built around an Eleiko IPF-certified combo rack and the B.A.D. Method established by bench press world champion Yusuke Suzuki (back-to-back IPF World Classic Bench Press champion, 2018 and 2019). Beginners and competitors train in the same room. We opened on 1 October 2026. Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00-22:00, closed Mondays. Any change to our opening days is announced on Yusuke Suzuki's Instagram (@bodyartdesign).

01

“A beginner would stick out”Beginners above all should learn from a champion first.

Correct form before habits set in. Train as if you were designing your body — that is how B.A.D. (Body Art Design) sees the shortest road to getting stronger.

02

“Lifting light is embarrassing”The only person you compare yourself with is yesterday's you.

60 kg becomes 62.5 kg. Here, the next rack over celebrates that moment with you.

03

“How is this different from a machine gym?”Room, coaching, culture - all of it for the lift.

Competition equipment, world-standard coaching, a room made for lifting. Everything serves the same purpose.

60 kg on the bench is fine.
This is a gym for people aiming at 100 kg.

Supervisor

Supervised by a man who won the world.

Yusuke Suzuki, bench press world champion
Yusuke Suzuki
Yusuke Suzuki - bench press world champion

He runs B.A.D. (Body Art Design) in Matsumoto, Nagano. His philosophy: the bench press is body control. URAWA carries that method forward.

Two-time World Classic Bench Press champion (2018, 2019). Ten Japanese national titles. Eight Asian titles. 2024 Asian Championships, 83 kg class, 210 kg, first place. Two-time Masters world champion (2025, 83 kg class, 217.5 kg). Official best 222.5 kg.

See his full record

Upcoming days he is in the gymmore to come

  • 11/1Sun14:00–20:00
  • 11/21Sat12:00–18:00
  • 11/27Fri16:00–22:00

Form clinics are held on these days. No booking is needed - come during those hours and speak to us on the floor.

Further dates will be added as they are fixed.

Documentary

25 YEARS OF BENCH PRESS

A man who lives with the bench press, and what lies beyond strength.

Three minutes and twenty-two seconds in which Yusuke Suzuki talks about everything from the day he started bench pressing to why he built a gym in Kita-Urawa.

3 min 22 sec, with sound and Japanese subtitles. Produced by BODY ART DESIGN.

Read the transcript and chapters

B.A.D. Method

Zero to 100kg

Strength is not talent. A world champion's method, broken into steps anyone can follow.

You lie down and press into the bar - the ground - with your palms as front feet.
The bench press is a movement that lies just beyond upright, two-legged walking.

Supervised by Yusuke Suzuki, bench press world champion

Brain → Nerves → Muscles → Bones and joints → Sensation → Brain

Because you feel well, you move better. Because you move better, you feel more.
Building this virtuous circle is the heart of the B.A.D. Method.

Where you are now

Where you are right now.

Enter a weight and the reps you managed, and it estimates the most you could lift once. See the distance to 100 kg as a number before you start.

kg
reps

Estimated 1RM —

Calculated as weight / 40 x reps + weight an estimate, not a measured figure. Enter up to 10 reps.
We measure the real figure at the form check during your trial.

First form check

We assess where you are when you join. Everyone starts somewhere different.

Progress measured at record meets

A record meet is the mid-term exam. Progress confirmed in numbers.

Prepare

Set yourself up before you lie down.

The bench press is a whole-body movement. On a day when your spine is not organised, adding weight alone will not move you forward. Work on the floor first, then go to the bench. We keep the tools and the space for that.

Items members may use freely (product photos)

25 mm exercise mat
25 mm exercise mat
Axis Former stretching pole
Axis Former stretching pole
TriggerPoint GRID X / GRID foam rollers
TriggerPoint GRID X / GRID foam rollers
PD9 GRIP (liquid chalk)
PD9 GRIP (liquid chalk)
Ulanzi MT-44 (tripod)
Ulanzi MT-44 (tripod)

When no booking is held in the studio, you are welcome to use its floor. 42.24 m2 with a mirrored wall. Set yourself up on the open floor, then go to the bench. Free for members.

Liquid chalk (PD9 GRIP) and a smartphone tripod for recording your own training are also free for members.

See the studioSee the equipment

Interior

A room built around Eleiko,
made for lifting.

The same equipment used at world championships, here as a matter of course. Exposed ceiling, low indirect lighting, black steel catching the light.
The switch flips the moment you open the door.

Inside B.A.D. GYM URAWA: the three combo racks and the platform seen from the reception side, under the line lighting
The floor. Straight ahead as you enter, the view runs to the three racks and the platform
The backlit B.A.D. sign and the reception counter
Reception. We will look after you during staffed hours.

All photos show the actual premises (taken 30 September 2026). The layout of equipment may change. See every photo of the gym and its equipment

Facility

Designed for one thing: lifting.

Built around the same Eleiko used at world championships, with competition-grade equipment only.

Three racks: IPF-approved Eleiko combo racks plus MBC POWER, with two MBC double half racks alongside. ABSOLUTE POWERS precision plates in 1.25 kg steps.

See the Eleiko equipment, photos of the gym and the 3D walkthrough

Installed equipment: Eleiko IPF Competition Combo Rack (manufacturer's official video)
Eleiko / IPF

These colours
will start to make sense.

Red is 25 kg, blue 20 kg, yellow 15 kg. These are set by the competition rules of the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) and mean the same thing in any venue in the world. For 10 kg and under the rules specify no colour; Eleiko and most other makers use green for 10 kg, white for 5, black for 2.5 and chrome for 1.25.
On day one they are just colours. Six months later you read the weight from across the room. That is the clearest evidence of progress there is.

15 kg yellow, 20 kg blue and 25 kg red are set by the IPF Technical Rules (edition effective 1 March 2026, 2.2(b)6). The same rules set the tolerance for competition plates at 0.25 percent or 10 grams of face value, and our plates are within that.

1957 — Halmstad, Sweden

It started with one demand:
a bar that would not bend.

It began as a waffle-iron factory. In 1957 the works manager, a lifter himself, got tired of bars that broke and set out to make a better one. That is why Eleiko's knurling still carries a waffle pattern.

1963 — Stockholm

It finished a world championship
without bending a single bar.

Stockholm, 1963. It was the first bar in history to get through a championship without bending or breaking. More than 1,000 world records have since been set on Eleiko bars.

IPF Official Supplier

Official equipment partner to the IPF
since 2009.

As Official Equipment Partner to the International Powerlifting Federation, Eleiko supports world, continental and national championships. That Eleiko IPF-certified combo rack is one minute from Kita-Urawa Station.

Our Eleiko equipment is the IPF-certified competition combo rack, the Seal Row Bench and the Cable Cross 120 kg.

Service

Someone to ask.

We publish the hours when staff are here. Outside those hours the gym is for members only.

01 — Staffed

Staffed hours

Staffed hours vary from day to day

During these hours we can show you around, run a free trial, and talk you through joining. Outside them the gym is members only, who let themselves in with the ground-floor entrance code.

  • 10/31Sat10:00–16:00
  • 11/1Sun14:00–20:00Yusuke Suzuki
  • 11/3Tue16:00–22:00
  • 11/4Wed16:00–22:00
  • 11/5Thu16:00–22:00
  • 11/6Fri16:00–22:00
  • 11/7SatNo staff
  • 11/8Sun10:00–16:00
  • 11/10TueNo staff

Later dates are added as they are set. Please check this page before you come.

02 — Share The Rack

Racks are shared, not owned.

Swap between sets, spot each other, call for each other. Sharing rather than occupying is how this sport works. The official rack has a jack, so swapping is quick. If it is your first time, staff will introduce you.

03 — My Page

Training records on My Page

Log in and your records are the same on any device. You can see that you are keeping it up.

Go to My Page
Studio Rental

26 mats, and it is your studio.

About a quarter of the floor, 42.24 sqm: B.A.D. STUDIO is available to hire by the hour for yoga, pilates and dance classes.

Rates, availability and booking for B.A.D. STUDIO, the rental studio in Kita-Urawa

approx. 12.8 tsubo(42.24 sqm, 26 tatami mats)Wall mirrors FourSports flooring ThroughoutCeiling speakers Bluetooth (Fosi Audio BT30D PRO)Lighting DimmableSecurity camera Planned
B.A.D. STUDIO: a multi-purpose room with a full mirror wall and sports flooring
B.A.D. STUDIO (42.24 m², about 26 tatami). Mirror wall and daylight from the windows

Dance use is from 19:00 Tuesday to Friday, from 12:00 on Saturday, and all day Sunday. Yoga, Pilates, small-group lessons and filming have no time restriction within opening hours.

Payment is by credit card only - we do not take cash.

Rates, availability and booking

Price

Every price, on this page.

There are no administration or other charges beyond the joining fee and the monthly fee, apart from the ¥3,300 settlement fee if an annual membership is cancelled part-way. All prices shown include tax. Where a tax-exclusive price is given, it is marked “before tax”.

Founding Member Founding membership is limited to 40 people (member numbers 001-040), joining by 31 December 2026.
The monthly fee for a Base member is ¥13,200 including tax, for as long as you stay, and the joining fee is the same for everyone. From the 41st member, or for anyone joining on or after 1 January 2027, the standard price applies.
Base
Base member
¥14,300 / month
¥13,000 before tax / founding members ¥13,200 / month, held for as long as they stay
  • Unlimited use within opening hours
  • My Page and training records
  • Includes a first-time orientation
  • Form clinics included, free
  • Yusuke Suzuki's online school at ¥1,100/month (normally ¥1,870)
Start with a trial
Drop-in
Drop-in visit
¥2,200 / day
1week ¥7,700
10/08–10/31 Drop-in for one day is ¥2,200 ¥3,300 to mark Bone and Joint Day (8 October).
  • No joining fee
  • JPA-registered lifters and Yusuke Suzuki salon members pay ¥2,200 / day
  • Accompanying a member ¥2,200 (registered in advance)
Enquire about drop-in use
Annual Membership An annual membership gives you one month free.
¥157,300 (11 months; 12 months at list price is ¥171,600). A founding member paying annually pays ¥145,200 (11 months). If you cancel part-way we settle at the list monthly rate for the months used and refund the balance, less an administration fee of ¥3,300.

Joining fee ¥11,000 (¥10,000 before tax; charged once when a monthly membership starts, and not for drop-in use. the same for everyone, founding members included). No administration or payment-processing charges are added to the joining fee or the monthly payments
Personal training: Yusuke Suzuki 70 min ¥18,700 / 100 min ¥24,200 / 130 min ¥29,700 (on days the coach is in, by appointment)
Certified trainer, 60 min ¥9,900 / form clinics (with Yusuke Suzuki on the days he is in the gym, no booking needed) are free for members
Rental lockers: being prepared (limited number, holds a full set of competition gear; we will announce the start date once it is fixed)
All prices on this page include tax.

Apply to join and how it works
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Q.01Is it really all right for a complete beginner?
Yes - beginners are exactly who we want. Learning correct form before habits set in is the safest and fastest route to getting stronger. The first session starts with a form check, so the weight you lift today does not matter at all.
Q.02Can women train here?
Of course. Done with correct form, the bench press is a lift anyone can train safely regardless of gender. The culture here values improvement rather than raw numbers.
Q.03What should I bring?
Clothes you can move in, indoor shoes, and something to drink. Drinks are not provided. There are no showers, so bring a towel if you need one.
Q.04What happens in the trial?
Interview, form check, actual bench pressing, tour of the gym (about 60 minutes). We will not pressure you.
Q.05Can I get serious coaching aimed at competition?
Yes. Based on the method supervised by a world champion, we also run programmes for competitive lifters. Ask about it at your trial.

For anything not answered here, write to [email protected]. We reply within two business days.
We do not take enquiries by telephone.

Access

One minute from Kita-Urawa Station.

Open our page on Google Maps
Reviews

These are reviews posted on Google. We publish what we are given as it stands - we do not pick and choose, and we never trade anything for a review.

Write a review on Google
NameB.A.D. GYM URAWA(BODY ART DESIGN)
Address2F Iwasaki Bldg, 4-1-11 Kita-Urawa, Urawa-ku, Saitama-shi, Saitama 330-0074
Getting here1 min on foot from the west exit of Kita-Urawa Station, JR Keihin-Tohoku Line
Opening hours10:00–22:00
Staffed hoursVaries by day — Upcoming dates
Outside these hours the gym is for members only (entry by the ground-floor code). Planned until 31 December 2026; we will announce the hours from then once they are fixed
ClosedMondays
Any change to our opening days is announced on Yusuke Suzuki's Instagram (@bodyartdesign).
Closedclosed Mondays
EquipmentSeparate changing rooms for men and women / locker rental (not available yet) / free Wi-Fi
There are no showers, no car park and no bicycle parking (please use a facility nearby)
OperationsDuring staffed hours we can advise on form and how to use the equipment
Supervised byYusuke Suzuki, bench press world champion