Who Was Arthur Jones? The Legendary Pioneer of Nautilus Pullover Machine and a Huge Inspiration Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates

Bodybuilding is comprised of major technical exercises. Unlike when one engages in a normal workout regime, preparing for bodybuilding competitions requires specific training using exercise machines built for this very purpose. If you have been a regular gym goer, you will undoubtedly know what Nautilus machines are. These machines were created by none other than Arthur Jones, who changed the history of bodybuilding forever.

Recently, the birthday of legendary Arthur Jones went by on the 22nd of November. Let us delve into what these machines are, how he invented them, changing the face of the fitness industry.

Arthur Jones’ early life and military enlistment?

Jones was born in Arkansas in late 1926 just before the Great Depression, which had affected America detrimentally. In his early life, his family moved to Seminole, Oklahoma, where his father had operated a medical office. His mother was also from medical school, and this shows that he was born and brought up in a family of people who knew a lot about biology and medicine. There were 14 members in his family who had become doctors and unsurprisingly, he was also expected to go into that line of work.

However, he did not. Jones did not have any interest in medical science or studying of any form. He left home in his early teenage years and started traveling, eventually becoming an enlisted soldier in the US military during the Second World War.

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Jones had done everything from hauling cargo from several countries in Latin America to importing monkeys and exotic animals from Africa. He had also produced a lot of television shows and movies, centering, on his African travels, some of which had appeared on ABC during the 1950s.

However, his interest in weight training started in the 1930s when he still was a teenager. The only information Jones had was from Bob Hoffman?s Strength and Health magazine or Peary Radar?s Iron Man. He was not satisfied with the information that was found in the journals and that made him take up the responsibility of designing his exercise equipment.

The birth of the Nautilus machine

Even though weight-training machines existed before Arthur Jones’ creation, what made the creation of Nautilus equipment different was the mechanism as well as the intensity of interest in the products. Jones began experimenting with new ways of exercising. During the 1970s, he wrote about muscular development and the fact of hard work in building muscle.

Jones’s articles claimed that his new Nautilus machines would mean that the muscles would work harder but the fatigue would be lesser. After his Nautilus machines started to make a name in the fitness world, even bodybuilders like Dorian Yates started using them at the start of their careers.

Dorian Yates reminisces about the contribution of Arthur Jones

During the 70th birthday of Arthur Jones, Dorian Yates posted a carousel of pictures of himself and Arthur Jones on his Instagram account and wrote a heartfelt caption for the inventor of the Nautilus machine.

Dorian Yates said, ?Today marks the birthday of the legendary Arthur Jones – 22nd November 1926. The Genius, Visionary, Pioneer! The founder of, in my opinion, the greatest back machine ever? the famous Nautilus Pullover Machine. One of the very first memories I have of bodybuilding was reading Arthur Jones? articles and understanding that intensity is the key factor. But not just the incredible pullover machine, the whole Nautilus line of equipment was phenomenal to use. Including the biceps machines, triceps machines, leg extensions, and leg curls too. “

The accuracy of nautilus machines and building the perfect physique was publicized in several bodybuilding magazines and thousands of people became advocates of high-intensity training, including Mike Mentzer and Dorian Yates. Even though Mentzer did not win the Mr. Olympia, he went on to become one of the most popular bodybuilders of the 1970s and 80s. His ideas were the ones that influenced Dorian Yates, and he became?one of the most dominant Mr. Olympias of all time.

Nautilus machines are here to stay

There is very little doubt of the legacy that Arthur Jones has left in the modern fitness and gym culture. Several of us rely on the machines he invented for engaging in high-intensity training. Even though his Nautilus machines are still used in all the gyms around the world, very few know the name of the inventor.

According to Mike Mentzer, he was not a relaxing person to be with and did not take things lightly. Maybe this was the reason that he was successful in making the most important machine in the fitness world, which is still used by fitness enthusiasts.

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