Part one .......The 1st Generation

    In 1970 Arthur Jones formed Nautilus Sports/Medical Industries and begun to develop and manufacture exercise machines that he had been experimenting with for many years. Jones had been weight training most of his life somewhat sporadically and was not convinced that free weights, with there limitations were the best tools for the job. Jones took into account such things as gravity, leverage and the natural strength curve of a particular muscle and then began to incorporate features into his machines to try and overcome these limitations for a more effective way to exercise a muscle. The final solution was the line of Nautilus machines with there famous cams that along with strategically placed counter weights varied and controlled the resistance based on a particular muscle and its own unique strength curve. Here is what Jones had written in one of his famous Nautilus bulletins on the subject.

   With the Nautilus machines, the required variations in resistance are properly provided; the resistance changes throughout the movements - in general, resistance is lowest at the start of an exercise, increases as the movement progresses, and decreases slightly near the end of an exercise. The actual rate of increase varies - depending on a number of factors. But in all cases, the resistance is exactly what it should be in all positions throughout the movements; when a set of an exercise is performed on such a machine, and when the set is carried to a point of momentary failure, then almost literally 100% of the individual muscle fibers contained in the muscles being worked are involved in the exercise - as opposed to less than 18% of the total number of available muscle fibers which are involved in most forms of conventional exercise, and as few as two or three percent of the total number of fibers in some conventional exercises....Aurthur Jones

     The Nautilus shell hence the name                The first cams were steel           Solid aluminium cams followed       Cam and sprocket set up on a double

                                                                          note the counterweight            and became a Nautilus trademark    shoulder machine, a work or art!

   Jonse's line of Nautilus machines revolutionised the way people trained in the gym by giving them a fresh new approach to there training it also happened to coincide with the fitness and bodybuilding boom in the 70's. The cult movie Pumping Iron also had a massive impact on pushing bodybuilding into the mainstream and it seemed Nautilus was in the right place at the right time. Nautilus at its peak in the early eighties had over 2400 fitness centres in the U.S alone.

   The concept of the Nautilus gym was based around Jones's machines that were arranged in a circuit. Trainees would go from one machine to the next with very little rest between exercises. There were machines for almost every muscle group and when done as a circuit they produced a intensive full body workout in less than 30 minutes. The speed at which the trainee would perform each exercise was also quite slow thus increasing intensity even more, and in the process creating a somewhat metabolic training effect.

   Because of the unique operation of some of these machines many of the centre's had specially trained Nautilus instructors who oversaw trainees during the circuit. No doubt this would have added to whole Nautilus experience. A fully equipped Nautilus centre of the 1970's would have been a mighty impressive sight and experience. Jones and his Nautilus machines, along with his training concepts had single handedly challenged and revolutionised the fitness industry of that era.

   At full production Nautilus was estimated to be grossing over 300 million dollars a year and the Nautilus factory ran 24 hours a day seven day's a week.  When Jones sold Nautilus in 1986 it ceased to evolve as it had under Jones's presence. Med-X, however the company that he formed after Nautilus flourished due to Jones's focus on innovative ideas and concepts that had practical applications and were not based on commercialisation. The Med-X medical lumbar extension machine, which Jones spent tens of millions of dollars to develop during the eighties, is still the gold standard in strength testing and rehabilitation of the lower back.

Rise of the machines

     The blue monster, so called because it was painted dark blue and was absolutely massive. This was essentially a station with various machines incorporated as a unit. It was on display at the 1970 Mr America were it was a sensation. This machine didn't make it into production but it did mark the beginning of something truly remarkable....Nautilus!

   From 1970 through to the mid eighties under Jonse, Nautilus manufactured three generation of machines, plus leverage machines. Nautilus manufactured more that 50 different machines under Jones, something that was quite unique at the time. Generation 1 machines used chains and sprockets to move the weight stack which made for a bumpy mechanical fell to the movement however the machines were still relatively free of friction. Later machines used belts and pulley wheels for a smoother feel to the movement.

•  The 1st generation were the original and unmolested designs of Jonse's, pure function over form, chains, sprockets and cams all exposed, no OH&S in the 70's!
•  The 2nd generation used smaller cams with shrouds, this was probably done to reduce the size of the machines and make them safer in a gym environment, it would have also reduced production cost   also instead of bushes on pivot points bearings were used.
•  The next generation machines had just about all there moving parts covered with cowling, which gave them somewhat of a futuristic appearance (well for the 80's it was!) also belts and pulley wheels were used instead of chains and sprockets, this gave a smoother more modern feel. It goes without saying that the 1st generation machines were Superior in design and build, they were unbreakable and made to last for decades. I have a 1971 super pullover that has very little sign of ware although it was built almost forty years ago, i have no doubt it will last another forty!
• Leverage machines were introduced in the eighties  that were similar and worked on the same principles as the modern Hammer Strength Equipment. Jonse's son, who helped form Hammer based these machines on the Nautilus machines.

                         Early first generation machine with steel spider cams                                 Same machine with the famous aluminium cams  

                                                                                                                                                  still first generation though    

   Along with single machines Nautilus build double machines which were also called compound machines. These were two single machines that were joined together or built into each other for the purpose of pre-fatigue training. Jones stated that it only took around 5 seconds for a muscle to recover 50%, with the two machines joined rest between the two exercises was minimised to less than a couple of seconds. The first exercise was an isolation exercise followed closely by a compound exercise. In this instance we have the pullover followed by the pulldown. The pullover pre-fatigues the back without the use of the arms then the arms can assist in the pulldown. This Leads to the total fatigue of the back muscles in only one set!

     1st generation double chest                              The compound leg machine                                       1st generation double shoulder

  The above machines like all the Nautilus double machines were huge, both in size and weight and were designed purely for commercial use.

 The double chest, which weighed in at 1260 pounds (560kgs) worked on the same principal of pre- fatigue. First the decline pec dec was used to isolate the pecs, then with no rest the decline press was performed, the arms having not been used in the pec dec were fresh to help push the pecs to total fatigue. The decline was use because this was the natural and main function of the chest, to bring the upper arm down and across the body.

   The compound leg machine weighed a massive 1480 pounds! (657kgs) and did the same thing, pre-fatigued, isolating the quads first with the leg extensions then with leg press the hips, glutes and hamstrings pushed the quads to even greater fatigue.

   The double shoulder had a lateral raise and shoulder press in one weighed 840 pounds (373kgs) with a cam, chain, sprocket and counter weight set up that had to be seen to be believed. The amount of time and money that would have been spent on this machines development would have been impressive. 

   The 1st Generation Super Pullover was perhaps Jonse's greatest machine. This machine was unique at the time in as far as what it did and how it did it. It was big, heavy, ugly, and weighed in at 889 pounds (395kgs)! Having just finish restoring one of these machines i can tell you that the amount of steel in one is quite amazing, more so because a lot of it is actually solid sections and not hollow tube. The weights on the weight stack (like all the early Nautilus machines) are not cast but machined from solid steel. The cams were also solid and made from machined aluminium that was 25mm thick and around 400 mm in diameter, thats a lot of aluminium!. These to were quite heavy and must have been extremely expensive to manufacture and probably why they were reduced in size on the generation 2 machines.

   Jones referred to the Pullover machine as the upper body squat, such was the amount of muscles in the upper body that it could activate. The range of motion was also equally impressive with well over 200 degrees of movement around the shoulder joint, something no free weight exercise could ever hope to do with continuous tension. In essence it was row, pulldown and a pullover all in one.

   Next we will take a look at the 2nd , Next generation and Leverage Nautilus machines that followed the 1st Generation machines.

          Double shoulder          Rare plate loading bicep / triceps machine            Multi  bicep                       Super pullover         Double chest and pullover

   multi triceps                                  duo hip...dont ask!                                compound leg in action                             duo squat

                                                    Nautilus double shoulder..Enter if you dare!!

Next ...Part 2... The 2nd and next Generation machines!

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