The
Importance and Influence of
Arthur
Jones
My education began with Nautilus
Training Principles Bulletin #1. I didn't just read this book,
I studied it. It was a painful and humbling experience as Arthur
dismantled my entire belief system about weight training, paragraph
by paragraph, with his towering intellect. But very rewarding...
For decades Arthur was acutely
aware of the shortcomings of using a barbell. His Eureka!
moment came in the dead of night in the late 60s when he was
living in Africa. He got out of bed, designed and ordered a part
over the phone. When it was installed in the exercise machine
the next day, it failed. But the reason it failed revealed what
was needed - the cam. Using a computer, he designed each individual
cam profile. The cam makes it possible instantly and automatically,
to vary the resistance properly during exercise. The cam is the
heart of each Nautilus machine... machines that were "so
close to being perfect that any slightest imperfection is of
no practical importance."
Legends like John Grimek, Arnold,
Sergio Oliva, Steve Reeves, Franco Columbu, Boyer Coe, and Casey
Viator made the pilgrimage to DeLand, Florida to meet Arthur,
train on the Nautilus equipment and learn. Peary Rader, founder
and publisher of IronMan, told me of a phenomenon reported
by his readers: Upon receiving the magazine, subscribers would
read the Nautilus advertisements first! They found more information
in Arthur's advertisements than in the magazine articles.
Brian Johnston has compiled a
comprehensive inventory of Arthur's literary work. If you can
keep an open mind, think critically and have a high pain threshold,
reading Arthur Jones will be the most empowering experience you'll
ever know. Welcome to the fraternity!
John Turner
mr_nautilus1970@yahoo.com
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Do you have rare or
unique unpublished photographs or articles by Arthur Jones that
you would like to share? Send us an e-mail.
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