Nautilus Machines and the Growth of the Gym Industry: An Interview with Thomas Todd

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of chatting to Thomas Todd, a lifelong fitness fanatic with several decades experience in the health and fitness industry. Todd very kindly got in touch having read a recent Barbend article of mine on Arthur Jones of Nautilus fame. Readers of this website will recall Jones’ controversial nature,... Continue Reading →

Arthur Jones on the Squat

One of the more colourful figures to operate in the world of bodybuilding in the last few decades of the twentieth-century was Arthur Jones. Creator of the Nautilus machine and proponent of high intensity training, Jones' profit margins were often as large as his opinions! While many disagreed with Jones, sometimes with merit and oftentimes without,... Continue Reading →

Arthur Jones, Dick Butkus and the Long Con

Controversial to the nth degree, Arthur Jones was a man known for his pull no punches approach. Wonderfully innovative, the founder of the Nautilus exercise phenomena had a strict sense of right and wrong when dealing with his small circle of clients. This was demonstrated, most spectacularly, when Jones was approached by Dick Butkus, then... Continue Reading →

The Ideal Workout by Arthur Jones

In June 1970, Arthur Jones, the father of High Intensity Training, published the 'Ideal Workout' in bodybuilding magazine Muscular Development. In the article, posted below, Jones set out the importance of vigorous training as well as promoting his new brand of exercise machines. Little was Jones to know that his new training machines would soon... Continue Reading →

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