Arthur Jones and his views

[kaleb]

Alfresco. Thank you. Really have enjoyed reading your posts on Arthur Jones. I was a young man during that era. Reading all the muscle magazines and Casey was one of my favorite bodybuilders.

 

[alfresco]

That's amazing! I know negatives are shown to be effective, but not to that extent. That is great. Doing negatives only is a lot of work for the teammates and would require a lot of focus. Doing negatives on a nautilus machine would be hard to do I think. I never did that. Similar to the way Emeric likes his guys to train.

Arthur did design, have a line of Nautilus 'negative' or Omni machines, I think all
of which were utilized in some form or fashion during the Colorado Experiment.
I think some became commercially available. How successful they were I do not
know but they were available, but would bet that they, like just about everything
else in bodybuilding, were over or improperly utilized.

You can see in the fotos that there is a foot pad that you pressed to raise the
weight thus allowing your muscle to slowly lower it. But the machines could
be used 'normally', thus the name Omni.

 

[maldorf]

Arthur did design, have a line of Nautilus 'negative' or Omni machines, I think all
of which were utilized in some form or fashion during the Colorado Experiment.
I think some became commercially available. How successful they were I do not
know but they were available, but would bet that they, like just about everything
else in bodybuilding, were over or improperly utilized.

You can see in the fotos that there is a foot pad that you pressed to raise the
weight thus allowing your muscle to slowly lower it. But the machines could
be used 'normally', thus the name Omni.

WOW! That is great. Perfect idea and I hadn't thought of it nor did I know it ever existed. We need those now.

The keiser machines are nice. Because the resistance is air in a cylinder, you can hit an electric button at anytime and let out some air, decreasing the resistance. The resistance in pounds is shown on a digital display. Ill do that for quick drop sets sometimes. Arthur's way there is genius for doing negatives on your own. One of the reasons I never did negatives was because I always trained alone.

 

[nidnoy]

Look like Boyer coe used one of those for the chest press in that video. Man those would be awesome to use

 

[Dens228]

Was there a Keiser "Leaper" machine? I believe we had one in high school. Our football coaches created a little routine where we would start with leg extensions, using the stack we'd go to failure, lower the weight two plates at a time until we hit failure with only one plate and then waddle over to the Leaper and go balls to the wall for a set time......and then puke.

 

[maldorf]

Look like Boyer coe used one of those for the chest press in that video. Man those would be awesome to use

Would be awesome, especially for forced reps.

 

[maldorf]

Was there a Keiser "Leaper" machine? I believe we had one in high school. Our football coaches created a little routine where we would start with leg extensions, using the stack we'd go to failure, lower the weight two plates at a time until we hit failure with only one plate and then waddle over to the Leaper and go balls to the wall for a set time......and then puke.

Havent heard that term before. Im just familiar with the keiser equipment out now. Keiser is nice because it puts less stress on the joints. The resistance is less where you are weakest and more where you are stronger. I really like the belt squat they have.

 

[EWRECK]

Was there a Keiser "Leaper" machine? I believe we had one in high school. Our football coaches created a little routine where we would start with leg extensions, using the stack we'd go to failure, lower the weight two plates at a time until we hit failure with only one plate and then waddle over to the Leaper and go balls to the wall for a set time......and then puke.

We had one too. Ass kicker.

 

[maldorf]

Here is what I use now for squats, or at least once we are allowed back in again at the gym.

Belt Squat Machine | Strength Training | Keiser

This Belt Squat Machine helps build dynamic hip explosion with no shoulder or spine loading. More than 800 pounds of resistance is possible

www.keiser.com

It works as good on the muscles as using John Parillo's belt squat and you can do it alone. John's machine requires at least one person to help you.

I used John's a lot. A strong powerlifter I know had his father make four 200 lb plates for it! We couldn't fit on enough weight with 100 lb plates.

 

[alfresco]

Out of respect for Hawkmoon who started this thread, if it goes sideways, out in the
weeds, then I am out of here, going dark.

 

[nidnoy]

Out of respect for Hawkmoon who started this thread, if it goes sideways, out in the
weeds, then I am out of here, going dark.

In all seriousness, what does this mean so I don’t do anything dumb, this is an awesome thread and want to see it continue.

Thanks.

 

[8ue117ZL]

Back around 1990, Arthur used to come into this Bob's Big Boy restaurant I cooked at in Ocala, FL. (Frisch's Big Boys they were called there). He'd always come late, around closing time and order breakfast and always had me burn the sausage, he wanted them black lol.

 

[alfresco]

Back around 1990, Arthur used to come into this Bob's Big Boy restaurant I cooked at in Ocala, FL. (Frisch's Big Boys they were called there). He'd always come late, around closing time and order breakfast and always had me burn the sausage, he wanted them black lol.

Sounds like Arthur. When I would cook breakfast for him, it was the same way.

He used to frequent the 'I Hop' a lot. Was that in Ocala or DeLand? I don't
remember but I'm thinking it must have been in DeLand because of the early
days with Nautilus.

 

[hawkmoon]

Arthur did design, have a line of Nautilus 'negative' or Omni machines, I think all
of which were utilized in some form or fashion during the Colorado Experiment.
I think some became commercially available. How successful they were I do not
know but they were available, but would bet that they, like just about everything
else in bodybuilding, were over or improperly utilized.

You can see in the fotos that there is a foot pad that you pressed to raise the
weight thus allowing your muscle to slowly lower it. But the machines could
be used 'normally', thus the name Omni.

I remember using a gym in the early 90s at a university back in Massachusetts that was all Nautilus.
They had the chest press machine with the foot platform for positioning. Was a great way to force negatives well beyond positive failure.

 

[thethinker48]

This is some really good stuff. Thank you for sharing!

I think one thing that's apparent like you mentioned was Casey's propensity for putting on muscle. Even in those pictures where he is young, he has a level of thickness you don't see in guys his age.

Was Arthur's role with these athletes strictly training? Or did he advise on diet, "supplements" as well?

 

[Dens228]

Havent heard that term before. Im just familiar with the keiser equipment out now. Keiser is nice because it puts less stress on the joints. The resistance is less where you are weakest and more where you are stronger. I really like the belt squat they have.

Haha, my use of it was fairly recent........around 1980! LOL

 

[hawkmoon]

@alfresco, as you knew the man, what enabled him to keep pushing when the general consensus was a different kind of training.
I didn't follow his protocols verbatim, but had great respect for him challenging the norm and one of the first to attempt to look deep into the science of training and seek better ways.

What kept him going in this battle - was it self-assurance, a desire to bring a superior method to the public and help people reach goals, or something else.

I'm always interested in people who push the edge of their field and aren't afraid to stand alone when they have done the work and know they have something to offer.

 

[lookslikesausage]

Yes, please continue on Alfresco. Personally, i'm an equipment nerd and Jones was a true pioneer. His equipment, some 50 years later, still holds its own, if not beats the pants out of most of the crap you find today in most chain gyms. I still enjoy the Pullover as one of my favorite back pieces ever. It's a real shame; the current state of equipment. The real golden age was the 80's and 90's, which was no doubt set in motion by guys like Arthur Jones.

 

[maldorf]

Yes, please continue on Alfresco. Personally, i'm an equipment nerd and Jones was a true pioneer. His equipment, some 50 years later, still holds its own, if not beats the pants out of most of the crap you find today in most chain gyms. I still enjoy the Pullover as one of my favorite back pieces ever. It's a real shame; the current state of equipment. The real golden age was the 80's and 90's, which was no doubt set in motion by guys like Arthur Jones.

Didn't he have a cool neck machine too? I remember using it in high school.

 

[lookslikesausage]

Didn't he have a cool neck machine too? I remember using it in high school.

he had one of the most unique trap machines i've ever seen. It looked like the user is getting a manicure. Never been copied either. Could probably double as a Donkey Calf Raise (sadly another machine you'll never see in newer gyms).