Favorite Gym Equipment

[Fa Seeshus]

Memories . . .

I first used this monster machine at a Nautilus Gym in SF back in the late 70's.
Nautilus machines were hard to find back them and I drove all over the bay
area looking for them. And I found this gym that had one of anther pieces
but this one I have never seen or tried (I may have seen one in production
in Lake Helen, FL.) so I was raring to go. I did one set to total failure, could
not budge the ankle pad then I had my training partner drop down the leg
press platform ASAP and I did one set of leg presses to total failure. My
legs were so wasted than that when I stepped off the machine I hit the
floor like somebody pistol whipped me. I did not do another cycle.

Another machine I really liked was the Nautilus Super Geared Hip and Back
machine. Unlike the Nautilus Leg Press Machine which eventually became
very popular, Geared Hip and Back was a great machine, built like a tank,
that did not have a long life and was very rare where I came from. Never
have felt a pump in my hips and lower back since.

I was a bit difficult getting into because you had to scooch yourself under the
padded movement bar and between the padded shoulder pads and them
strap yourself in with a padded hip belt. Then . . . your were ready to 'ratchet'
yourself under the movement bar with your legs up around on a sliding back
support and then extend, uncurl your legs until they were straight and parallel
to floor. It was murder. I have no recollection of how I got out of it or even
having seen another one of those machines. If anybody here has used one of
these machines I would love to hear about it.

The original Nautilus plate loading triceps machine was a great machine too
that could be made better by simply using a 2 x 4 between your hands when
in a neutral position, something that you could grab on to.. Arthur told me
about using one and had considered supplying one with the machine but
thought that people, a) would not use it or b) people would disregard it as
a left over piece of packing materials . . . or both.

View attachment 123603

Alfresco, this is the modern version of that machine that I just used. It has really helped improve my hip hinge with compound leg movements.

 

[alfresco]

Alfresco, this is the modern version of that machine that I just used. It has really helped improve my hip hinge with compound leg movements.

I use a similar machine (there are many mfgr's) at my gym. I don't know the brand
but they all appear to use the same principle. I have not used it enough to have an
opinion but they certainly are an improvement over the the old way of doing it . . .
a pad in your lap, a barbell, a bench, etc.

I am glad that it has helped you.

 

[N.L....M.....]

I used the Nautilus pullover back in the late 90's. That machine was amazing!!!

Here’s 3 nautilus ones from my gym the green one is the one I’ve been using

 

[BALDNAZI]

I’m simple. A Power Rack. Best single piece of equipment you can own.

 

[madg]

Here’s 3 nautilus ones from my gym the green one is the one I’ve been using

3 nautilus in one gym ????

God you guys are lucky ... i never even seen one from close lol

Gyms suck here hard

 

[N.L....M.....]

3 nautilus in one gym ????

God you guys are lucky ... i never even seen one from close lol

Gyms suck here hard

That was just 3 there’s more. Lol. I’m very lucky to have this gym so close to my house.

 

[bigd69]

I would have to go with any of the real old hammer strength equipment. The newer isn’t the same

 

[bigd69]

Nautilus (blue) pullover, red the bar is too thick and my lats are too wide to fit in the machine

Nebula 45 degree leg press

Nautilus plate loaded biceps curl

Hammer Iso Row - wish there were more hand positions, but I've used so many. The latest is a wider underhand grip to hit rear delts

Nautilus plate loaded pull down

This thing... Never used it before but my new gym has one and I love the thing. I've gotten lots of others interested in different movements I do on it. So far, I've turned it into a VERY effective barbell row, single armed row, shrug, stiff leg dead, pendulum squat and a couple others I wanna try. A pin also allows you to switch between uni and bilateral.

View attachment 123578

Great one

 

[deadliftdeez]

I switched to a gym that doesn't have hammer strength and it kind of sucks.. But any gym with a loaded decline press machine is where it's at.

 

[UsmcOldSchoolMuscle]

I terribly miss being able to use a Lat Pullover Machine.

Are camp gym while I was a Marine had two lat pull over machines. One where it's one bar and another where you could individually work each side.

I share the Opinion of Dorian Yates that a back routine is simply incomplete without pullover movements.



Real Shame that these have been completely phased out where I live.

 

[UsmcOldSchoolMuscle]

Another favorite peice of equipment is the leg extension machines where the pulley is located between the leg. These are rare now where I live as all the machines just have the pulley off to the right side meaning your right leg is always performing greater labor than the left.

 

[UsmcOldSchoolMuscle]

I switched to a gym that doesn't have hammer strength and it kind of sucks.. But any gym with a loaded decline press machine is where it's at.

Agreed.
I am a big proponent of decline movements.

 

[socialdfan]

Reverse Hyper-GHR close second

 

[lookslikesausage]

Here’s 3 nautilus ones from my gym the green one is the one I’ve been using

WOW! A Universal, a MedX, and a Nautilus Pullover all in the same gym...incredible. That Universal looks a lot like a Nautilus. MedX and Nautilus were both Arthur Jones until they were sold for anyone wondering. Does they feel any different from one another? I can see the MedX has a neutral grip and can maybe work unilaterally. Any gym that has those pieces must be incredible. There's probably only a handful of gyms that even have a MedX Pullover, let alone any MedX pieces. Only been in one in my life that did.

 

[N.L....M.....]

WOW! A Universal, a MedX, and a Nautilus Pullover all in the same gym...incredible. That Universal looks a lot like a Nautilus. MedX and Nautilus were both Arthur Jones until they were sold for anyone wondering. Does they feel any different from one another? I can see the MedX has a neutral grip and can maybe work unilaterally. Any gym that has those pieces must be incredible. There's probably only a handful of gyms that even have a MedX Pullover, let alone any MedX pieces. Only been in one in my life that did.

I thought the blue one and green one were nautilus as well. Appreciate the info. I never noticed the universal sticker on the side and I use it all the time lol. The green one is the only one I’ve used out of those so far I’ll change it out once I stall on it. There’s one other pullover at the gym I’ve used that’s newer but it just doesn’t feel comfortable to me and aggravates my shoulders. I can’t remember what brand it is I think cybex. The universal pullover hits isolates my lats so well they cramp up. There’s just something about the older pieces that really isolate the muscle.

There is a med x leg extension I use on quad day and it’s smooth and brutal. It even has a handle on it so you go past failure without a spotter

 

[alfresco]

View attachment 124849
Another favorite peice of equipment is the leg extension machines where the pulley is located between the leg. These are rare now where I live as all the machines just have the pulley off to the right side meaning your right leg is always performing greater labor than the left.

While that may appear or sound correct, but in my opinion, it is the structural integrity
of the machine that determines that, not which side the pully is on.

I do prefer a machine with the pully in the middle (phycological?) like the one below,
Nautilus, a favorite of Tom Platz.

 

[UsmcOldSchoolMuscle]

While that may appear or sound correct, but in my opinion, it is the structural integrity
of the machine that determines that, not which side the pully is on.

I do prefer a machine with the pully in the middle (phycological?) like the one below,
Nautilus, a favorite of Tom Platz.

Those Nautilus machines were amazing but far to pricey for most gyms these days.

Arthur Jones was the man!
"Younger woman, faster planes, bigger crocodiles"

 

[N.L....M.....]

Those Nautilus machines were amazing but far to pricey for most gyms these days.

Arthur Jones was the man!
"Younger woman, faster planes, bigger crocodiles"

I’ve always thought Arthur was everything Weider wished he could’ve been. Arthur Jones was truly a bad ass and contributed some of the greatest knowledge to bodybuilding ever. Weider was a snake oil salesman conman who stole others ideas and sold them as his own. Hell guys are still spinning their wheels today using the bs put out by weider and Arnold.

 

[Butters]

standing lateral raise

 

[UsmcOldSchoolMuscle]

View attachment 124893

standing lateral raise

I have never seen such a contraption.

I am a big fan of lateral raise machines. I can feel my lateral to a much greater degree than I can ever achieve with db's.