Originally Posted by
MoAlpha
Did the Nautilus concept go out of favor? I was in college in the 70s when they got a set of those machines and it was a big deal. I don't think I've seen them since.
That is a great question about which I often wondered. I think the short answer is that Nautilas was an equipment manufacturer that ran out of money and was acquired by Bowflex. Nautilas designs were knocked off by cheaper versions with stronger brands and better sales and marketing. The very short answer is great idea and design but poor business model.
Arthur Jones came up with the concept of a weight machine that matched muscle strength capability over the muscle’s range of motion by using a cam that was in the shape of a Nautilas shell. Since the machine matched the capability of one’s muscle, only one set was required as long as it was done to failure within a repetition range. Forced reps were added as a more advanced workout. At a Nautilas gym, a trainer was provided to help customers get to failure and set up the machines correctly and chart progress. And the trainer could add negatives after failure meaning once one could not do a concentric effort the trainer helped lift the weight and the customer lowered it or went deeper into negative eccentric fatigue. Only 8 machines per session were recommended and twice per week workout schedule.
The concentric motion was not explosive and we counted one thousand and one and the eccentric motion was a count of four.
There are a lot of problems with this model. How many people “actually” want to be coached to failure? With only 8 exercises and one set of 10 to 15 reps, how much can one charge for that service only coming to the gym twice per week?
It is my observation that aficionados of free weights poo poo any machines and certainly want multiple sets, hours in the gym and many more services that just one lineup of machines. I am sure there are journal articles comparing Nautilas to free weights and free weights win. No one will pay for an individual personal trainer for 8 machines and 20 minutes of time. So it goes.
I liked the workouts but I also like my current gym workouts but I keep some of the Nautilas concepts that I learned from over 40 years ago.