In 1970 an inventor, Arthur Jones, invented the Nautilus machines. A new concept in strength training.
I was living in Atascadero, California at the time and had a complete workout setup in the storeroom. You know me and my idea of a complete setup. Bench, squat stands and an iron barbell and dumbbell set. I would do a basic workout three times a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Bench press
3x7
Squats
3x10
Barbell row
3x7
Standing press off rack
3x7
Barbell curls
3x7
Lying triceps extensions
3X7
Leg raises off bench 3x25.
This was the basic routine I have followed all my life with slight variations.
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I worked out in that storeroom for a year. There wasn't a whole lot to do in Atescadero, it being way out in the sticks midway between San Francisco and Los Angeles. So I did a lot of reading and spitting spit wads at the ceiling.
The main town was San Luis Obispo, twenty miles south over the Questa Grade, the southern end of the Salinas Valley. That's where I would go to see movies. And, to a special news stand where I would buy my bodybuilding magazines. The only place you could get them. Joe Weider had his magazines there. MUSCLE BUILDER and MR. AMERICA. Looking back, they were mostly catalogues for Weider products. His supplements, weights and other equipment. The other main bodybuilding magazines were the Bob Hoffman publications, STRENGTH AND HEALTH and MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT.
Bob Hoffman was Joe Weider's rival. There was also another rival who published MUSCLE TRAINING ILLUSTRATED.It was published by Dan Lauri. It was a carbon copy of Weider's magazines.
But there was one magazine that stood out above all the others. It was in a smaller format. IRON MAN MAGAZINE published by Peary Rader, an old time strongman of high integrity. There were ads in it for strength related products of course but unlike the blatant promotional ads of the other magazines they did not have a connection to the articles. Just straight forward information about training written by many different authors. All concepts of training were offered.
One day I picked up a copy of IRON MAN. There was a picture on the cover of a new bodybuilder on the scene. 19 year old Casey Viator. He was huge with 19” arms. He had won several bodybuilding contests including 3rd place in the Mr. America contest that year in Los Angeles. He was being trained by wealthy inventor, Arthur Jones who had just developed a new concept in training. Machines that worked the body in a different way.
The Nautilus machines.
