Happy Birthday Arthur Jones


Arthur Jones in the Nautilus Television Studio
Arthur Jones in the Nautilus Television Studio

Nautilus inventor and fitness industry pioneer Arthur Jones was born on this day, November 22, in 1926. He revolutionized the fitness industry in the 1970’s with his Nautilus machines and his articles telling people to “…work harder, but very briefly and infrequently” at a time when many bodybuilders were working out twice daily, six days per week.

I first met Arthur in spring of 1997 at a MedX presentation at the Sheraton in Orlando which Jim Flanagan invited me to. After that, we communicated by phone for several years and during occasional visits to his house in Ocala with David Landau and others. It was an honor and a privilege to have known him, and I am grateful for the opportunity.

I learned a lot during these discussions with Arthur, but most of what I learned from him was through reading his Nautilus Bulletins and his Iron Man and Athletic Journal articles. When I worked as a personal trainer for SuperSlow founder Ken Hutchins I helped him move several filing cabinets full of files, articles and publications including much of Jones’ writing. With Ken’s permission I spent hours reading through these, including a copy of the previously unpublished Bulletin 3.

Although I had already read many books on high intensity training by experts like Mike Mentzer and Ellington Darden as well as Ken Hutchin’s SuperSlow technical manual, few of them were as comprehensive or covered as much ground as the Nautilus Bulletins.

I just recently spent a lot of time re-reading these, and although there are a few things in them Arthur later changed his mind about and a few statements that turned out to be wrong, the majority of what he wrote back in the early 1970’s was dead on. The following are just a few of my favorite quotes from Bulletins 1 and 2 (1970, 1971):

On training hard,

“…work harder, but very briefly and infrequently”

“In general, the harder an exercise is, the better its results will be; don’t look for ways to make exercises easier—look for ways to make them harder.”

“…more exercise will never produce the results that are possible from harder exercise…”

“If constant efforts are made in the direction of true progress, if you try to do more reps in each set of every exercise, and if you always increase the resistance in proportion to your strength increases, then growth can be, should be—and in most cases, will be—very fast; not fast only for beginners, but fast for anybody, regardless of his existing level of strength or muscular size, right up to the top level of momentarily-existing potential.”

On workout volume and frequency,

“Best results will always be produced by the minimum amount of exercise that imposes the maximum amount of growth stimulation.”

“…the body can withstand any possible “intensity” of exercise, so long as the amount of such exercise does not exceed the limits of the recovery ability.”

“All of the evidence clearly supports the contention that the “intensity of exercise” should be as high as possible—and that the “amount of exercise” should be limited to the absolute minimum that will produce the desired growth stimulation.”

“If you train properly, you don’t need an actually large “amount” of exercise; more than that, if you train properly, you can’t stand much exercise.”

“If only a few actually very simple points are understood—and applied in practice—then almost all trainees can reach their individual limits of muscular size and strength very quickly, and as a result of brief, infrequent workouts…”

On exercise selection and training routines,

“If a proper selection of exercises is made, then only a few movements are required to develop almost the ultimate degree of strength and muscular size.”

“Properly performed, even a very few basic barbell exercises will produce good results—improperly performed, and no amount of exercises or sets will produce equal results.”

“For best results from exercise, all of the major muscular structures should be worked—all of them; you certainly can build large arms without working your legs—but you will build them much larger, and much quicker, if you also exercise your legs.”

“…human muscular structures are capable of an almost infinite number of individual movements if we consider all of the possibilities and combinations, and attempting to provide a separate exercise for each of these possible movements would certainly be impractical at the very least—but if we consider only major movements, then the number of functions are such that “almost all muscles are involved in almost all movements” (at least in gross terms and in a general sense), it becomes obvious that an actually very limited number of exercises can provide the required work for all of the muscular structures.”

On nutrition,

“A man on a program of heavy physical training will obviously require enough extra calories to supply the energy required by such training—or, at least, he will if he hopes to maintain his existing bodyweight; and if he wishes to gain additional bodyweight, then he will require even more in the way of nutritional factors. But such requirements can come—and, indeed, should come—from a fairly normal diet; such a diet should be well rounded in makeup, and should contain enough protein for meeting the requirements of the moment. Absolutely nothing else in the way of a special diet is required.”

On abdominal training,

“…if you train the rest of the body properly, then the abdominal area will take care of itself. The billions of sit-ups and leg-raises that have been performed by millions of trainees have been almost a complete waste of time and effort…”

“You can build the muscles of the midsection by performing a reasonable amount of intense exercise for the directly involved muscles, but no amount of exercise for these same muscles will help to reduce fat in that area of the body so long as a positive calorie balance exists—a much better approach to the problem is to reduce the food intake as much as possible while performing a reasonable amount of exercise for all of the muscles of the body.”

And the following are a few favorites from Bulletin 3 (1973):

“In later chapters covering exact styles of performance, you will be informed that movements should be “as fast as possible in good form” in many exercises. But many people overlook the most important part of that sentence…in good form.”

“…the most two important factors in exercise may well be individual potential… and quality of coaching.”

“If the intensity of an exercise is below this threshold, below a certain level, then you can train for years with nothing in the way of resulting strength increases. But if the intensity is above a certain level, then strength increases will be produced rapidly. And it seems that the higher the intensity, the faster the strength increases will be produced…or, at least, they will be if you don’t make the mistake of overtraining, of training too much.”

These quotes are as true today as they were nearly four decades ago, and following or ignoring this advice can mean the difference between rapidly maximizing your muscular potential or wasting hundreds of hours in the gym year after year with little or nothing to show for it. Have a favorite Arthur Jones quote or a memory of Arthur to share? If so, please comment below.

 

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  • Steven Turner Nov 23, 2010 @ 0:37

    Hi Drew,

    I am sure that this post will bring some great Arthur Jones stories and quotes.

    There are many Arthur Jones quotes;

    The Real Value of Exercise 1972….”It is literally impossible for a conditioned athlete to train too hard but is easily possible for anybody to train too much”.

    The Facts Are 1973…..”The lesson should be clear to an idiot – but in fact it seems to be have been missed by almost everybody; among whom we must surely include at least a few that are not idiots – but who follow the advice of idiots, listen to idiots, and train in a fashion that can only be accurately be described as idiotic”.

    A lot of what Arthur said over 40 years ago is probably more true today than it was back than.

    Drew – Great work.

  • Kevin Nov 23, 2010 @ 14:57

    Arthur was a multi-talented man and exercise science was only one of his interests, which makes his contributions all the more impressive.

    For whatever reason, it’s become politically incorrect to say that men like Mike Menzter, Ken Hutchins, and many others, rode Arthur’s coat-tails and took his ideas in order to form their own marketable material. While I respect the limited contributions these men have brought to the table, the fact that so few HITers today acknowledge Arthur as the fountainhead of their ideas and training is a little troubling. Fundamentally what bugs me is that many people will quote Arthur, or pull directly from his writings, without ever mentioning Arthur. I guess it’s all in an attempt to make it look like it’s their idea; their conception and they should get the credit for it.

    I think one thing that we can all do is spread the word about Arthur’s written material. Even though some may disagree with me, I think fundamentally that all you need to know about exercise is discussed in the Nautilus Bulletins and My First Half Century in the Iron Game.

    For everyone reading, the next time you discuss these ideas with the public, please refer them to Arthur’s written work so they can experience the same thing that we all did – Arthur’s common sense, no holds-barred, straight forward stories.

    I know that we feel we’re well versed in Arthur’s teachings but, frankly, Arthur had such a way with words that if we can introduce the pubic back to his writings, then all the better.

    Rest in peace, Arthur.

    • Drew Baye Nov 24, 2010 @ 14:00

      Kevin,

      We will be posting the Nautilus Bulletins 1 and 2 along with his Iron Man and Athletic Journal articles and other writing on NautilusBulletins.com soon. A book will also be available soon containing Bulletins 1, 2 and 3 with a new layout, updated formatting, single table of contents, and a few new appendixes.

  • Chris Nov 23, 2010 @ 21:02

    We should have dropped the “A”-bomb on those rag-head motherfuckers on day one!” Speaking of al-qaeda.

    • Drew Baye Nov 23, 2010 @ 22:13

      That certainly sounds like Arthur. Some day I will write about a conversation we had about the fall of civilization and “murder and cannibalism in the streets”.

      I don’t approve of the ethnic slur, but I am all for the elimination of Al Qaeda and similar groups by whatever means necessary.

  • Greg Anderson Nov 23, 2010 @ 23:15

    Drew,

    Great article.

    I am very proud to say that I placed Arthur in contact with Bradley J. Steiner. Man… Talk about “two peas in a pod”. They had several conversations of which I was privileged to hear the highlights.

    My favorite Arthur Jones story:

    In 2006 I asked Arthur if he knew an individual who worked as, um, “hired security” throughout Mexico and Central/South America. Arthur told me he had heard of the man but didn’t know him. I told Arthur that it’s too bad they had never met (the man whom I was talking about had died a few years prior, in his late eighties). I then kidded that “It’s too bad you didn’t cross paths. He made you look like a liberal…”.

    Well, this didn’t sit well with Arthur. Fully expecting him to just say “fuck you” and hang up the phone (which had happened in previous conversations) Arthur said something about kicking my ass up between my shoulder blades.

    I said: “Well, Arthur, I’m a few thousand miles away, half your age, and twice your size.”

    His response: “I have a pilot’s license and a 9mm pistol.” Classic.

    I knew about the 9mm as I had asked him in another conversation about why the lesser 9mm when he had been such an advocate of the .45 ACP. Another classic Arthur answer: “I’m old”.

    For some really great Arthur Jones stories check out Dave Durrell’s interview with Joel Waldman at highintensitynation.com.

    Greg

  • Roger Nov 24, 2010 @ 16:00

    “One advanced bodybuilder asked me as I was trying to explain the machine to him… ’Do you have to be a genius to use this machine?’ And I told him … ‘No, but it helps if your not an idiot.’”

    From the book: IN ARTHUR’S SHADOW

  • Steven Turner Nov 24, 2010 @ 17:01

    Hi Drew,

    Could I add one more I think that this is a classic,

    The Real Value of Exercise (1972)….”If races horses were trained as much as most bodybuilders train, you could safely bet your money on an out-of-conditioned turtle – it would be unlikely that a horse trained in such a fashion could even make it around the track and cetainly not rapidly”.

    I believe you guys will be having “thanks given day” in the next few days – best wishes.

  • Donnie Hunt Nov 26, 2010 @ 9:12

    @Greg Anderson, Your story here about Arthur is truly classic! LOL! I never had the privalege of getting to meet him. Reading his “My First Half Century in The Irongame” column and various reprints in Ironman Magazine really got my attention. In ways he kinda reminds me of my Grandfather who likes to “push iron” and hunt.

  • Steven Turner Nov 29, 2010 @ 17:07

    Hi Drew,

    I have re-read Arthur Jones quote in your comments above I noticed something interesting.

    …”human muscular structures are capable of an almost infinite number of individual movements…” is this a case of Ignore, Ridicule, Copy, Attack, Steal “IRACS” by the functional movement people who talk about “trained movements”, “daily living movements”.

    To me this quote by Arthur Jones strongly suggests that he had considered “functional movement” type training and realised that it was impractical, dangerous or a waste of time.

    Arthur Jones forty years ahead of his time – people in the future might be saying Arthur Jones one hundred years of his time.

    • Drew Baye Nov 29, 2010 @ 17:15

      Steve,

      I’m not sure how far ahead of his time Arthur was, but the current “functional training” trend certainly shows the majority of the fitness industry is way behind. Arthur was basically saying despite an infinite number of movements being possible they are all combinations of a few basic movements, and only a few exercises covering those basic movements are necessary to effectively train all the major muscle groups.

  • Jay Jul 15, 2011 @ 9:51

    Drew,

    I was absorbed by Arthur Jones Bulleteins 1 and 2. But he doesn’t mention cardio exercise anywhere, unless I happened to miss that. Do you have any idea what Arthur Jones thoughts on cardio exercise and weight loss?

    Jay

    • Drew Baye Jul 15, 2011 @ 10:18

      Jay,

      If you asked Arthur he would have told you “cardio” was worse then worthless and told you to strength train instead, as it will stimulate better cardiovascular and metabolic improvements while being far safer for your joints in the long run. If you have to run, swim, cycle, etc. for sport practice or do so for recreational purposes that’s one thing, but for exercise or fat loss only they are relatively ineffective, inefficient, and more likely to undermine health and mobility in the long run than a proper strength training program.

      For more information on this, including some quotes from Arthur on the subject, I recommend reading my posts on High Intensity Strength Training for Cardiovascular Conditioning and Fat Loss and What is Metabolic Conditioning?

  • Bill Pruitt Aug 6, 2014 @ 17:22

    I recently read in my old “BEEF IT” book by the late Robert Kennedy (Musclemag, etc) and he said Arthur Jones got the pre-exhaust idea from him and promoted it but Kennedy didn’t mind and apparently Jones credited him for it.

    • Drew Baye Aug 21, 2014 @ 14:06

      Hey Bill,

      Yes, although pre-exhaustion was probably around in some form before Kennedy wrote about it, he is the one that popularized it with his writing and Jones did credit him for it.