The Nautilus Pullover Machine was created by Arthur Jones to address one of the shortcomings of conventional training. In this case, the unavoidable situation where the strength of the hands and forearms gives out before the larger, stronger muscles of the torso. The Nautilus pullover circumvents this weak link while also allowing the muscles of the back to be trained throughout a full range of motion — something which can’t be done with barbells or dumbbells.

This type of training can be very effective but only when understood and applied correctly. That’s Mercury Morris of the Miami Dolphins demonstrating above. This is  a very early model of the pullover. This generations of Nautilus Machines are often referred to as “spider cams” for what should be obvious reasons.