Strength Machine Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Omni Machines

Posted on Tuesday, May 29th, 2018 by John Wood

A rare look at Casey Viator training during The Colorado Experiment. Many of the machines used during the Colorado Experiment, dubbed the “Omni Machines” revolved around “negative” training techniques. The one Casey is using, for example, was an overhead press machine. On the right is the infamous “Mr. Happiness” negative bench press machine. Both of these machines were prototypes and never made it to actual production.

The Hammer Strength Leg Press

Posted on Wednesday, October 4th, 2017 by John Wood

The Hammer Strength Leg Press is the very best leg press that I’ve ever used. This machine can also be an excellent alternative to the squat for building leg strength. Consider yourself lucky if you can find one though. Withing the last few years, they redesigned this machine and made a few compromises — and in my humble opinion, not for the better: they took out some steel and changed the angles a bit. The original version, the one shown here, is the one you want.

Sandow Trained on Machines

Posted on Friday, September 26th, 2014 by John Wood

Many people STILL love arguing which is better, free weights… or machines. The “point” of using any strength machine is to gain an advantage that couldn’t not otherwise be had. Eugen Sandow himself trained on machines, in fact, he invented the one shown here to allow one to add resistance to regular pushups, among other things. This was way back in 1893, and even well over a century later, this idea sounds pretty darn useful.

Sergio Oliva and the Nautilus Pullover

Posted on Wednesday, March 21st, 2012 by John Wood

Sergio Oliva and the Nautilus Pullover

The Nautilus Pullover, demonstrated here by Three-time Mr. Olympia winner Sergio Oliva, was often called “The Upper Body Squat” because it trained the largest and strongest muscles of the back in a way that is not possible with regular barbells and dumbbells…

However, like any tool, the pullover must be used correctly. “Correctly use” entails not just the form of the movement itself but also the volume and intensity in which sets and reps are performed.; A lot of people didn’t do it right from the outset and wrote it off, which is a shame… Once you “get” how to use the pullover correctly, the results are like night and day. Though this particular machine was originally in production over forty years ago, they are still surprisingly easy to find — we may actually do a special feature on the pullover at some point.

The Nautilus Pullover

Posted on Wednesday, August 10th, 2011 by John Wood

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.