VANCOUVER, WA — Arthur Jones, the inventor of Nautilus training equipment and a pioneer in strength training, died Aug. 28. He was 80.
Jones' son, William Edgar Jones, told The Associated Press that his father had been ill for several days and died of natural causes at his home in Ocala, FL.
Jones invented the Nautilus machine in 1970 and revolutionized the industry, taking the fitness movement out of the weight room and into health clubs, hotels and office buildings. Ronald Reagan was even said to use the equipment in the White House when he was recovering from his 1981 gunshot wound.
“Arthur Jones was the founder of modern-day exercise,” Greg Webb, Nautilus Inc. vice president of product development, said in a statement. “He had an incredible ability to create the interface between man and machine by incorporating biomechanics into exercise equipment.”
Besides his son, Jones' survivors include two daughters.