That’s the only next gen I’ve got. But I’ve got a 1st gen double shoulder, double chest, multi exercise, neck/shoulder, 2nd gen leg curl and leg extension.
I’m not sure if it’s standard or if the pads were upgraded but the arm pads are super thick. Going to try to find something a little bit more narrow to get some more range when trying to close them
They definitely were upgraded, as you had some big Cincinnati Bengal players using them as well as the Weight stack upgrade from 250 to 360. They needed to be thicker to accommodate the pressure using 300+ lbs.
So recently I bought this Nautilus multi curl with the intent to convert it to resemble the arm up 2 seater compound curl. With a lot less work than I thought it would take by lowering the seat and modifying the pad I got my elbow up near my ear like a 2 seater. I could feel a bit more of a cramped up burn feeling in the bicep when up by the ear. Was it any better than a typical curl position? I don’t know yet as I’ve only tried it once.
Scott
== Scott ==
So for all the hundreds of people chomping at the bit to know about my multi curl modification here’s a picture. I think I’ve got the elbow up about as high as the Nautilus compound 2 seater and I get this cramping feeling at the top like I think the original would get! Cool thing is I can use both arm up together if I want to and I can move the seat back to the original position for regular curls. I have no explanation for the pathetic creature performing the curl.
Santa Claus doing curls, 
I thought that too haha
How did you modify the arm pad? Also, curious if you have changed out the bushings on any of your Nautilus machines for bearings? Like the Lateral Raise? Might that make some difference in using the 30-10-30 protocol? So, would you say that the Multi-Curl machine is one worth having now?
I just made the pad thicker and dropped the seat to the bottom. I had both the multi bicep and tricep at one time but thought the plate loading bi tri was better so I got rid of the multis . Big mistake. Now I wish I had both multi machines back but I don’t have room for them now. Frankly as yet I don’t know that having the elbow up near the head really makes a fig of a difference in the long run so I’m glad I didn’t rush out and spend a fortune to get the real 2 seater. I have never changed any bearings. Im too cheap to do that, but I Probably should though.
Scott
Being able to do it both ways on the Multi and one arm at a time or both sounds like the best way to go then.
Due to lighting cant really see what you did to it. Its all in shadow
Actually I did very little to the machine other than a slightly thicker maybe 1/2 inch pad sewed on ( which is hard to see) added over the existing pad and I moved the seat all the way down and I scrunch up next to the pad. If I do this again I will get thicker foam and make it a little thicker next time. I did a few extra sets on it yesterday hoping to see what part of the bicep might get sore compared to regular curls and so far I don’t feel any soreness either way?
Scott
I still don’t know if having the arm up high near the side of your head has any real advantage in working the bicep other than the cramp burn feeling it brings? For all I know the effect on the bicep might be better down where it’s more in the middle range. Nobody seems to have an answer for this? I would think that if there is a real advantage to a machine like the 2 seat compound bicep more of them would have been made and other companies would have copied it? Same for the compound tricep?
Scott
Scott,
This is an interesting question! I have only tried the modernized Nitro version of the bicep curl machine (overhead curl) and it works surprisingly well - when/if the height is properly adjusted.
One thing that comes to mind is whether the work “against gravitation” with elevated arms is counterproductive? Sort of a resistance for getting proper blood flow in the muscles? The price of isolating the bicep?
I would be most interested to hear anyone involved in the development of this machine (what were they thinking?).
The biceps muscles cross the elbow and the shoulder. Arthur Jones believed that to work the biceps completely, you had to supinate the hand, bend the arm, and raise the elbow. His goal was to build a machine that allowed you to do all three of those functions. But he quickly found that doing all three would require too many redirection pulleys, too much chain, and a machine that was much too tall to sell profitably.
So, he simply decided to work on the raised-elbow function. Done properly, you certainly feel the biceps contraction higher in the muscle.
Thank you very much for this answer. Yes one does feel the contracted position very well so why then do you think the 2 seater and two arms up compound curl were discontinued? Was there just not enough advantage in them over the multi bicep to warrant further production?
Thanks.
Scott
It was strictly a sales decision. They did not sell as well as the Multi-Biceps machine.
I think I can see why now. Early on I had a multi bicep that I literally gave away and I had the plate loading bi- tri. For some reason I fell in love with the bi tri plate loader but having tried a much better condition multi bicep I now think I like the multi better!
Thanks
Scott
Yes, and it’s a very versatile machine, so many different ways to use it. Add in the Infimetric bar and that gives you 3 more ways to use it. I’d like to have a good condition Multi-Biceps and Multi-Triceps.
Funny, after seeing your picture of using it with the seat at the bottom, I now recall trying the same thing some 30+ years ago when I worked at a Nautilus Fitness center as a trainer, trying to duplicate the Compound Position Curl.
== Scott==
That’s really interesting that you tried that 30 years ago! You must of had good reason for trying that?
Had trained for a couple years on the Compound Position Biceps before the guy who owned ALL the early machines(20 or so) I used got swindled and lost them all. The fitness center I started working at only had 12 or 13 machines and nothing else. So, my training partner and I were trying to get as much variety out of the machines we had to work with. Trying to see how many different variations we could do on each machine.
