55-year-old Mike O’Hearn isn’t like the average person. Despite reaching halfway to 60, the former Mr. Universe still maintains a ripped and muscular physique that makes him look younger every day. Yet, that’s not even the most impressive part because, at the age when most people lose strength, the bodybuilding icon seems to be only growing stronger.

Mike O’Hearn showed fans a couple of exercise machines that rarely anyone has laid eyes on. The machine looked less like an apparatus for exercise and more like something out of a sci-fi movie. Even O’Hearn’s cameraman said it looked like something out of Star Wars. It was an evolution of an older exercise machine.

Mike O’Hearn strapped himself into the modern evolution of the Nautilus line of exercise machines created by Arthur Jones. The man operating the machine first tested O’Hearn’s range of motion under load. The 55-year-old hit the full range of motion without breaking a sweat. However, Mike O’Hearn impressed him even more with a 300 Lbs warm-up set, “which no one does.” 

The complicated apparatus was designed to isolate the lower back muscle and minimize the chances of getting injured. He then explained how the machine works. “I’ve stabilized the hips and glutes,” said the man after the warm-up set. Mike O’Hearn then requested the man to stack the machine. The 55-year-old bodybuilding icon then moved 400 lbs with his lower back.

The bodybuilder then moved to another machine which isolated the neck muscles. The operator advised Mike O’Hearn to call it a day after he cranked out multiple reps on the neck training machine. The former Mr. Universe got to try out the intimate evolution of what Arthur Jones envisioned.

Mike O’Hearn showcased the legacy of a pioneer

The machines looked incredibly complicated and far bulkier than what you would find in most commercial gyms. However, Arthur Jones designed these machines to have the most optimal force production throughout the range of motion. Jones also aimed to design the machine in such a way that it could isolate the target muscle optimally.

Just like Mike O’Hearn tested his strength on the machines, Arthur Jones collaborated with bodybuilding icons like Casey Viator, Eddie Robinson, and Ray and Mike Mentzer to develop his Nautilus machines. Although Mike O’Hearn is 55, he moved 400 lbs with his lower back for multiple reps and paused during reps. The operator said that O’Hearn was the strongest person he had tested on the machine. O’Hearn also said that he may return in the future. This just goes to show that Mike O’Hearn isn’t your average person.