Smith machine

The Smith machine is an item of equipment used in weight training. It consists of a barbell that is constrained to move only vertically upwards and downwards on steel runners. The Smith machine was invented by American Jack La Lanne, who rigged up a sliding apparatus in his gym in the 1950s. It was spotted by Rudy Smith, a bodybuilder, who commissioned Paul Martin to improve it. Smith then installed the improved model in a gym he was managing at the time, Vic Tanny's gym in Los Angeles. By the end of the 1950s, Rudy Smith was an executive in Tanny's chain of gyms, and the Smith machine was being manufactured and sold more widely. An article in the July 2005 edition of Muscle & Fitness [1] reported that Rudy Smith was still alive, aged 79, and was the owner of Las Vegas Athletic Clubs.
See more at Wikipedia.org...