Jones spent most his waking hours working on Hammer Strength products. He designed a proprietary 3D CAD software to design Hammer Strength machines. And, he moved his family into the factory.
“When running a factory you’re busy in the daytime,” explained Jones. “But in the evenings when things calm down, it gives you a chance to think about how to make things better, how to be more efficient, how to improve the product. Living in the factory did away with major distractions. When I would think of an idea or a problem, after hours I could walk into the factory and look at the products and figure out better solutions.”
The result of the countless hours of work was a robust plate-loaded line, Iso-Lateral strength equipment with converging and diverging independent motion, and Ground Base equipment, which requires exercisers to do their lifting while standing.
“Hammer Strength was the first to apply, commercially, ergonomics and alignment of the joints’ motion to commercial products,” said Jones. “An important part of innovation is gradual progress. The Wright brothers didn’t invent a 747—that came along a thousand ideas later. I worked as a firefighter, and they taught us that our job was to make things better for the people in need, right here, right now. We’ve taken that sense of urgency, and that sense of incremental improvement on a rapid pace to evolve and improve the product.”

GARY JONES USED AN EXERCISE PHILOSOPHY OF HELPING PEOPLE THROUGH SIMPLER, SAFER AND MORE EFFECTIVE MOVEMENTS. HE CREATED A THRIVING BRAND THAT BUILDS CHAMPIONS—WHETHER THEY’RE ELITE ATHLETES OR “LITTLE OLD LADIES.”

Added Jones: “How many people can say, ‘we make products that improve peoples’ lives?’ And how many people can say, ‘we make people better?’”