In the late 1940s an engineer who trained with weights began tinkering with an idea that would eventually revolutionize, what is known as...
The barbell curl.
The problem…
He could not do two handed barbell curls with heavy weight while using a straight bar without experiencing pain in his wrists.
So, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention.
The solution…
He began forming his own piece of apparatus that would compensate for this discomfort.
And on June 11th, 1948, Lewis George Dymeck, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, applied for a patent for, what he called...
"The Dymeck Curling Bar"
Today, they are very common and found in nearly every gym.
It is nothing more than a one inch bar, four feet in length, with several bends.
While a cambered long bar for squatting had already been invented and marketed for many years by such lifters as William Pullum of Great Britain, Dymeck was the FIRST to focus on a shorter version exclusively designed for arm training.
Initially, he began manufacturing his new invention, himself.
He would bend the bars, have them nickel plated, and package them up in his kitchen.
He originally set out to sell his new Dymeck Curling Bar through Iron Man magazine in 1949.
The ad promised...
This new curling bar would give you the biggest arms you have ever dreamed of – quicker than any other system in the world!
The Scientific Construction of this new curling bar provides such a natural manner of gripping that it entirely eliminates all Curling difficulties...This new bar makes curling so effective that you can use 20 to 30 pounds more than with a straight bar...Because the exercise value with this bar is so greatly improved it will unquestionably result in faster development and will add more bulk to the upper arm.
It went on to describe the bar as nickel plated, 12 pounds in weight, 1 1/16 inches in diameter, 48 inches in length, and complete with 4 collars.
Fully guaranteed.
He was granted a patent for his Dymeck Curling Bar on this day in 1950.
Later, after he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, he teamed up with Andy Jackson, of the Jackson Barbell Company.
It was then advertised and sold from 1952 to 1954 as…
“The Dymeck/Jackson Curl Bar”
Later, from 1954 to 1964, it was sold as…
“The Jackson Curl Bar”
Finally, in 1964, he sold the patent rights to York Barbell Company when it became known as...
“The EZ Curl Bar”
In 2011, Dymeck died in Prescott, Arizona, at 98 years of age.
While, strangely enough, what has become widely known as the EZ Curl Bar and manufactured by many different companies over the years, Dymeck personally made only a few hundred.
They are easily identified.
His initials are engraved on them...
LD
His personal stamp of approval.
