The company Universal Gym Equipment maker and distributor of the Universal Gym multi-station body-building equipment was founded by Harold Zinkin the first winner of the muscle-building competition Mr. California in 1957 and a regular patron of Muscle Beach a famous body building center in southern California near Los Angeles.
Traditionally barbells and dumbbells were the primary means of physical strength conditioning and were used mostly by muscle building and strength training enthusiasts. The use of traditional equipment sometimes led to injuries in the hands of people not sufficiently trained in their safe handling. Zinkins goal was to broaden weightliftings appeal with equipment that was safer more compact and that worked all major muscle groups.
Toward this goal Zinkin created a multi-station machine that featured separate stacks of incremented weight plates that were guided up and down on solid steel guides. Weight changes were quicker and safer thanks to this unique user-selectable weight key system. Zinkin introduced this first device that he called the Universal gym machine With its introduction he helped start the fitness revolution that continues across the entire fitness industry. This industry began to grow as more gyms and individuals adopted the Universal gym and other modern exercise machines and as body builders such as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno popularized the sport and brought fitness into societys mainstream.
