Mark H. Berry (1896–1958)Chapman, David L. (1994). ''Sandow the Magnificent: Eugen Sandow and the Beginnings of Bodybuilding''. University of Illinois Press. p. 101. was an American national weight lifting champion, author and trainer.

Biography

Berry was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1896, the son of an engineer and inventor. He was the U.S. Olympic Weightlifting coach at the

1932 Los Angeles Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

and the

1936 Berlin Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (German: ''Olympische Sommerspiele 1936''), officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad (German: ''Spiele der XI. Olympiade'') and commonly known as Berlin 1936 or the Nazi Olympics, were an international multi-sp ...

. He was the first Olympic weight lifting coach for the U.S. After his success as a weight lifter he focused on teaching others. Berry advocated drinking milk and focusing on compound movements especially heavy squats for building power and bulk. He is considered one of the pioneers of weight lifting with his classic books ''Physical Training Simplified'' and ''Physical Improvement''.Radley, Alan. (2001). ''The Illustrated History of Physical Culture: The Muscular Ideal''. p. 96. . He edited several magazines published through the Milo Barbell Company, these were ''Strength'', ''The Strongman'' and ''Physical Training Notes''. Berry became director of the Milo Barbell Company and editor of the ''Strength'' magazine in 1926. Berry was associated with the physical culture movement of strength training, but disliked the movement's connections with lighter exercise, natural living and vegetarianism.Roach, Randy. (2008). ''Muscle, Smoke, and Mirrors, Volume 1''. p. 102. Alternative health reformers such as

Arnold Ehret Arnold Ehret (July 29, 1866 October 10, 1922)Melton, Gordon J. (1990). ''New Age Encyclopedia''. Gale Research. p. 159. was a German naturopath and alternative health educator, best known for developing the Mucusless Diet Healing System. Ehret ...

, Bernarr Macfadden and

Paul Bragg Paul Chappuis Bragg (February 6, 1895 – December 7, 1976) was an American alternative health food advocate and fitness enthusiast. Bragg's mentor was Bernarr Macfadden. He wrote on subjects such as Detoxification (alternative medicine), dietin ...

were associated with the physical culture movement but Berry had little in common with them.

Lifting champion

He was a successful

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champion in the American continental weight-lifters association (ACWLA) in the mid-1920s.

Trainer

Mark trained a young John Grimek whom he met in the late 1920s. Grimek would later win the Mr. America and Mr. Universe titles. After his success with Grimek and others he was selected to be the head coach for the 1932 and 1936 United States Olympic Weight Lifting Teams, the latter of which John Grimek was a participant. He continued to instruct throughout the 1940s and 1950s as a head physical trainer for the BUR Barbell Company.

Publications

*''Physical Training Simplified: The Complete Science of Muscular Development'' (1930) *''Physical Improvement'' (1930) *''The Big Biceps Book'' (1933) *''Your Physique - and Its Culture: An Innovation in Physique Culture'' (1935)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Mark 1896 births 1958 deaths 19th-century American people 20th-century American people American bodybuilders American male weightlifters People associated with physical culture People from Chicago Place of death missing Strength training writers