The Marsh Effect

Back in October, in my post about Jody Marsh's new bodybuilding career, I wondered if Jodie's physique may or may not inspire one, ten, a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand women to go to the gym. Well, I haven't had to wait very long to find tangible evidence that at least one woman has indeed taken up bodybuilding because of her. At least partly because of her anyway.

Ms Marsh, good-time girl turned Mrs Muscle, this is all your fault. You and Fit Guy, alias Will Sturgeon, my personal trainer, who during one routine session randomly suggested I might like to try bodybuilding.

The quote above from Ruth Walker's bodybuilding diary in The Scotsman online serves not only as proof that The Marsh Effect is real and working, but also reads as a 'You Should Totally Take Up Bodybuilding' sermon for the ladies. And here is the author...



If you can't be arsed to read the whole thing, my favourite bits are below. And as a reward for not clicking away, I've broken up the quotes with some pics of muscular lovelies putting in the kind of effort Ruth describes.

Week one was the worst. It almost broke me – physically and mentally. “I can’t do this,” I cried, my feeble arms wobbling, 40kg of weight on a 10kg bar, commonly known as drop-set bench presses. “Yes you can,” said Sturgeon. “No I can’t,” I cried, pleadingly. “Yes you can.” It turns out he was right. Just.



So, I suppose you want to hear that things got easier in weeks two and three? That I started to notice a difference? But the honest answer is no, it didn’t. It was pure, relentless hard work. I was tired. I was fed up eating smoked salmon and cottage cheese and scrambled eggs and grilled chicken. Those four sessions were taking a huge chunk out of my week and I wanted my life back. And maybe some chocolate.



But I kept going. I’m not even sure when the turning point came. Maybe it was the moment Sturgeon turned to me and said, “Not bad – you realise you’ve just bench-pressed your own body weight?” Or, mid dumbbell chest-press, when he said, “Most men can’t lift those weights.” Or maybe it was the e-mail from a (female) colleague that read, “Your delts are looking RIPPED!”



I lifted weights that had previously made me weep just to look at them, I grunted and grimaced in an unladylike fashion and, I’m embarrassed to say, I did stop to admire my developing delts in the gym mirror (only when I thought no one else was looking). Marsh has created a monster. The thing is, I rather like her.



Four weeks into the challenge, while on holiday, a stranger walked up to me and told me she had arm envy. And that was it, I had the bug. I liked feeling strong and toned and, perhaps surprisingly, powerfully feminine.



The challenge is all but over and, in a fairly elastic six weeks I’ve lost a mind-boggling 32.7 per cent body fat (eat my sweaty gym shorts, Jodie) and gained 5lb of lean muscle. The increase in my resting metabolic rate means I now burn an extra 112 calories a day. I have gone from chest-pressing a feeble 40kg to a much more impressive 60kg. My bicep curl has increased from 20kg to 30kg and my shoulder-press max weight has gone from 50kg to an incredible 80kg. When I do a tricep dip, I do it across two benches with a 20kg weight on my stomach.



I feel strong, healthy and physically confident. I won’t be standing on a stage in my swimwear any time soon, but I’m wearing my calloused, weight-ravaged hands with pride. As for the rest of the stuff 2012 throws at me: bring it on.

So, in summary, through pumping iron, Ruth has greatly increased her physical strength. It has also given her a body she is proud of, a body that attracts admiration and envy from other women, strangers and colleagues. This, in turn has led to greater self-confidence in her ability to tackle anything life throws at her.

Now, I know a few women who would love a bit of that! I might just have to email them the link to Ruth's blog 'by accident'.



Marsh Effect Scoreboard (21.01.12)

Jodie Marsh 1
People Who Think Women in the Gym Have No Business Lifting Weights and Should Stick to Running Machines and Spinning Classes 0


And don't forget UK readers, the first episode of Jodie Marsh: Make Me A Bodybuilder premieres on DMAX this Tuesday at 9pm.

Fingers crossed the airing of the documentary will further serve to inspire British women to muscle up. And I look forward to the next installment of Ruth's blog.

Enjoy!