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!

Muscle and Beauty

It's one of the wonders of life that two people's perception of the same thing can be totally different. In fact, certain things seem to cause almost polar reactions. Marmite, for example. You can love or hate it, but hardly anyone says they don't mind it.

Muscular women get similarly opposing reactions. I, for one, find them the most attractive women of all. I spend a significant amount of time eulogising them right here in this blog. But if you take even just a cursory glance at some internet polls on female muscle, you will find that there are a lot of people who are disgusted by them.

Now, I'm not saying these people are wrong, variety is the spice of life as they say. But take a look at the pictures below and the comments I've taken from the polls I've found. Are beauty and muscle really as mutually exclusive in women as some people think?

'They look like men. They look downright awful.'


OK, maybe some of the biggest steroid-abusing bodybuilders do sacrifice their femininity for muscle. But Szilvia Czine, Aleisha Hart, Jennifer Rish and Heidrun Sigurdardottir are clearly all woman.


And with her lovely, dark eyes and beautiful smile, would you really say that Yenny Polanco's bicep makes her look like a man?

This comment is similarly typical: 'Feminitiy [sic] and female bodybuilders have nothing in common whatsoever.'

So this person can't spell. Or run a spell check. But, hey, f-e-m-i-n-i-n-i-t-y is a tough word, and anyone can make a typo. Let's not be overly critical of their English. But looking at the Middle Eastern beauty of Mercedes Khani and the natural beauty of Erica Cordie, I for one disagree with their conclusion.

'It's not like any male on earth finds them attractive.
And they make even fat woman shudder in disgust.'

Having seen Reagan Brenner, the lady on the left is so disgusted she has to get some food down her quick. Imagine how much more she would have to eat if she saw the Asian beauty of Lyen Wong or Rebekah Kresila!


And then there is this old chesnut: 'I think dating women bodybuilders is one step away from being queer.'
Now, I have to admit, I did not know there were steps to being queer. Do they go up or down? And it does beg the question of being attracted to what kind of bodyshape on a woman is two steps away from being queer?

Well, if fancying Valeria Ammirato or Heather Dees makes me 'one step away from being queer', then I am very proud to be on that step. And what's more, I think that's going to be a very crowded step. Unless I'm the only one who finds Sheila Beavers attractive!


Enjoy!

Female Muscle Pride

When I first saw a female bodybuilder, one of the things that struck me was the fact that she seemed so proud of her body, and obviously loved the attention it got her. And muscular women have every right to feel proud, given the dedication, discipline and hard work it takes to achieve their goals. And why shouldn't they show it off?
Who wouldn't?!

Here's a few choice quotes and some photos to illustrate them. But keep reading after the pics, because I'm getting on my soap box again.

The development of my body has made it more toned, and more curvaceous.
I think I'm more feminine now than before I had muscles.


From how I see things, women with great physical shape are at an advantage in the dating game. They weed off insecure, puny boys who aren't man enough to stand beside a strong woman without feeling inadequate, and attract men who are self-confident enough to accept the better package.


Most women at the gym wouldn't even dream of using the dumbells that I use. When I do shoulder presses at the gym, the newbies tend to look because they aren't used to seeing a woman with biceps and shoulders, and they really show during shoulder presses, it amuses me.


I love working out and watching my muscles develop. It gives me greater confidence and I feel sexier. Yes, I can lift more weight than some men but that should be a motivator for them, not a turn off.


I actually catch more criticism from other women than the men in the gym, probably because the majority of them go in all dolled-up and not breaking a sweat, and I hang out in the free weight room and am there to actually do something.


I've worked out with some pretty massive female bodybuilders and heard the snide remarks that were made about us lifting weights, yet those same guys would try to hit on us when their 'posse' was no longer present. Go figure.


So what about a Female Muscle Pride rally? No, really! Muscular women deserve to be celebrated in my opinion. Imagine, women from local gyms and fitness clubs parading through your city, showing off their muscles, flexing for the crowd. 'Celebrity' muscle babes could be invited to lead the parade or give posing or workout displays. After the parade, when the sun goes down, the clubs and bars are full of muscular women, and guys (and girls) wanting to meet them. There could be posing shows, feats of strength contests, even female muscle karaoke...

And all with the aim of spreading the good word of the female muscle gospel. Women, some brought along by muscle-loving boyfriends, others just curious to see what it's all about, might get inspired by the sight of a parade of hard, toned muscular bodies and subsequently hit the gym. This would not only make their boyfriends happier, it would also make the women themselves feel sexier. On top of that, as the parades became annual events, attitudes would change and prejudice against female muscle would gradually be eradicated.

As far as I can see, everybody wins! This may be the best idea I've ever had (though it is late and I'm a little high, so this may just read like the confused rantings of a madman).

Tell me, what do you think?