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What do you want to see in Women’s Barbell Club? And: my calves are sore but I'm not whining.

Apr 26, 2025

I started this newsletter with the goal of delivering stories and articles on women in strength sports and the emerging science of female physiology and fitness — largely because most women’s magazines do a horrible job of covering these areas. There are very few places to pitch stories on strong women, their athletic feats, and what exercise scientists are learning about female bodies. I want to write those stories, while also publishing pieces that provide historical / cultural context (and critiques) to current mindsets around women’s strength.

Personally, I don’t feel that I’ve been accomplishing this — but I would like to hear from you. Take the Women’s Barbell Club survey and let me know what you think of the newsletter and what you’d like to see more (or less) of. I look forward to reading your responses!

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Read previous installments of the Injury Diaries series here.

Sore Calves

These days, I’m limping. Not necessarily because my ankle hurts or feels particularly weak, but because my muscles are sore.

On Wednesday, my physical therapist sent me home with new exercises after putting me through my hardest PT session yet. Under her supervision, I did single-leg calf raises and RDLs. She gave me a band to wrap around my toes and had me crouch slightly and walk sideways in both directions. I stood on a balance board on one foot and intentionally rocked my foot forward and backward, then diagonally. She brought over another circular balance gadget and had me stand on one foot and attempt to write the alphabet with my foot.

My ankle, my calves, and my legs all felt the burn, and Friday, two days later, my left calf was still sore and tight — enough to make me limp around my apartment.

That’s how calf soreness always goes for me.

I remember being in my early twenties and doing a tuck jump / sprint workout in the grass outside. My calves were so sore the next few days, they felt like a clump of knotted ropes on the backs of my legs. The same thing would happen anytime I’d do box jumps or jumprope after a while without. The workouts felt good and challenging. The recovery hurt.

During one of my first PT appointments after surgery, my therapist mentioned how quickly calf muscles are deconditioned. I’ve known this from experience, and now I’m learning it even more from experience. My foam roller and my roommate’s massage gun are about to get a whole lot more use.

Thursday night, a day after that first brutal PT session, I tried to do my prescribed single-leg calf raises. My right leg felt fine, no problem. My left leg, nope. I instantly felt how fatigued both my foot and leg were. I broke the reps into smaller sets — 3-5 at a time instead of 10 — and I didn’t force myself to finish. Today, I’m still sore.

I know this is just a precursor to how sore I’m going to be when I start deadlifting and squatting again. Bring it on, I guess?