Make'em Lift More

I'm tacking onto a post by Lisbeth Darsh. She's a much better writer than I am, so bear with me.

Not a day goes by when I don't see a woman not living to her full potential in the gym. Now, I'm a big proponent of scaling. If you're a sedentary woman (person) there is no reason to do Crossfit or any other serious fitness program as prescribed your first time out there. That's a recipe for disaster. But if you've been coming to Group Classes for 9 months and you're still picking the lightest kettlebell that the gym owns, even though that's the weight you started at, we've got a problem.
I don't blame the client (if you're not pushing yourself you don't get the athlete tag), I blame the trainer (now, not a coach). It is the responsibility of the trainer (and coach) to push the athlete. To demand more weight, to demand complete range of motion, to demand that there is a level of proficiency in movement. The trainer is not there to make friends, he/she is there to create monsters. The types of people that you and I stare at at the beach; but in a good way.
This usually isn't a problem with the guys. It's not because we have our heads screwed on "right." Most of us dudes have hubris. Something in us that says, "Fuck, yea. I can pick that up." Even if it's more than we've ever done before.
Too many times women are scaling something like body weight Deadlifts to 65#'s. Again, nothing against scaling, but trainers, do it right. If she weighs 135# and that's obviously too much, go down to 115#. Make her struggle, make her suffer, make her better. Don't use the 8kg Kettlebell if you're more than capable of lifting the 16kg. It's always my philosophy that if you can lift something once then you can lift it 30 times. It'll just take a much longer time.
Again, it's the job of the trainer to make her an athlete, not a client. Then you'll be a coach.
Interview with Coach Mike Burgener
Interview with Coach Glenn Pendlay

Happy Easter