After one hour of smooth drive and 30min at a
Starbucks, I arrived at a small gym in a town to
the north of San Francisco. At around 8:25am,
most students were on the mats stretching. I
checked in with Ric at the front. He appeared in
his early 40s and was short (about 5'5"), dark,
and very muscular. He had a friendly smile.
        
The students were a young personal trainer from
Mountain View, a 40-something fireman who
practiced Brazillian Jujitsu and had a knee
injury, a slightly out-of-shape telecom manager in
his early 60s, a tall construction worker, a blond
college admin in her 40s, a couple in their late
40s and new to kettlebell, a tall senior gentleman
in his late 60s, a cheerful trainer in her 30s
from Sebastopol, and yours truly.

Ric was a very skilled and effective teacher,
warm, funny, and juggling just right the
leadership dichotomy. I had run for two years and
lifted weights for one year with a written history
of self-diagnosed injuries. As a result, I knew
the lingo and was able to absorb the details. I
jotted down over two dozens of notes. On three or
four occasions, I didn't understand or follow
instructions well, mostly due to lack of attention.

The biggest take-home for me was (bad) posture
awareness. My lack of shoulder-packing popped out
in many movements where weight hung on ligaments
instead of being supported by muscles. I shrugged
habitually thanks to life-long crouching, typing,
and practicing Chinese modesty. To "make a proud
chest" took some effort--I needed a more flexible
thoracic spine. It would be worthwhile to come for
that lesson alone as I learnt through practice how
bad postures could lead to compromised movements.
For me, to become strong, awareness of weaknesses
was the key.

Lunch break was one hour. I talked to Ric, had
some water, and walked around the place. Toward
the end of the day, we were getting tired. Huge
sweat came down when I did the press, the swing,
and the plank drills. Thanks to my diet, I stayed
sharp and focused.

The traffic was bad around 6:00pm on my way back,
the road was packed with (hopefully) sober people
from the valley's vineyards, and I started to doze
behind the wheel. I exited 101, parked in front of
a Lucky's store, napped about 20min, wolfed down a
can of kippers and some chcolates and water, and
drove on. I arrived home at 8:00pm, ate a big meal
and went to bed.