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There's someone behind and in front of me with turn signals on as I get ready to pull into the parking lot. I also spot Mike, the instructor, walking up the ramp. I wish that we could all come to an agreement that kettlebell class should start at 9:15 instead of 9:00 a.m. since so many hit the parking lot at exactly 9.

I already know that we will be pushed to exhaustion during the warm-up. In addition, Mike will see to it that we properly stretch and warm-up our rotator cuffs, shoulders, forearms, knees, and hips et al.

As we're doing a kind of yogic forward bend, Mike says that this is not a competition. I jokingly whisper "yes it is" as does the woman in front me.

Mike also tells us when we have our right hand by our ear and our left hand actively reaching towards the floor that it's a stretch that we can do at work while we're at our desk. So many instructors seem to know the havoc sitting down all day wreaks.

During the stretch phase of the program, I notice that I like what I see in the mirror and I don't add or delete anything from the thought...

We did a lot of five minute circuits that included two-hand swings, one arm swings, push-ups, burpees, lunges, figure eights and, yes, the clean. Mike is going to give me extra attention with the latter next week. He also had to correct me during the halo. I know what you're thinking; the halo is simple but...

Towards the end of class, I got noisy. I didn't mean to be but it was the only way to gut it out. At least I made my classmates laugh. When I moaned that I didn't like burpees, the woman next to me said that she didn't like any of it. She was the same one who said earlier that stretching was, indeed, a competition.

At the end of each kettlebell class, I've felt that it was an honest hour's workout. I feel like kettlebell is such a thorough beat down that pushes me to the brink by asking that I give everything that I have in the tank plus more.

Oh yeah, one of my classmates did help me out with the clean by reminding me that my thumb needs to point backwards. I'm just hoping that I'll get to the point where doing the clean becomes second nature.