A Guide to Buying Your First (or Next) Kettlebell
So you’ve read about my favorite kettlebell exercises for beginners and want to start doing them at home. Or perhaps you already have a few bells and you’re thinking it’s time to get another one – maybe something heavier if you started out too light. There are many varieties of kettlebells out there, from rainbow competition bells to hard-style cast iron bells to molded plastic things you can buy at, say, Five Below. Let’s analyze the kettlebell market so you can choose the best kettlebells for your needs.
And yes, kettlebells are commonly called “bells.” They are also often labeled in kilograms rather than pounds, even in the US, but this will depend on the type of bell you are looking at.
Difference Between Types of Weights
There are three types of kettlebells in the modern fitness world. Before you go any further in your shopping journey, you need to figure out which type is right for you. I’ll go into more detail about each, but here’s a basic roadmap.
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Cast iron or “hardstyle” kettlebells are usually black in color and vary in size and shape. The heavier the bell, the larger the round part. They are most often used by people who train with kettlebells in a “hard” style, which I will talk more about in a moment.
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Competition weights are the same size regardless of weight, so even the lightest weights will be about the size of a bowling ball. They are sold in kilograms (usually in multiples of 4 or 8) and are color coded. For example, a bell weighing 16 kg will be yellow. They are used in strength sports known as kettlebell lifting or kettlebell lifting, where participants compete to complete the most repetitions of a given exercise in a 10-minute period of time.
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Fitness kettlebells , for lack of a better term, are a variety of kettlebells that you’ll see at gyms or stores that don’t actually specialize in kettlebells. They may be plastic or vinyl coated, and their shape may or may not be comfortable.
Personally, I think competition kettlebells are best, but I’ve competed in kettlebell lifting, so I’m biased. There is nothing wrong with hard bells if you like them or are used to them. (I think they’re less comfortable to hold, but that’s more of a preference than a deal-breaker.) Fitness weights, however, are a chaotic jumble: I’ve used chrome and plastic, which I like almost as much as my favorites. computer bells, and I also saw strangely shaped monsters that were almost impossible to work with. As a category, I would shy away. But if you manage to find a fitness well that you enjoy working with, don’t let me stop you.
Below I will select a few good bells in each of my favorite categories and discuss the pros and cons of these types. But first, I know the burning question on your mind is: How heavy?
What kettlebell weight should I start with?
I don’t believe in the idea that there is one “right” weight to start with. I mean, you wouldn’t walk into a gym, see a rack of dumbbells, and assume that you’d only be working with one pair of dumbbells for the first few months, would you?
But usually they start with one kettlebell, so people need one recommendation. I’m fine with this as long as you understand that you want a heavy kettlebell for swings and a light kettlebell for presses and snatches .
For a lighter kettlebell, we can follow the standard recommendations you’ll find in kettlebell books and forums. The result should be a bell that you can press overhead or (once you’ve mastered the technique) you can pull out. In general you can use:
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8 kg (about 18 lbs) if you are short and/or have no experience with strength training.
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12 kg (about 26 lbs) if you fall between the descriptions above and below.
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16 kg (about 35 lbs) if you have experience with strength training.
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Or try this test : If you have dumbbells or kettlebells (even from the store), find a weight that you can press overhead several times.
Feel free to go above or below these examples. You often hear recommendations that women should start with 8–12 kg, and men with 12–16. But in reality this is a recommendation that should be based on strength , not gender; For many women, the number 16 is suitable as a first call. And there are people of all genders who may do better with something lighter than 8 or harder than 16. That’s why I encourage people to experiment with different bells to see what makes sense. If you train with dumbbells, you can use your normal one-arm dumbbell press weight to guide your choice.
For a heavier kettlebell, you want a kettlebell so heavy that you can’t press it. I have a few recommendations for choosing the ideal weight of heavy bell to swing with. Somewhere between 24 (53 pounds) and 32 (70 pounds) will be a good starting point for most beginners. Although you can certainly go heavier than 32. And you can swing a lighter bell, but I would recommend learning to swing a heavy bell first. Weight is instructive.
The Best Cast Iron or “Hardstyle” Kettlebells
Cast iron kettlebells are a good choice for many people because they are cheap and durable. They are available in a variety of weights, including heavy weights. My first kettlebells were hardstyle ones, and they were very comfortable to train with.
“Hardstyle” is the nickname for kettlebell training in which these kettlebells are typically used. Probably most of the kettlebell exercises you’ve seen at the gym are variations of this exercise. There are swings, windmills, presses, Turkish suits and much more. Swings are often performed with both hands on the same bell, and the exercises are performed in sets and repetitions (as opposed to kettlebell training, which uses timed sets). You can do these exercises with any type of bell, so don’t feel like you have to use cast iron – it’s the more common type.
The main disadvantages of cast iron weights come down to the shape. Unlike competition bells, which are the same shape and size regardless of weight, each cast iron bell is shaped differently. With less weight, the large handle should slope downward, becoming a piece of iron the size of a baseball. For heavier weights, the main body of the bell may be the size of a bowling ball (or larger!) and the handle must be able to support it. You may learn to hold a 12kg kettlebell comfortably enough to press it, but then you move up to a 16kg kettlebell and suddenly everything changes and you have to relearn your technique.
When purchasing cast iron kettlebells, make sure the entire bar is cast in one piece (a welded handle is a hindrance) and make sure the handle is comfortable. Your hand will rub against the handle as you swing, brush, or adjust your grip mid-swing, so make sure there are no rough edges. If the bell is easy to use, enjoy! Here are some hard style bells you might like:
The Best Kettlebells for Competition
The advantages and disadvantages of competition bells are the same as hardstyle bells, but reversed. They tend to be more expensive, but have the same shape, so different weights will feel very similar in your hand. Kettlebell practitioners work on the efficiency of their technique, so once you learn the exact place to place your elbow in a clean position (for example), you can repeat it even when you change weights.
However, brands still vary slightly in size and shape. You may prefer one brand’s “window” (the hole in the handle) over another – perhaps it’s a little wider or more square in shape. There are also competition-style bells with indentations where your forearm passes during overhead lifts. I also have another preference when it comes to competition bells: they should have a standard color coding! Pink – 8 kg, yellow – 16, green – 24, red – 32 and so on. Some brands ( cough Titan cough ) have started offering their competition style bells in custom colors and it pisses me off. But I suppose in your home gym you can raise a bell in any color you like. Here are some options: