Kettlebell weight

[beautifulsoul]

Hi, I just ordered The Kettlebell Way (so excited) and I was wondering what weight I should start with. I wanted to pick up a kettlebell before it came. I know it varies person to person but they are so expensive I don't want to buy the wrong one. Is there a certain brand that you guys all like or are they all pretty much the same? Any thoughts? TIA.

 

[allwildgirl]

Adina - I started with 15 lbs and it's been MORE than adequate for me. There are some things I can do with 20 and probably soon I'll need something heavier, but I think 15 is fine. It's very endurance-based, and even if you think, at the beginning "boy, I could use heavier weight" (like I did the other night), by about the middle you'll be saying "gosh, you know, this 15 lber is just fine!".

 

[Fit_mommy]

I started with a single 15# bell and then went up to a single 20#. I also purchased another 15# for double bell work. I don't regret my choice. I think starting with 20 would have been too heavy for me.

 

[Miss Lee]

I started with a 12 lb KB and I'm still using it most of the time. I have a 15 lb KB, too, that I use for some things but it's still a bit too heavy for me. I ordered KB's from Beacon Fitness and they're very nice.

 

[kathryn]

I also started with 15# (a pretty red "GoFit" KB: Target and Dick's Sporting Goods carry them).

I think it was a good place to start (recommended starting weight is usually 18# for most women, 25-26# for strong women, but that's just because that's the size standard kettlebells come in--a bit under 18# and a bit under 26# because they are weighed in kilos).

More recent recommendations I've seen recommend anywhere between 15# and 26# to start, for women.

No matter what you start with, there will be some moves where the bell feels too heavy (like Turkish Get-Ups, which you might start with NO weight, then with a light dumbell, increasing weight until you reach your KB weight), while it will soon feel light for others (like swings, which I find are easy to increase weight on...if you don't want to increase weight, increase number of reps and/or speed--up to a certain point for the latter).

I now have bells in 15#, 20#, 25#, 35# and 45#. With Lauren Brooks workout, I've been using all but the 45# for different moves (though the second time I did the workout, I didn't use the 15#, but used 20# as my lightest).

 

[TeTe]

very interesting....