Which kettlebell to buy?

[Zbloff]

Hi,

I'm considering starting training with kettlebells and just found out that a company in my hometown sells them ( no transcontinental shipping, thank you very much :)

So, the question I ask is about how heavy should I go?

The sizes they have are
8 kg
16 kg
24 kg
32 kg

I can bench 90kg and deadlift at least 130 kg.

I also wonder if anyone can recommend a good book or video to get started with them?

Thanks

[Chief Fox]

What is the right kettlebell size for me?

Kettlebells come in 'poods'. A pood is an old Russian measure of weight, which equals 16kg, or roughly 35 lbs. An average man should start with a 35-pounder. It does not sound like a lot but believe it; it feels a lot heavier than it should! Most men will eventually progress to a 53-pounder, the standard issue size in the Russian military. Although available in most units, 70-pounders are used only by a few advanced guys and in elite competitions. 88-pounders are for mutants.

An average woman should start with an 18-pounder. A strong woman can go for a 26-pounder. Some women will advance to a 35-pounder. A few hard women will go beyond.

I got the above from here: http://www.russiankettlebells.com/

There's a bunch of training materials available there too.

Also, you can find out a bunch of information by doing a Google search on your own. Try it out.

[fa_jing]

Go for the 16KG and buy the "Russian Kettlebell Challenge" DVD from Dragondoor.

[Vash]

Originally posted by fa_jing
Go for the 16KG and buy the "Russian Kettlebell Challenge" DVD from Dragondoor.

Or gank it off of limewire.

[IronFist]

^ I'm sure that was hypothetically speaking, of course.

[WinterPalm]

When I pick one up I am going to get the fifty pounder. I've never used them but that seems like a standard weight and if that is what the Russian military is training to start with, that is what I'll start with.:)

[Zbloff]

Hmm...yes.. I think it stands between the 16kg and the 24 kg ones ( 35 vs 53 lbs )

The question I guess boils down to if I'm in good enough shape already for the 53 lbs or if not for how long the 35lbs one will last before I want to upgrade.

If anyone know some corresponding lifts I can do to decide wich one I'm ready for that would be great.

Thanks for the replys so far

[Dale Dugas]

Max Kettlebells are cheaper and charge less for shipping. They also have a bigger handle which forces you to hold on for dear life in some of the exercises and that makes bigger gains in lower arm development.

Look them up at: http://www.maxkettlebells.com

In Boston,

Dale Dugas

[Andy62]

Weight in kettlebells does not correspond to the same weight in dumbells. You have to develop the technique. Kettlebells are ballistic and there is a certain wrist action that you have to develop. Most people that take them up beat their forearms up somewhat before they get used to using them I have a 16kg, 24kg and a 32kg. The 16kg is a good place to start and once you develop the technique you can move up as rapidly as your strength will let you. I really haven't used them much recently as I do a lot of bodyweight stuff

[Zbloff]

Max seems good, but I'm sure they don't ship to europe, and even if they do I probably don't feel like paying for it :)

[Andy62]

Atomic Athletic is a good source of kettlebells including a shot loaded model that you can load from 25 to 115 pounds.

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/category.aspx?categoryID=96

[Andy62]

http://www.atomicathletic.com/store/default.aspx

[IronFist]

1 pood. Unless you're not going to be doing high reps, then maybe 1.5 pood.

The first time I ever used one I used a one pood. I could snatch it ten times on both sides without much problem strength wise, but I doubt I could do two sets of 20 with it at first. If I got one I would get a 1 or 1.5 pood. I just feel like I'd outgrow the 1 pood too quickly. It's already all endurance for me with that one.

[fa_jing]

Dragondoor now makes a tweener at 44 lbs which would be a good starting weight, but it sounds like it's not available where zbloff is.