Kettle bells??

[Timepoorandpoor]

I have hit 50 and due to various reasons I’ve put on a stone and not really exercised much, so I am a bit weak and feeble.

I want to do some stuff at home as I will never make it to classes (single mum, full time job) so I was thinking Pilates and Caroline Girvans 15 minute kettle bell workouts.

I need to lose weight, but I think a lot of the issue is I’ve lost tone and strength.

What size kettlebell do I need to start with in people’s general experience? I like the idea of kettlebells because I can use it to help all over, rather than dumbbell's.

Basically all of me needs some attention.

Can anyone advise a good beginner Pilates?

TIA

If you are planning to do swings with kettlebells, then I would really recommend d getting someone to show you and watch you do it first.

The mass of the kettlebell also depends what you intend to do with it.

I use an 8kg kettlebell to do single leg deadlifts but 12kg or 16kg for goblet squats and swings.

In my early days I favoured 4kg and 6kg. I found 8kg a slog for most moves.

Kettlebells tend to be priced by weight so going too light is less of a cost risk, and less of an injury risk than guessing too heavy.

I would start with 6kg and get the technique nailed then go heavier when you can. Starting too heavy will mean your technique will suffer.

You might get some bargain kettle bells on FB marketplace if you need to experiment with weight.

Good luck!

You ideally need different weights and you need to increase them as you get stronger.

You need a lighter one for overhead stuff and a heavier one for squats/deadlifts.

I bought this set to start with and then added heavier ones as single kettlebells, now have up to 16 kg

oops , here it is

I really enjoy Kettlercise, great videos for an all-over workout. They recommend much lighter weights than other regimes - I started on a 2kg and worked my way up. As others have mentioned, good technique is essential to avoid injury.

Great Thankyou. I think I’d probably start with a 6 in that case. I’d rather discover it was too light a few weeks in than find out half way through that I’m straining to lift it.

I had a look at the videos and it seems to be squats, lunges and the swinging mainly, so I think slightly lighter might be better.

I am currently not strong, I used to be, so I’m hoping to get back to that!

I have an 8 & 12 which I use for different exercises (and for my feeling less fit days).
But 6 is a good place to start.

Id really recommend splashing out on cast iron if you can - not the plastic sand filled ones which are cheaper but really unwieldy which (imo) makes it even harder and affects my form.
Decathlon are reasonably priced - cast iron will hold some resale value as you move up.

Good luck & enjoy!

I really like my adjustable one, Gorilla Sports, mine is 16-24 kg but they also have 8-16. Very easy to change weights and otherwise it looks like your standard kettlebell.

Also keep your eye on aldi middle aisle. I got a really cheap 8kg kettlebell there and they had other sizes too.

Iron is also easier to grip with small hands as it's less bulky.

For exercises where the strength is really in the legs, I can take a lot of weight... but I'm curtailed by being able to physically grip on to them because I can't wrap my hands around the handle securely.

I used to compete in "kettlebell sport" (if you take a look on youtube, there should be some videos of UK competitions, if you're interested, but, I digress). First of all, the majority of people involved, at least then, we're in the over 50s bracket, so I would say they are very much safe and appropriate! Secondly, when I first started out, I used an 8kg for swings, and everything basically. I then moved up to a 12kg, and to be honest, stayed there for a while in terms of the main lifts. It depends on what you're doing though. I'd be very happy to give a more detailed breakdown if that would be helpful.
I may be biased here, but I would tend to opt for the Wolverson brand sport style KBs. They are all the same size irrespective of weight (cast metal with varying degrees of hollowness inside) so your technique doesn't need to vary to compensate for the different sizes, and they have textured handles, which is handy if you sweat a bit! Really reduces the risk to any pets/children/windows...
They are quite pricey, but genuinely will last pretty much forever.

If you are really out of practice I would personally start with body weight only - squats, lunges, plank etc. there are loads on insta etc. I wouldn’t move straight to kettlebell and to be honest you can probably do more starting with 3kg dumbbells

I’ve currently got 2, 4, 6 and 8kg kettle bells at the no and find those are enough!

I’d start much lower .. when I started kettlercise, I started at 2kg and post covid (at home doing videos a lot) had just started with 8kg. I think it also depends on if you’re doing static lifts, or something more dynamic like swings .. Chucking an 8kg bell about repeatedly requires strength and if you go too heavy you’ll likely pull something or injure yourself quite quickly.

I just started with the in again, good idea Op.

to everyone do you find the kbs keep you in good shape?

This YouTube channel is great - https://m.youtube.com/@WorkoutWithRoxanne

I started with an 8kg and did the 8 or 10 min online workout Kettlebells with Amy. She also has a great short video in hospital to do a kettlebell swing correctly. She has longer videos once you get into it.

At first some of the exercises in the sessions left me really trembling and unable to complete the set but I soon got used to them. I don't see much point in a weight lower than 6kg unless you are recovering from illness or injury. It's the weight bearing that makes you strong and we already bear lower weights all the time when carrying shopping, laundry baskets, pans of food etc. So it needs to be a bit heavy to make an impact.

Good luck.