I've always done hypertrophy type workouts, but have been real sporadic recently because of various things. Anyway I'm interested in kettlebell workouts. All I have right now are a 5, a 10, and a 15. I'm 5' 8", 170, need to get down to 160.
What size weights should I be shooting for?

35#, 53#, and 70# have served me well. Onnit/CrossFit are good resources for KB workouts

I figured 15 wouldn't do much. Got to figure out which sizes to ask for for Christmas.

45lb kettlebell all the things. you can do so much with a pair.

That answer of 35. 53 and 70 pounds is the traditional one for men.  Too light and you can't do many things properly with them.  I currently have:
(in pounds)
35
45
50 x 2
55
70
88 x 2

Yes I still have bars, plates  and a bench, but with those kbs I really don't need anything more.  

Scott Sonnon sells a program called Tacfit Kettlebell Speznaz (or something similar to that).  It's a good all 'round program for HIIT, conditioning and modest strength.

Even for your size, one each the of 35, 53, or 70 will open you up to a lot of growth and capabilities. Adding multiples of those weights will probably be more beneficial than getting other sizes as well initially. The rogue ones are what I have, expensive to ship but worth it in quality.

I absolutely love kettlebell stuff. I’m going for my SFG1 instructor certification next summer. I like Strong First for training recommendations, Pavel is a little bit woowoo but the shit works in my experience. I especially like plans and programs by Geoff Neupert.

I’ve been hitting them very hard since July and I’ve noticed gains in barbell lifts that I wasn’t training (deadlift max went up 50lbs and I hadn’t touched a bar in a few years)

I’ve spent a lot of time with double 28kg/62lb bells, particularly double clean and press. I’ll have to pass a snatch test (100 reps in 5 minutes with a 24kg/53lb single bell) so I’m planning on working past it with a 28kg for the same reps/time so regardless of how I’m feeling I’ll be able to pass.

Currently I’ve got the following bells:

14kg/30lb x1
18kg/40lb x1 (adding a second one soon)
24kg/53lb x2
28kg/62lb x2 (my personal favorite)
36kg/79lb x2 (can’t quite double strict Press them yet)

24kg/53lb bells for a decently strong adult male is completely doable, though I think a pair of 16kg/35lb is a smart idea to practice techniques if you are trying to learn things like double snatch, double jerk, etc.

I put in a request for 1x12kg, 1x16kg and 1x20kg to get it over the $150 mark for free shipping. Now we wait.

https://www.onnit.com/onnit-kettlebells/

If you can find some to handle, I like the competition style kettlebells better than hard style.  Same dimensions no matter the weight.

Kettlebells USA
Kettlebell kings
Vulcan strength
Eleinko

Some have flat spots for your forearms which might be nice for long cycles.

16kg, 20kg, 24kg, 28kg are good weights to have around.

I got this for my birthday, yesterday.
My in-laws gave me a 16kg one so I now have 1x12, 2x16, and 1x20kg.

It'll probably be a year before I can use the 24 and 28kg kettlebells if I remain consistent.

I’m not sure your particulars (age, training history, etc) but in my personal case I progressed from a single 16/18kg bell, through double 24s and on to double 28s in like 3-4 months. Double pressing, double clean, double front squat, etc.

You won’t be doing high rep work with the heavier bells, but if you can do 4-5 reps, it’s worth having a bell in that size.

I think it’s worth grabbing bells that you can press (specifically because that’s the limiting lift for most folks) 12 times, 8 times, 5 times, and 1-3 times.

Make sure your technique is good.  Video yourself and post it over on StrongFirst forum if you can’t find a StrongFirst trainer in your area.

Work on the basics (especially the swing).

16 to 24 can be a big jump but you can ease in to it.  24 to 28 for me was worse.

Now I’m back to 24 or 20 just because I haven’t kept up on it.

Lots of quality videos out there.

Read a bunch between hard style and soft/competition style and see which suits you better.

Some people really love long cycles and competition fits then better.

49yo, 5'8", 170#, primarily hypertrophy workouts over the years, but haven't been consistent the past 4 years. Part of what is limiting me now is learning good kettlebell technique. I've hurt myself more than once with poor lifting technique.

Tagging this as it is relevant to my interests. I'm 48 y/o, 5'9" and weighing in at 183 pounds. I'm in decent shape for my age, but need to kick it up a notch or two.  I see a ton of people my age who are in terrible shape and that motivates me to not end up like them. It's pretty sad. Keep the suggestions coming, gents!

@Brawnydog: I haven't used KBs because I know that there is a lot of technique involved and don't want to fuck myself up. Currently, I'm just doing P90x with moderate weights and run. I'm not doing anything super crazy, but it is more than enough to feel good and be in decent shape. I'm no fatty, but could stand to put on some more muscle. I try to primarily eat protein and veggies, but that is not always possible, but I'm also not pigging out on fast food bullshit.

I strongly recommend finding a coach if you can. I’ve got a video call once a month to fix technique issues with my coach that has helped me tremendously. I can refer you if you are interested, he’s very affordable.

There are also good social media accounts and YouTube videos from Hard style guys (specifically Hard style for your purpose) like Strong First and RKC affiliated guys. You can film yourself and post videos as well for form checks on the Strong First forum.

Once you get your form dialed in, you’ll be amazed at how fast you progress.

Sport bells are really nicer for pretty much everything except 2H swings.

Many thousands of reps later my pair of Titan adjustable sport bells are looking rough but are still as solid as the day I bought them. LCCJ is rough on bell paint. They are adjustable to any weight between 12kg and 32kg, beats the shit out of buying a million pairs of bells. They split in half and you add weight plates to a threaded post just like old school dumbbells.

I’m 5’8” and will be 49 next month. I’ve been swinging kettlebells for a couple of years but just got serious about diet and a good plan the last few months. I bought a plan called kettlebell only muscle gain 1 (KBOMG1) from a guy named Joe Daniels at Swingthiskettlebell.com. He has a bunch of YouTube videos. I really liked the plan and it has put me in the best shape I’ve been in for a long time. It’s probably not the best beginner plan but he has some basics plans as well.

I have two 16kg, one 20kg, 24kg and 32kg. I want another 20 and eventually a second 24. The 32 I pretty much only use for swings, goblet squats, and deadlifts. I use the dual 16s a lot and my newest is the 20 which I instantly wanted a second. You’ll be able to do a lot with a couple of 16s and just a few heavier ones.

I recommend getting a plan. For me I was doing pretty good on my own but being on a plan that I paid for kept me motivated and it’s easier to go out and just follow something than having to think about what I’m going to do that day. Kettlebells have changed my life.

If you are new to kettlebells you need to develop your posterior chain before doing explosive movements. Your posterior chain is your calves,thighs,glutes,core,chest, and back. How much? Enough that when you just stand in one place you dont slouch. The key phrase is POSTURE posterior chain. Strengthen those muscles with grinding movements. Things like squats, overhead press, deadlifts, rows, Turkish get ups, all of those are slow movements with a lot of tension.

That is to say a good way to go about it for a more gradual way of a foundation of strength for a complete beginner. Swings will develop your posterior chain too. This is not the one and only way, just a more comprehensive way.

Avoid certain exercises like Russian twists, kb bicep curls, American KB swing. They are needlessly inefficient exercises that have unnecessarily high risk of spinal or tendon injury with a less effect than other exercises.

In my quest for the most versatile solutions to kettlebells I have concluded a set of Titan adjustable 12 to 35 kg kettlebells is about ideal for most everything. Keep in mind the goal of kettlebells is strength, timing, skill, coordination, and conditioning.  Kettlebells are a very smart way to train for just about anything. Why are they smart? They develop everything in a very effective and efficient way.

They are not perfect for every single thing but are very broad and require a lot of competence.

Lebe Stark is a very good YouTube KB instructor from Switzerland. Here is a link to where you should start off



Mark Wildman  is another channel on YouTube worth watching.

Good luck.

It’s an important distinction to make between competition style (Girevoy Sport) techniques like Lebe Stark demonstrates and hard style techniques.

I would argue that Hard style is better used for people who want to gain general purpose strength as it is intentionally less efficient, thus activating more muscle groups. Whereas Competition style movements are intentionally very efficient because the concern is moving the weight for as many technically correct movements as possible in an allotted time. This uses less muscle, in an effort to conserve as much energy as possible by technique not brute force. Trouble is, we get physically stronger through imposed demand. And higher muscle recruitment imposed higher demand.

Will a beginner get benefit from both, yes. But you set the stage for the development that comes after when you choose one or the other.

I do like Mark Wildman. He kinda bridges the gap, and explains the difference very well.

Good points to highlight

I prefer harder movements for that very reason. It’s similar to CrossFit kipping movements vs strict movements.

Exactly!

A good illustration is the difference between just the simple double KB rack position. In competition, they will literally wear belts as a shelf and conform their body around the bells with hips extended forward and back angled rearward. Hard style on the other hand follows the “zip up” idea where quads, glutes, abs, and upper thoracic are all in heavy tension providing a solid foundation to press from. The difference is apparent when you try to hold each position for say 30 seconds.

But it completely makes sense. If your goal is to jerk a pair of 88lb bells 15 times continuously (I’ve seen a guy do that in competition videos) you don’t want to waste your energy holding rack where you can use that time to recover and breathe to get ready for your next rep. Same is true for CrossFit rule set, want you do max reps on pull-ups? Don’t waste your energy strict pulling when momentum can help make each rep easier.

A Hard Style Coach I’m a big fan of is Geoff Neupert. I strongly recommend Kettlebell STRONG and Kettlebell/Hybrid Burn Extreme programs from him. They start off as a pure strength program with Phase 1 of Strong and then build into a hypertrophy with Phase 2 and onto a Work Capacity/Cardio with Hybrid Burn Extreme.

Love mine. 20kg, need to buy a few more in various weights.

Went through a few Pavel books and videos, never had any formal training under an instructor but figured the technique in short fashion without any injury other than bruised forearms.

Swings, snatches, presses and the turkish get up's are my go to's. Never achieved the pistol squat holding the kettle out in front like on the cover of those fitness books though.

A quick and tiring backyard workout was always at hand with that little fellow hanging by the dumbells.

I joined a kettlebell studio when I was interested. Find one near you and let them show you the way. There’s lots to learn in the kettlebell realm.

Thanks for all the input. I've been in a bit of a rut and need to get motivated again.