Women's fitness kettlebell weights

Women with no sports background will first choose 4-6kg, those with more than 3 months of regular strength training experience will choose 8-12kg. Advanced trainers who have trained for more than 1 year and can standardly complete deadlifts, squats and other compound movements can try 16-20kg. Women who specialize in competitive training can choose 24kg and above according to their own goals.

I have seen too many mistakes made by novices in choosing the weight of kettlebells. A while ago, a sister who had just applied for a gym membership came to me to complain. She said that a blogger on Xiaohongshu said that novices should weigh light weights, so she directly bought a 2kg pink kettlebell. Every time I practiced swinging, I felt like I was lifting a stuffed toy. After 10 minutes of swinging, I felt nothing but arm soreness, and my money was wasted. There is another one who is even more ruthless. I have never done strength training before. After watching a CrossFit competition, I thought it was super cool to swing a kettlebell, so I took a 12kg kettlebell home. I didn’t master the force of the hip hinge in the first training, so I relied on my waist to pull it. After that, I lay at home for three days and even took leave from work.

There are actually two different opinions on the weight of kettlebells for novices in the fitness circle. No one is right or wrong, it just suits different people. Most coaches with a background as rehabilitation practitioners will recommend that you start with 2-4kg. The core logic is to hone the movement pattern first. When the weight is small, it will not be easy for you to compensate. Even if there is a slight problem with the movement, it will not put too much pressure on the joints. It is suitable for sisters who do not do physical work at all and call their husbands even when they carry 5kg of rice. However, coaches who lead group classes and play competitions all year round think that 4-6kg is the golden entry weight. If it is too light, you will not feel the traction of the falling weight at all. Instead, you will unconsciously use your arms and waist to swing, and you will not be able to feel the force of your hips at all. You will not be able to touch the threshold after practicing for half a month. It is suitable for people who move around a lot and have an occasional exercise foundation.

And the weight is not fixed. If you practice different movements, the weight you choose will definitely be different. I currently use 16kg when practicing kettlebell swings, but when practicing Turkish get-ups, I dare to lift up to 8kg. If I do shoulder presses, 6kg will make my shoulders so sore after one set that I can’t even lift them. If you practice kettlebells to lose fat by watching HIIT videos, then choose a weight that you can do 15 times in a row without deformation. There is no need to pursue heavy weight. Maintaining your heart rate is more important than anything else. If you want to build up your buttocks and increase strength, then go deep and look for a weight that you can do 8-12 times to failure. This will stimulate your gluteus maximus muscles enough.

Let me talk about a point that many people struggle with: Will girls become stronger if they use too heavy a kettlebell? I really think too much. The testosterone level of girls is only about 1/20 of that of men. It is no less difficult to build big muscles than if you were admitted to Qingbei without taking the exam. My sister who has been playing kettlebells for almost 3 years uses 20kg of weight for daily training. Her hip line is 3 cm higher and her waist is 2 cm thinner. She looks better than anyone else in jeans. She doesn’t have “Diamond Arms” or “Bull-backed waist” at all. Also, don’t think that you can randomly estimate the weight when buying soft kettlebells. Many cheap soft kettlebells have ridiculously false weight labels. I bought one on the cheap before with a label of 8kg. When I came back and got a kitchen scale, it only weighed 6.2kg. I have been practicing for half a month, and I am still wondering why I have been adding weight so smoothly recently.

In fact, there are really no standards that must be followed when choosing kettlebell weight. Your own feelings always come first. If you only feel soreness in your arms after a set, it must be light. ； After practicing, the movements are completely deformed and the waist starts to hurt first. Either the movement is wrong or the weight is too heavy. Just adjust it slowly. Fitness is a small thing that you compete with yourself. Being comfortable, not injured, and effective is better than anything else.