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Kettlebell How do you know if you can use heavier kb ?

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Max_fr

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Hey guys,

It seems to be a silly question...
The heaviest kb i have is a pair of 20 and i can use one single 24 from a friend. I could double press the 20s about 14 times few weeks ago.
I was wondering if i could press / push press / jerk maybe a pair of 28. But i don't have any to know if i am strong enough.

Is there any kind of rule like: "if you can press this weight X times then you could press X+4kg ..." ?

I'm not sure i want to get a kb of every weight available on the planet and especially a pair of each ! So i was thinking maybe getting a pair of 28 and stop buying ! I would have 16, 20 and 28. But am affraid the 28kg may be too heavy... don't know !

How do you know ?
 
Max_fr said:
Hey guys,

It seems to be a silly question...
The heaviest kb i have is a pair of 20 and i can use one single 24 from a friend. I could double press the 20s about 14 times few weeks ago.
I was wondering if i could press / push press / jerk maybe a pair of 28. But i don't have any to know if i am strong enough.

Is there any kind of rule like: "if you can press this weight X times then you could press X+4kg ..." ?

I'm not sure i want to get a kb of every weight available on the planet and especially a pair of each ! So i was thinking maybe getting a pair of 28 and stop buying ! I would have 16, 20 and 28. But am affraid the 28kg may be too heavy... don't know !

How do you know ?
Click to expand...
Buy a 24 to pair up with your friends, practice with those for a good bit.
 
I can press the 24s for 10 but my 28s about 3. You could do push presses to start but it might get you into trouble.
 
I started KB strong about 2 months ago. I could press 2x24 for 3, and wasn’t sure I was ready for Strong. So, I started Strong with 2x24 Push Press. By workout 10, I was able to switch to Clean and Press.

Not sure if that helps or not.
 
Don Fairbanks said:
Buy a 24 to pair up with your friends, practice with those for a good bit.
Click to expand...
Nice option but the 24 is the only bell he has... i'll ask him !


According to you all it looks like there is a massive gap between 20 and 28 kg...


Halfakneecap said:
I started KB strong about 2 months ago. I could press 2x24 for 3, and wasn’t sure I was ready for Strong. So, I started Strong with 2x24 Push Press. By workout 10, I was able to switch to Clean and Press.

Not sure if that helps or not.
Click to expand...

It does help yes thanks mate.
So i'm thinking about trying Strong with 28 but clean and jerk and after some time going to push press and then press. It can be very a long journey but there's no rush : )
 
Max_fr said:
Nice option but the 24 is the only bell he has... i'll ask him !


According to you all it looks like there is a massive gap between 20 and 28 kg...




It does help yes thanks mate.
So i'm thinking about trying Strong with 28 but clean and jerk and after some time going to push press and then press. It can be very a long journey but there's no rush : )
Click to expand...
Yes, dbl. 20's to 28's is a pretty good jump.
I could be wrong, but guessing 24's would be more versatile for you at the moment.
 
I doubt a rated safety helmet would not provide much protection against a 24 kg kettlebell. If it did the neck still would have to absorb the shock from the collision. A shoulder might be taken out by the falling 24 kg if you were lucky and missed your head.

Doubles mean you have to control 2 kettlebells and that is an added problem. I say do what others above have suggested and buy a second 24 Kg bell. Practice a lot with that. You will still progress. Get the 28 later.
 
I hear that if you can do 10-reps with no harsh effort then its time for a bigger kettlebell. But for me, I go 35lbs, 44lbs, 53 lbs. Some skip 44 and go from 35 to 53. I think that is unwise.
 
bought only 8kg jumps. 16kg - 24kg - 32kg - 40kg - 48kg , and so far so good.

The Difference in reps I've seen between the 8kg bells is something like this chart ...

If we take the G- < G < G+ idea from S&S of having the main weight, of G, and a next heavier weight called G+
I'll score them in terms of using them for training in how many reps/sets I'm comfortable with.

The only one that I'm worried about progressing with these weights is the snatch.
I think the high ROM and acceleration needed will delay my ability to get a 40 kg snatch for a very very long time.

Reps per weight and movement. ​
Weight (kg)​
Snatch​
Press​
Jerk​
Swing​
48​
​
​
1​
3-5 (G+)​
40​
​
2-3 (G+)​
3-5 (G+)​
5-10 (G)​
32​
1-3 (G+)​
5-10 (G)​
5-10 (G)​
10-20 (G-)​
24​
5-10 (G)​
10-20 (G-)​
10-20 (G-)​
20-40​
16​
10-20 (G-)​
20-50​
20-50​
20-50​

I hate to describe it this way - but ... when I knew I was able to progress - I like to focus on sets of 5 . and every once in a while. maybe once a season, I'd be doing sets of five, and then, as if a subconscious slip of the mind - a set of 10 would just slip out during a session. and that was when I knew it was time to move on. that this would happen was actually kind of jarring and weird, but the reps in the set itself would feel right as rain. not strenuous. not forced. the tenth rep would feel a lot like my first. and then I'd move up in weight. maybe it won't be that way when I start trying to deal with a 56kg bell or trying to snatch the beast. but, from around 16kg, 24kg to 32kg approaching simple strength, a lot of loadings that I started as a 5 rep/set routine, I'd keep doing them for a few months, and these sets of ten would pop in by accident.

set of 10 presses here(looks like I'll start pressing the 32 now), a set of 10 snatches there(I guess I don't need this 16kg bell anymore). when I was just focusing on the quality of my reps and punching the clock in my training, I'd eventually get to this place where all signs point to a heavier bell. My breathing was too steady. my arm didn't notice the clean. over-speed snatch results in a forearm strike. the bell in the press lifts off the forearm at the top, and the swing comes up past eye level when I'm just focusing on the hip snap. all these things happened naturally in turn and, I had to grab another bell, partly because it was so certain and easy, that it became boring.
 
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This is not a hard and fast rule but for me, whenever I could press something 10+ then the next size bells would be unlocked. And although a few would prefer only the 8kg jumps, I feel its a bit much when you do double KB work. So when I could do 10+ reps with double 20s, I could get up to 3-5 reps of double 24s. Similarly for 28s, but this relation started breaking down a little bit with bigger bells as that volume is just too much to recover from when using heavy bells. I can MP a single 36kg for 3 reps and my C&P RM with double 32s is 5ish reps.

During my journey of getting more kettlebells I've learnt that it is better to get double KBs at lower weights than get bigger size single bells. Double KBs open up a lot of options.
 
mvikred said:
This is not a hard and fast rule but for me, whenever I could press something 10+ then the next size bells would be unlocked. And although a few would prefer only the 8kg jumps, I feel its a bit much when you do double KB work. So when I could do 10+ reps with double 20s, I could get up to 3-5 reps of double 24s. Similarly for 28s, but this relation started breaking down a little bit with bigger bells as that volume is just too much to recover from when using heavy bells. I can MP a single 36kg for 3 reps and my C&P RM with double 32s is 5ish reps.

During my journey of getting more kettlebells I've learnt that it is better to get double KBs at lower weights than get bigger size single bells. Double KBs open up a lot of options.
Click to expand...
The magnitude diminishes as you progress through the bells due to the smaller relative increase.
5 or 6 may be enough for smaller bells with a +4 kg jump whereas 2 or 3 may be sufficient at higher masses.
 
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Don't bother with push presses. Buy the 28's. and get to work. Squats/Rows/Double Swings.

Work on the clean and press. Start with 5-10 sets of 1.
 
watchnerd said:
Why do you say that?
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I ran the Rite of Passage for a LONG time. At 188 lb. I was able to press the 36 kg for reps. I bought a bulldog 40 kg, and never came close to pressing it. I was able to push press it. I didn't feel the push press translated into strict pressing. Because you don't stay tight. TGU's, Squats and Swings, I could do. Never even came close.

If he can press double 44's 14 times, he can nudge up 28's for sets of 1. Start there and get confidence.
 
BrianCF said:
I didn't feel the push press translated into strict pressing. Because you don't stay tight.
Click to expand...

It's a tricky one to get right if the goal is to increase strict press.

Aside from slow eccentrics, there is an amount of leg drive that is too much if the goal is getting better at strict pressing.

I can get improvements in strict press lock-out if I use a tiny bit of push press.

But if the sticking point is the rack position, I've had better results with things like 1 arm floor / 1 arm bench presses.
 
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