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Kettlebell Should I sell my heavy kettlebells?

I sold my 40, 44 and 48kg bells last year. Although I built S&S up to 48kg, I felt uncomfortable doing swings & get ups especially with 48kg. It felt like even I can do them, I shouldn't. Maybe a risk of injury is too big or something like that.
Now biggest bell I own is 36kg which is exactly half my bodyweight. It's versatile weight for me, powerful swings, low rep presses, comfortable slow get ups etc.
 
Pasibrzuch said:
Do you think there's any rationale for keeping the heavy bells? Heavy 2H swings? 1h deadlifts? Heavy cleans? And first of all - do you think they are necessary for my goals?
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WhatWouldHulkDo said:
I feel like the real undertone of this thread is, "should I give up on my dreams?" ;)

My 48 hasn't gotten much use in the last year or two, but I ain't giving it up this year.
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I don't even have a 48, and I still think clean and pressing one would be awesome.

@Pasibrzuch I am not sure if they are necessary for your goals.... but my thought is this: can you foresee yourself wanting to use your heaviest bells in the future? I can only speak for myself; I have a barbell set totaling just about 300 pounds if I threw on every plate I have, and the heaviest bell I own is just a 24kg. Right now that is more than plenty for me.

The barbell is nice. I like it a lot. I am still pretty relatively "weak" "not that strong yet" with it. I mostly use mine for front squats, less-frequent deadlifts, and jefferson curls. My upper body goals are still calisthenics goals. AND, I still think it would be really cool to clean and press a 48kg for reps someday. I don't know if I actually ever will, but it's incentive enough for me not to sell my 24kg which has been mostly collecting dust while I work on other things. My handstand pushup training has translated to stronger pressing with my meager 24kg anyway. I am always pleasantly surprised at how I can press it more than I used to, even though it mostly just sits there.

For what it is worth, when it comes to training, I think attributes trump all else. Pure strength, conditioning, etc.... So, again, I would consider what goals you think you might have in the future. What tools you have at your disposal will help you accomplish different kinds of goals in different ways. Do you foresee yourself coming back to goals that might require heavier bells someday?

The other thing I would consider is whether you think you will want/need/value more training tools in general in the future. My suggestion is simply to consider if you will have a need for a "home gym" in the future, or even just want one.
 
Yesterday, I did my second AXE session of 1-hand swings with 40 kg. The first one was 3's for 12 minutes, and yesterday was 4's for 10 minutes. The HR profile was what I was looking for: an average around the Zone 2-3 border and a max that wasn't too high. If a skinny old man like me can do 1-hand swings with a 40 kg ...

Tom7 said:
Although I built S&S up to 48kg, I felt uncomfortable doing swings & get ups especially with 48kg. It felt like even I can do them, I shouldn't. Maybe a risk of injury is too big or something like that.
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I confess that this is hard for me to understand. I know I'm more fatigued after heavy swings than after lighter ones, but the heavier ones don't feel riskier to me.

-S-
 
Thank you every body for your answers! I started leaning more towards selling the bells.

I see that the recurring rationale are heavy swings and farmer walks.

The former: I understand that heavy-heavy swings are a great accessory for snatch since they develop the hip snap (which also seems to be my weak link. My questions is then - can you work on this aspect with a barbell? Maybe dynamic zerchers, and or double kb cleans, and/or back+nordic curls (in one fluid, explosive movement) on a GHD?

The latter: I love farmer walks but I live in a block of flats with no elevator, so going out with the bells would be an ordeal, and the layout of my flat prevents me from doing farmer walks in any productive fashion.
 
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Tom7 said:
Have you ever failed on heavy get up?
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Yes. 40 kg. The weight landed unceremoniously on the ground. But let's please make a difference between heavy swing and heavy getups. I no longer perform getups because, after many years of poor running form, my knees don't tolerate them - I've tried a few workaround, none was satisfactory. I do windmills.

-S-
 
I think the risk of injuring yourself is higher on heavier weight than less heavy if something goes wrong. Whatever you do.
 
Tom7 said:
I think the risk of injuring yourself is higher on heavier weight than less heavy if something goes wrong. Whatever you do.
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I agree to the extent that 1. You are going to receive adequate coaching. 2. You understand how strong you are and approach a lift you know you can make.
 
Tom7 said:
I think the risk of injuring yourself is higher on heavier weight than less heavy if something goes wrong. Whatever you do.
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Yes, but at least for me, there's not much to go wrong with a heavy swing - if my form isn't good, it just doesn't go as high. A heavy getup is a hovering over your face, different thing.

-S-
 
Pasibrzuch said:
The former: I understand that heavy-heavy swings are a great accessory for snatch since they develop the hip snap (which also seems to be my weak link.
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I frequently do heavy double swings with a 24 and a 28. That would be a good replacement for 2 hand swings with the heavy bells you are about to sell. You can also try double high pulls.

By the way, keep either the 36 or the 40! Given your size and strength before the injury, they would be great for snatches or press or push press.

My heavier bell is the 32 and I never thought I would need anything heavier. I'm now snatching it for sets of 5 and I wish I had a 36 or a 40. I weigh 80 kg by the way.

Fully agree with @wxpost before.
 
What I did was I put my two heaviest bells away in a closet, so I didn't have to look at them!
I keep hoping that one day in the future, I will use them again.
By putting them away, they aren't mocking me, when I look at them sitting there collecting dust.
Also it keeps me from doing something stupid on days I feel extra energized!

Before when I was using my heaviest bells, I stopped looking forward to my sessions,
and started feeling a little dread of the thought of using them!
I train more consistently with the light and medium size bells.
 
Luis T. Gonzalez said:
This thread makes me want a bigger kettlebell… My wife said don’t you have enough kettlebells? Every time I think I have enough, I come to the realization that maybe I can lift a heavier one. Haha
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lol i was about post this.

to the OP-- if your back is now healthy enuf to do whatever w a 56kg sandbag, then it's healthy enuf to do a lot of work with pretty heavy bells. and as others have mentioned, as a new dad, you may well find it a lot easier to grab occasional sessions at home than to journey to the gym.
 
As a new dad, I found it more in line with my priorities to cancel the gym membership and purchase more kettlebells. I found it much easier to stay consistent when I can work out at home and don't have to drive over to the gym. My local gym costs about $45 usd/month so after a year or two that is a pretty significant cost savings even with the purchase of a few new bells. To be clear I am only sharing my personal situation not critiquing your priorities or thoughts. Everyone has a different situation.
 
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