Hardstyle Theory - What size/How many Kettlebells do I need?

Kettlebell professionals would love to market the kettlebell as a single unit tool that can fill all of our training needs but in real life that is not the case.  You can definitely start with a single bell but if you  find yourself catching the Hardstyle bug you are going to want to own at least a couple more!    That being said once a person is trained in Hardstyle kettlebelling they can make amazing use of a single heavy bell.  It is great for travelling and/or any time you just can not get to the gym.    I am warning you that once you realize that you can fulfill 90%+ of your training needs with a few bells you are going to want to throw away that $30/month and parking hassles at your local Globogym!  

As a beginner you can get away with buying a  single bell for learning and practicing.   The smallest bell anybody will use for Hardstyle will be an 8kg/18 lb bell.  If you have been exposed to those classes where they hold 1-5 lb dumbells and call that strength training 18 lbs may seem big to you but it is not!  We are learning to move these kettlebells with good body mechanics and full body movement which means even a small 90 lb female  will be using 90 lbs to move 18.  That is why anything less is considered a paperweight.  

Here's a guideline to help you figure out what your first bell size should be.  I will ask you to use reasonable-man standards on the words sedentary/active/strong.  If unsure choose the smaller size bell.  

 sedentary females with little or no strength training experience - 8kg

 sedentary males with little to no strength training experience - 12kg

 active females with some strength training experience - 12kg

 active males with some strength training experience - 16kg

 strong females with strength training experience - 16kg

 strong males with strength training experience - 24kg

The next bell you will want to buy is bell for heavy 2-hand swings.  You will probably still use the above bell for getups but once you get a little stronger you will be able to do getups with your 2-hand swing bell too!.   In most cases it's best to jump a bell size.  A bell size is usually 4kg.   If you are swinging the 24kg competently for reps  you may want to just jump straight to a 32kg bell.

The next bell you will want is actually 2 bells!  At this stage you got a big swing and big getup so its time to start learning the double bell techniques.  I love double bell work - the best way to describe it is that it makes me feel like a fucking gorilla, that I can pick up heavy shit and nothing can stand in front of me.    Since you are relatively strong at this stage I can say that most men can start with a pair of double 16kg bells and women double 12kg bells.  If you were strong from the start you may choose a bell size higher but those people are generally very rare so again, err on the side of caution.  If you are in love with this approach it can be a lifetime of effort so there is no rush.    

I would love to say there is a last bell that you will buy but who am I kidding?  If you bought the above 4 bells and are swinging em and hammering away at heavy getups you are doomed to a lifetime of buying ever bigger and bigger bells!    Some of my clients own up to 32kg and 36kg bells for home use and one guy (a 150 lb dude) has a 40kg he does getups with.  Since I am a professional I get to be the lunatic with a 56kg and 70kg in my home :)  

Hardstyle Theory - My take on "never train to failure"

All Hardstylers know that the Chief says "When you train to failure you train to fail".

If you know real-life lifters you know that plenty of big dudes takes their sets to failure and do very well.  My younger brother is the one of the biggest guys I know with 15+ years lifting experience and he takes at least a few sets to failure every session and prospers.

It's my opinion that the concept of "never train to failure"  falls on something of a spectrum.  There are certain lifts you almost never want to go to failure and others where I believe it is fine.  I also believe the higher the rep range the safer it is to take a set to failure.

Which lifts are bad/dangerous to failure?

It's a tie between the barbell squat and deadlift in my opinion.  When you watch the best powerlifters in the world train they hit 99%+ of their training lifts even as they reach the higher percentages of their max.  If one of my clients misses a rep at these exercises I know I made a mistake in programming and need to re-asses their baseline numbers.

Bench presses, standing strict presses fall somewhere in the middle.   We should probably avoid going to failure in these lifts in the lower rep range but it may be slightly safer to fail at higher reps.  I personally try to never miss a bench press but still somehow manage to miss some overhead presses.  Failing at an overhead kettlebell press is relatively safe because you simply re-rack it and get it to the floor safely.  

All ballistic moves!  Snatches, swings, cleans, jerks.  In this case when you watch the worlds best Olympic lifters move weight they almost never miss a rep.   They do a good deal of heavy singles but they almost never miss unless they are attempting a PR.    This applies to the kettlebell variations as well because if you "miss"  a kettlebell swing or snatch you are well on your way to hurting yourself.

What lifts are safe to take to failure?

Almost all of the isolation/bodybuilding type exercises are IMO totally safe to take to failure and this level of safety increases as the rep-range goes higher.  This all assumes good form as certain forms of cheating reps can be dangerous.  Doing a set of 5 reps in dumbell curls is probably more dangerous than a set of 12 or higher reps.  I feel that the isolation movements do best at at least 8 reps+ and most bodybuilders agree.    Most bodybuilding style trainees take at least their last set or 2 of  curls, tricep extensions, cable laterals, pec dec, etc to failure and grow very big muscle!

Loaded carries are also good to take to failure but there is a tremendous amount of suck in carrying a pair of heavy kettlebells to failure.   I usually put the bells down just before it feels like I am going to lose my grip.

There's my take on "never train to failure"