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 :)
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