I get this question all the time…

“Travis, how much weight should I be using for this exercise?”

Here’s my response:

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The only real load standards I really have are for Kettlebells and Sandbags…

For Kettlebells – I would use a 40-50 kettlebell to start (25-35 for women) unless you’re a complete beginner, go lighter.  Most people should be able to handle a 40-50 KB after they learn proper technique.

If you’re looking into getting some Russian KB’s, my recommendation would be to definitely get at least a 1 – 1.5 pood (roughly 54 lbs).

You could start with a lighter 30-32 lbs bell, but honestly that will get pretty light fairly fast.

For Sandbags – as I mentioned in the video I would get a BIG bag, one that you can add a lot of weight to if need be later on down the road.

You can always take weight away from a smaller bag, but never add enough if there’s no more room 😉

Typical weights used for sandbags are 60-80 lbs for beginners and 80+ for advanced (45-60 for women).

My TOP recommendation for sandbags would be none else then BruteForceBags.com.

***Hit my man Keith up and he’ll hook you up!

If I were to start all over and have to choose to get just one sandbag to start with, I’d go with the Strongman Bag. 

Finally, when it comes to dumbbells, I really can’t tell you to be using this much weight or that much because I have NO clue in regards to where you’re at.

Everyone is different.

This is where training is FUN.

It’s up to YOU to discover where you’re at strength wise.

I can’t sit here and tell you to use the 30’s for this or use the 50’s for that.

Figure it out by DOING then tweak from there.

Like my man Zach Even-Esh says, “If it’s easy, go heavier!”

A few final, but extremely important tips:

  • Make sure you’re able to successfully crank out bodyweight movements first – if you can’t do reps of push ups, rows, pull ups, or even full range of motion squats, you need to get good at those movements first before you move on to any type of weighted movements.
  • When it comes to barbell training, see the above tip and go from there.  If you can’t do a bodyweight squat, you have NO business doing a barbell squat.  FORM should be of major importance and focus when it comes to barbell lifts or any other movement for that matter.

Bottom Line – I hope this helps you out in selecting your weights for different movements.

Test, tweak, and go from there.

Drop any thoughts or questions in the comment section below.

Live and Train Aggressive!

PS – Spots are being taken fast for the Train Aggressive Workshop!

We’ll be digging into different loading schemes and methods + much much more.

Grab your spot before the price of admission goes up $100 OR spots fill up.

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PPS – Highly Recommended Resource for training with Kettlebells, Dumbbells, and Sandbags:

The Bags, Bells, and Bodyweight Training System