What size kettlebell do people actually use?
People typically swing about 25–30% of bodyweight and press a lighter bell than they swing. Experience is a stronger indicator of the size they use than their bodyweight: people with only a handful of logged kettlebell sessions most often use 16 kg; for people with more logged sessions, 24 kg is the most-used size. Session count is a rough proxy for experience (kettlebell sessions in the app, not necessarily years of training). Most users train at home with only a few available kettlebells.
From 8,794 logged kettlebell sessions across 711 people.
What people log most often
By logged kettlebell sessions
Bodyweight is a poor guide to kettlebell size. Experience (logged sessions) matters more. The lookup below is what people at that weight logged, not a starting load.
See what people at a given bodyweight logged.
Typical load as a percent of bodyweight. Shaded column is the selected range.
What this shows
From about 150 to 230 lb, the typical swing is 24 kg (53 lb) — the same kettlebell on a lighter person and a heavier one. The line that falls on the chart is the percentage, not a smaller bell. In the middle of this sample that is 25–30% of bodyweight.
Pressing movements log lighter bells: typically 16 kg (35 lb) through the 160s, then 20 kg (44 lb) from about 170 lb on, while the swing stays 24 kg. Again, these are only the weights people logged, not recommended starting loads.
How we measured this
These figures come from workout notes in the Bellmade app — people who already train with kettlebells, not a random sample of the public. As of September 2026, that is 711 people and 8,794 sessions.
For each person we took the kettlebell they logged most often, overall and within swing, press, snatch, and squat. We grouped people by bodyweight in 10 lb bands. Counts are people, not sessions. We report a typical size only when a band has at least 20 people for the most-used bell and for swing, or 15 for press, snatch, and squat. Smaller bands stay in the data but are not shown as typicals. If you select a band that is too small, the page may show an estimate from neighboring published bands and any logs in that band. Those figures are labeled Implied.
We included only kettlebell-only lifts — no complexes, and no exercises also tagged as barbell, dumbbell, cable, machine, or bodyweight. Loads are read from the notes (for example 24 kg, or two 16 lb bells) and matched to standard kettlebell sizes within 1 kg. Bodyweight is the value stored with the session, or the person’s recorded weight as of that date.
We also grouped people by how many distinct kettlebell sessions they logged in the app — 1–4, 5–11, 12–24, and 25+ — using each person’s most-logged size. That is logged sessions, not self-reported years of training. A typical size is shown only when a group has at least 20 people.
Bellmade profiles do not store sex or gender, so this is not a sex-specific norm. It is observational: what this group logged, not a prescription for what anyone should lift.
Want to get more out of your kettlebell training?
Bellmade is the app behind this sample. Our workouts are written to prioritize training with one or two kettlebells.