How I Earned My Kettlebell Black Belt at 60

In March 2025, I decided it was time to stop dabbling and start training kettlebells properly. Joining the Lebe Stark Kettlebell Dojo gave me a clear goal, a structured progression, and something I’d been missing for years: accountability.

The Dojo uses a martial arts-style ranking system to measure kettlebell proficiency. Instead of grading technique alone, each belt requires completing a demanding sequence of movements without putting the kettlebell down.

The number of reps at each belt is:

Figure 1. Belt test progression by exercise and total repetitions.

In terms of tonnage/kg moved, it’s:

Figure 2. Total kilograms moved for every belt level and kettlebell weight.

One thing I hadn’t appreciated until seeing the numbers was how quickly the workload escalates.

As you can see, moving from White Belt to Black Belt isn’t just a case of pumping out a few more repetitions. When you also consider the total workload increases by more than eight times, plus the added weight of heavier bells, the tonnage increases considerably.

My 2025 Kettlebell Training Playlist

This playlist contains 169 videos documenting my first year of kettlebell training. It includes belt tests, personal bests, failed attempts, and plenty of ordinary training sessions. Most were recorded during 2025, with a handful from early 2026 before Strong After Sixty existed.

They’re not polished, but that’s the entire point. They document almost a year of (on and off) training, one session at a time.

Link to: 2025 Video Playlist

For the Dojo, the highest belt level is Black Belt.

Black Belt with a 16 kg Bell

Somewhere along the way, I’ve managed to lose the video of my successful Black Belt with the 18 kg bell. If I ever find it, I’ll add it here.

My highest official Dojo qualification was the Black Belt with the 16 kg kettlebell:

For the 16 kg men’s Black Belt test, the challenge is to complete the following sequence without putting the kettlebell down:

• 100 Hand-to-Hand (H2H) Swings
• 16 Jerks/Clean & Presses each side (32 total)
• 30 Snatches each side (60 total)
• 30 Goblet Squats

Total: 222 continuous repetitions.

Looking back, earning the Black Belt was before you got a t-shirt or a certificate (they came later). Instead, what it did was help prove that consistent training beats occasional motivation.

It also gave me confidence that getting stronger after 60 wasn’t just a possibility, it was already happening.

(The T-shirt was still nice though.)