Getting started with kettlebells

Okay, so I've talked you into it.  Brilliant!  Now what?

You've got some options here.  Your best choice IMO is to seek out a certified kettlebell instructor in your area for some in-person coaching.  Your best choices--again IMO--are an HKC/RKC or an AKC or IKFF certified instructor.  These are the certifying organizations that have been around the longest and are the most reputable.  The HKC/RKC certification is the one with which I am most familiar, and I admit I have a bias in favor of that certification because I know first-hand just how thorough and exacting the instructor training is.  But all are good.  You may even be able to find an instructor in your area who has multiple kettlebell certifications, and that's the best of all possible worlds IMO.

Please note that a certified personal trainer is not the same thing as a certified kettlebell instructor and vice versa.  Even a good, reputable personal training certification such as ACSM or NASM isn't going to give a trainer the tools he or she needs to instruct someone on the basics of kettlebells (or yoga or Pilates or any other specialized discipline).   Now, just because a personal trainer doesn't have a specialized certification doesn't necessarily mean he or she is incompetent to teach a particular specialty such as kettlebells.  But really, other things being equal it just seems to me to make sense to look for an instructor who is certified because then you're assured of getting someone who knows what he or she is doing. 

(Well, hopefully you're assured of that.  This is really a subject for another post, but there's more to being a good trainer/coach than simply acquiring theoretical knowledge.  Trainers also have to be observant, intuitive, empathetic, motivating, able to listen and communicate, and so forth.  
If your trainer seems to lack these essential qualities, she can have certifications coming out of her ears and she still won't be able to help all that much.)

Many kettlebell instructors offer introductory workshops and these can be a good, low-risk way to see what kettlebells are all about.   If possible try to find a workshop with a low student/instructor ratio so you'll be assured of some individual attention and feedback.  If you have a good experience and want to learn more, the instructor may offer classes you can join.  Or if you prefer individual instruction you can generally book some private sessions. 

But suppose you live in the wilds of Manitoba and the nearest certified kettlebell instructor is hundreds of kilometers away?   (Actually I have no idea whether this is the case or not, but I'm guessing  it is.)    In all honesty, if you have very ambitious training goals such as maybe becoming an RKC yourself, you at some point are going to need to get yourself  to a certified trainer or it's extremely unlikely you'll be able to achieve what you want.   But if all you're looking to do is try kettlebells out, there are some good instructional books and DVDs that'll get you started.   Again, I feel strongly that your best bet is to look for one of the products put out by an RKC or AKC or IKFF instructor, and my personal pick would be Pavel's Enter the Kettlebell!  book and DVD.  I recommend getting both the book and the DVD, although if you're not so much a visual learner you can probably do without the DVD.  The book is key because it gives you a precise roadmap to follow for 16 weeks, at the end of which you theoretically at least will have achieved a certain level of competence at the basics of kettlebell lifting.  It's also probably the best-written, most entertaining exercise manual I've ever read, which is extraordinary when you consider that English is not Pavel's first language.  Really, he's like the Nabokov of fitness gurus and for that reason alone he should be encouraged :)

If you want a product that's "strong enough for a man but made for a woman,"  Master RKC Andrea DuCane's Kettlebell Goddess DVD is another good choice.  It's actually meant to be a work-along DVD as opposed to an instructional one, and while some coaching is included it isn't nearly as in-depth as what you get with Enter The Kettlebell!   I've also heard some criticisms of the workout's production values, which admittedly are not great.  It doesn't bother me in the least, but if you're someone who's motivated by a pretty set, a large and decorative workout cast, and so forth, the Kettlebell Goddess workout may not be for you. 

Another reasonable option is Art of Strength's Kettlebell Clinic DVD, which includes some fairly extensive coaching on the basic lifts along with two short work-along programs.  Art of Strength's founder, Anthony DiLuglio, is an RKC but at some point seems to have gone his own way; at any rate, Hardstyle purists won't approve of certain aspects of the Kettlebell Clinic.  Just putting that out there :)  For whatever it's worth my inital exposure to kettlebells was through Art of Strength, and there was nothing about it that struck me as unsafe, ineffective, or otherwise unworthy of your time.  It may be derivative, but it's not so watered down that the essential benefits of kettlebell training are lost.  In other words it's not Kettlenetics :)