Be a Hoopster

Big, bulky, and often candy striped, Hula Hoops are the least likely implements of aerobic activity. I loved my Hula Hoop when I was a kid, but I never imagined it would be reborn in the twenty-first century as a fitness trend called hooping or hoop dance. Great for cardio and core strengthening, the new, larger weighted hoops firm and tone muscle and burn body fat.

Rolling, twirling, and spinning, hoops have a long history with kids and adults the world over.  Early versions of Hula Hoops were made of willow, grapevine, or grasses and used over 3000 years ago by kids in Egypt and Greece. In the mid-1950s a couple of guys from southern California who marketed toys came upon a wooden hoop used in exercise classes in Australia.  They had it remade in lightweight plastic and added it to a product line that included slingshots and flying disks they called Frisbees.

The Hula Hoop was such a smash hit that every new trend is measured against its success. After every kid in the United States and many others worldwide had at least one hoop, the craze petered out. Now Hula Hoops are back: still fun, but a serious exercise tool as well.  Fitness hoops weigh about two pounds and because they spin more slowly are easier to keep going than the ones we remember struggling with in the fifties and sixties.

For about $25 you can find the hoop that's right for you. Available online, in sporting goods stores, and in the sports departments of Target and Walmart, your hoop should reach from the floor to somewhere between your stomach and chest. If you are larger in the waist, get a slightly bigger hoop as the larger the hoop, the easier it is to keep it spinning. Special arm-sized hoops are also available.

You can whittle your waist, boost your energy, get your heart rate up, and increase spinal flexibility while watching TV and rocking the sports hoop. The secret is to put one foot slightly in front of the other, not together.  Place the hoop against your back at waist level and give it a gentle push. Shift your weight back and forth between the front and back foot to keep the hoop moving.

The good news is that anyone can do it. I'm not good at many sports and am really awkward when activities require rhythm, but I can flat work a hoop. I even won a Hula Hoop contest at a company picnic when I was five months pregnant. Let's get those hoops spinning-all we have to lose is belly fat.