Are you bored with the same old exercise routine? If so, the newest fitness trend may give you something to dance about, or twist might be a better word. Remember the hula-hoop which was once a popular childhood toy? It’s made its reappearance and is now helping to burn calories and shed unwanted fat in the adult population through trendy hula hooping classes that are being offered nationwide.
While hooping may sound like fun and games, it’s a workout. Hooping classes can burn up to 100 calories in ten minutes of twisting, roughly equivalent to running at a moderate pace. The advantage to the hoop class is that it’s a lot more fun. The other advantage to hula hooping classes is they give your abdominal core a workout. The importance of working the abdominal core has been emphasized recently since these are the muscles used in most everyday activities such as lifting and can help reduce the incidence of back pain and injury. Plus, a strong abdominal region.
Gives you that toned “six-pack” look that’s so coveted
If you don’t remember the hula hoop from childhood, you’re in for a treat. Although spinning the hoop around your mid-section sounds simple, it can take some practice to get the movement right. If you find it’s not as easy as you remember during childhood, there are instructional videos to help you get the most out of your hula hooping. In fact you can learn from the queen of hula hooping, Lori Lomeli, who made it into the Guiness Book of World Records by spinning 82 hula hoops simultaneously. This should give you hope that you can spin at least one. She has made various hoop class videos available on her website at www.hula-hoops.com
If you can’t find hula hooping classes at your local health club, you can find out how to set up a hoop group in your area to share the hooping experience at www.hooping.org. The other alternative is to turn on some motivating music in your living room and start practicing. You’ll burn calories, tone the heart, and help to firm your entire abdominal core and strengthen your back. One word of warning. Don’t buy a child sized hula hoop, it will almost always be too small. Smaller hoops are more difficult to work with for a beginner because they twirl faster. Do an online search for ‘adult sized hula hoops” and get one that will be easier to manage.
Whether you attend trendy hula hooping classes, or hoop on your own, this calorie burning exercise is never boring. Why not give it a try?
