Hula Hoop

In general, you're only going to get a small kick in heart rate and some core strength. But that has limited benefits toward full fitness or weight loss. Start with what your overall goals are and find the diet and exercise programs that address them.

In general, you're only going to get a small kick in heart rate and some core strength. But that has limited benefits toward full fitness or weight loss. Start with what your overall goals are and find the diet and exercise programs that address them.

And...have fun with the hula hoop. Not many people master it anymore. I would do it just for the bragging rights, and the for-sure-to-follow ridicule from my buddies :-)

I would love to try hula hooping, but I have a 43" waist and the largest hoop I have found is 45", which would not even fit over my chest.

I have a friend who is a professional hoop dancer now, and hooping completely changed her life. She didn't know she was a dancer before, I guess. It really does something for her as an entire mind-body thing. She also travels internationally performing and has a video out, etc.

So you never know

Any recommendations on other features to look for - weighted? Studded? Padded?

Hi, new to the forums here, but certainly not to weight-loss and fitness.

I am 41, and noticing my usually flat stomach turning into a muffin-top, I decided to turn to hula hooping about a month ago. I've been doing - faithfully - at least 30 minutes of hooping a day. I got a fitbit tracker and I've been logging my food on myfitnesspal. I am not really cutting anything out of my diet, so it's really just the hula hooping that has changed. And I am a little more conscious of the water I am drinking. It ends up to be 3 liters per day, but that is pretty normal for me. I have a very sedentary job.

My weight basically stayed the same for 3 weeks, and lo and behold, I had a massive drop in the last 10 days or so of about 1.5 kg. I also have been noticing it in my jeans and trousers, which is so great.

I started out at 66.9 kg, and am now down to 65.6 kg. I am quite pleased as to how it is going. And all I am doing is 30 minutes of hula hooping. I usually turn on a crime show or something else interesting on youtube for 30 minutes and track my calorie progress with my komen heart rate monitor. Today, after 40 minutes of relaxed hooping, I have burned 325 calories. This is - at least in my eyes - 325 calories that I normally wouldn't have burned. Does my heart rate get up? Probably not as much as it should/could, but, like I said, it means I have burned some calories that I normally wouldn't have. My muffin-top? I think it's shrinking, and I feel hugely better about my body, even if it's "just" 1.5 kg.

However, I have managed to get my heart rate up with some more intense hooping, to some great songs (same beat per minute as walking) and I have burned 350 calories within 30 minutes. So, I do think that it can help.

So, if the question is, "should I bother with hula hooping," my answer would be, yes. If you are like me, just trying to get into a bit more of shape and drop a few pounds, it's great. And, the nice thing about it is that it's fun. Is it going to prepare you to run a 5k marathon? No. Is it going to get your heart rate up? Oh yes, it can. But that depends on you and how you push yourself.

Oh yes, I started out with the "knobbed" hula hoop which was awful. I went then for the hoopnotica travel one, and it's so much more fun and less traumatic.

Just my 2 cents worth

M.

I have a weighted hoop (although a knobbly one!), and it did bruise me for a coupel of days,but now its fine!

Now I'm back on MFP I'm doing 30DS and will start hooping as well - how does everyone record the calories??? I can probably only do about 20 mins (I'm very much a beginner!!)

As a Hoopnotica instructor, I recommend for beginners to buy a non-weighted hoop (no knobs or padding). I also think beginners would feel comfortable with a hoop that when the bottom is touching the floor, the top comes up to somewhere between the belly button and the bottom of the sports bra. This gives the body more time to react and to find the rhythm of the hoop.

Also, wear natural fiber clothes and be sure your hoop has tape on the outside known as gaffers tape. It will help to stick to you, but is not sticky. Also, get a video to learn the basics of hooping.

Best of luck.

Wow! I thought the hula hoop was just for play, I didn't even know there was such a formal exercise using them. I am going to totally look into it. Sorry I can't answer the original question - I like to know too!

This is an awesome post! I was actually in a travelling hula hoop club when I was in middle school and boy did it give us a workout. I am inspired to pick it up again and add it to my weight loss and workout plan! Thanks!

Does anyone know where I can get a good quality one?

You can buy them (and take classes online) at my friend's site. I never spam with that, I promise. It just fits the topic and she really is wonderful at what she does There is a link there somewhere for how to make your own, too.

http://lineandcircle.com/store-2/

I can only go counter-clockwise, too. Occasionally I try to practice going clockwise. I think all the exercise I get that way is from bending down to pick it back up. Anyway, when I do a straight 1/2 hour of hooping, my heart rate is usually hovering right around 135, giving me a calorie burn of about 250 calories. Usually though, I do 5 minutes of hoop, and then 5 minutes of dumbbell work...alternating back and forth for about 30-40 minutes.

One tip I've found is to do it in bare feet - I can balance much easier than in trainers.