Who Knew? Hula Hooping is Huge
I had a client not too long ago bring in a fitness hula hoop. For me, hula hoops bring back fond memories of the light weight plastic rings you got at the Dollar Store that made noise when you swung them around your waist. It also brings back memories of spinning them around my neck until my mom yelled at me to stop before I choked myself and trying to throw them over my sister like a game of Ring Toss until my mom yelled at me for smacking her in the face with it.
This hula hoop was no Dollar Store purchase. This hula hoop was a heavy, giant hard plastic ring wrapped in foam with scalloped inner ridge. The client said her friend swears by it to shrink your middle and convinced her to buy one. I immediately grabbed it and gave it a shot.
The ridge was supposed to ‘massage’ your waist, but the bumps mixed with the metric ton the hoop must have weighed felt like getting punched repeatedly in the stomach. It made it 3 times around before I felt like my pelvis had been crushed. After I doubled over, my client lifted her shirt to show me her bruises from her attempt the day before.
While this torture device landed on Craigslist, hula hooping is making a comeback in some circles, and like so many mildly physical activities, it is being touted as The Next Big Fitness Thing!
Called ‘hooping’ by enthusiasts, groups of individuals are using hula hoops to get into shape, and have fun while doing it. Instead of the ‘Fitness Hoop’ I got suckered into trying, they use real, sturdy adult-sized hula hoops to work their core muscles and slim their waists with a purpose. Instead of doing reps to do reps or hold a position, you are moving with an objective- to keep your hoop from touching the ground. Many swing them around their arms and legs as well to get an all over workout.
Hooping even has a celebrity spokesperson, Academy Award winning actress Marisa Tomei. Tomei used hooping to get into shape for her nude scenes in The Wrestler, and has been hooked ever since. started working with Gaiam, the company that helped bring yoga to the masses, on a “Core & Curves” workout video that will be released March 30. And when Gaiam asked her to work on another video, she had a ready idea for them: hooping.
In December, Tomei teamed up with leading fitness company Gaiam to shoot a hooping workout video scheduled to release in May.
Wanna give hooping a try? Visit Hoopnotica.com to find hoops, hooping DVDs and more.
Photo via FitnessBeauty
