Fitness & Your Hula Hoop

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

29 Aug 2007 08:03 AM

Does your child hula hoop? Before the Nintendo age, the hula hoop was a hit on every child's block. I owned three of them and I could hoop with all three. My daughter has a pair of hoops and she loves to hoop herself, though she complains she's not that good at it yet. They do hoops at her school, not as much as she would like, but they do have them there. Yet hula hooping seems to be a dying art for kids' fun, but that's okay, adults like me are getting back into the hooping at their fitness clubs and at home.

Hula hooping is both a cardio and strength training workout and it can really get your body moving, shaped and toned - all the while doing something you really enjoyed as a child. Hooping isn't just a retro throwback to the 50s; it actually dates back to Ancient Egypt. There hoops were made from grape vines and stiff grass. Children swung them around their waists and wrists.

What's So Great About the Hula Hoop?

It's a waist specific exercise. Looking to trim tummy inches and shape your hips and buttocks? This is a great way to do it. Hula hooping also requires that you have good posture and that you put your body into the right alignment in order to promote proper fitness and more. You don't need to be an expert to take a hooping class, frankly it's like riding a bike, it may take you a few minutes, but before you know it - you're hooping again.

A recent hooping class I observed at a local park had a range of ages from 10 year olds to grandmothers out their swinging those hoops and they were laughing and having a grand time. In one minute of hooping, you can burn as many calories as you would in an eight-minute mile.

EIGHT MINUTE MILE!

Seriously, so if you're looking for a great way to burn calories, shape up and have a great time with your kids? Go buy a hula hoop! Talk about the cheapest, best workout you can do!

Learn more about Heather Long

Heather Long is 35 years old and currently lives in Wylie, Texas. She has been a freelance writer for six years. Her husband and she met while working together at America Online over ten years ago.

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