Hoop Dancing - It's Not Just for Kids Anymore

by Heather Long | More from this Blogger

09 Dec 2006 02:00 PM

Do you hula hoop? When my daughter got a hula hoop a year ago, she asked me to help her learn how to hula hoop and you know what? It's not quite like riding a bike - it was hard to learn how to do it years ago and it was harder now when I thought I knew what I was doing. Hula hoops are making a resounding come back in the fitness world and it's a trend called hoop dancing.

The hula hoop is involved, but it's not the hula you recall instead it's a series of aerobic classes that last as long as two hours. The classes involve stretching and using the hoop as part of your stretching. You stretch, you arch with the hoop behind the back, you strain, you bend and you use the hoop in al of it.

Hoop dancing is not for the faint of heart, because it requires a lot of drive including raising your arm in the air and spinning the hoop around your wrist. You are supposed to turn in a circle as you spin the hoop and you lower the hoop onto your body to keep it spinning. Does it make you dizzy thinking about it? According to the experts, this is considered an easier maneuver to perform during a hoop dancing routine.

The Key is Repetition

A hoop dancing class is considered an intermediate level aerobic class. It's not for the faint of heart, but you shouldn't let that discourage you. Many of the moves can be hard at first, but the repetition is the key and even if you are clumsy with them in the beginning, your heart rate will pick up and the moves and the stretching get your body toned and shaped.

Classes are often given breaks every fifteen minutes for water before they get going again. The hoop dancing regimen is about more than burning calories, it's about strength building and dancing is definitely about trimming the unwanted inches and building strength in the arms, legs and core.

Hoop dancing is low impact, but you'll improve your flexibility, your balance, your strength and your tone. You'll also work up quite a sweat. Hoop dancing is a new trend because it brings to mind the carefree days of our youth when spinning a hoop around your hips was for fun - so if you have the opportunity to check out a hoop dancing class, I suggest you give it a shot.

So, do you hula hoop?

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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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