Department: Health and Spirit
Irish Get Hooping To Get In Shape
Media in Ireland is reporting on the return of hooping. The Independent notes, "It's a retro exercise that's supposed to knock off pounds and even improve your sex life. Michelle Obama practices it in public, and singer Beyonce can't do without it to maintain superb tone -- in her abs anyway. Hula hoops (the gyrating exercise with plastic rings, not the crisps) are part of a popular fast-track programme swivelling thousands of hips into better shape. They're part of the training circuit at a north Dublin fitness club, Contours Express, a small-scale gym chain with outlets around the country, where classes combine weight training, cardio exercises and hula-hooping." Independent
Hooping: The Fun Alternative to Jogging
The Los Angeles Times takes a look at fun alternatives to jogging: "Swiveling to the beat is all part of the fun at Hoopnotica -- a company that make the hula hoop the central part of its fitness strategy. It's a modern take on an old classic. By learning how to dance with an adult-sized and weighted hula hoop (a.k.a. hoop dancing), you can tone your abs, back, arms, hips, buns and legs all while swinging your hips. ... And, of course, for those pyro junkies with a hoop addiction, there's always combining the two. If you have the burning desire to light your hoop on fire, just ask your instructor about special workshops. Sounds like summer is heating up!" Full post with fire hooping photo of Hoopnotica's Rayna McInturf: Los Angeles Times
Kelly Brook Hoops Herself Into Great Shape
UK supermodel and presenter Kelly Brook, who has also appeared in a variety of television and film roles, is turning 30 this year. It's an event that has inspired her to be in the best shape ever. Although dating rugby ace Danny Cipriani, 21, will undoubtedly help Brooks burn some calories, what does the rest of fitness regimen look like? Of course it includes hooping. "Hula-hooping not only burns calories, but strengthens and tones the core muscles of the body. Hula for 30 minutes a couple of times a week and you will notice an amazing difference in your shape." She also told the Mirror, "Make sure you enjoy what you are doing. That way you are more likely to stick to it." Mirror UK
Dawnmarie Gets Syracuse Hooping For Fitness
Syracuse.com reports, "The Hula Hoop is back as a low-impact fitness sensation. 'It's fun!' Dawnmarie Raymond promises, as she explains how you tone your abs, back, arms, hips, buns and legs while swinging your hips and burning 400 to 600 calories per hour. Raymond owns the Go Figure studio in Camillus. She says her clients were at first reluctant to try the hoops. 'They never could Hula Hoop when they were little,' she explains. But she kept working on them, 'I kept telling them how easy it was.' She started them on hoops with a large circumference. As they built up confidence, she gave them smaller hoops. The hoops are weighted. She makes her own, filling them with water (1 pint equals 1 pound) and wrapping them in bright electrical tape." Full story: Syracuse.com
Punk Fitness Detroit Hoops It Up
St. Clair Shores resident Nancy Krzezewski sipped a frosty beer before her recent Saturday workout. To a Punk Fitness Detroit regular, there's nothing strange about that. Or about what followed -- an afternoon workout that included hula-hooping on the rooftop patio of the Magic Stick on Woodward in Detroit, set to a soundtrack from artists like the Dirtbombs and the B-52s. This is the brainchild of Royal Oak's Julie Hecker, a self-professed Detroit cheerleader who started the classes six years ago to appeal to the creative class of artists and musicians. Her concept: promote fitness through workouts in unique settings while introducing like-minded people to one another, new music and interesting upcoming events. Detroit Free Press
Nothing Beats Your Second Childhood
Mary Neil writes for the Gaston Gazette, "I have long heard that the senior years are really your second childhood. Until I actually got here, I had no clue. Years ago when I looked at my grandmother, I thought she was so old. My youthful perception was that she didn't have any fun any more. ... Well, I think jazz dancing around to lively music is fun! Not only is it fun but I get to meet the nicest people that love to dance, too. Along with the dancing, I get the pleasure of seeing seniors get fit while they are having fun. The older I get, the more fun I try to work into my life. ... I invited one of my students to this class to demonstrate hooping. ... The crash of all the hoops falling to the floor in the beginning set everyone laughing hysterically. It wasn't long before at least half the group got the hang of it and were able to keep the hoops at waist level for several turns while they rocked back and forth. What was amazing was everyone was laughing, smiling and the students arriving for the next fitness class were begging to try." Full story: Gaston Gazette
Hoop Troop Fitness Goes Hoopnastic
WPTV 5 in West Palm Beach, Florida reports, "Kim Thomson (at HoopTroopFitness.com) is a local mother and realtor. She started hula hooping 2 years ago thinking it would be a fun way to work on her abs and get a flat stomach. 'I went and got a little hoop from Wal Mart and practiced in my room by myself. I got good at it and thought I can teach this, but I needed a bigger hoop." She started making her own and now she's teaching hoop dancing every week. She told WPTV, "So what I've done is hoopnastics. It integrates pilates, yoga, ballet inspired exercises... Anyone can do it. So you're just rocking instead of throwing your body. Then once you get that down you can start dancing and doing more moves with the hoop." WPTV
Amazing Hoops Makes Weighted Fitness Hoops Comfortable
Tulsa World reports, "If Amber Munoz hadn't stopped for a smoothie one day and seen fliers advertising Margie Sweet's business, Amazing Hoops might never have happened. Munoz, a personal trainer, was curious about the flier's claims of a weighted fitness hoop that could trim your waistline. ... Munoz liked the hoops so much, she bought one and took it home. It worked so well, she started using it with her personal training clients. But Sweet and Munoz started running into the same problem: for some people, the hoops hurt. The weighted hoops were bruising some client's midsections and causing too much pain to be effective - even for a fitness tool designed to be used only 10 minutes a day. The weighted hoops came from a manufacturer on the East Coast, who could barely keep up with Sweet's demand from customers anyway. Munoz had an idea: Why not try to make their own padded hoop? With that simple idea, Amazing Hoops was born. Now they have a patent-pending design, manufacture locally and have sold more than 10,000 hoops. 'One guy came in and said 'I haven't seen these since my military days,' 'Munoz said. 'Our thing is, these are serious workout tools.'" Full story: Tulsa World
Comparing Exercise Hoops
Roy Wallack, author of "Run for Life: The Anti-Aging, Anti-Injury, Super-Fitness Plan to Keep You Running to 100," took five hoops and reviewed them for The Los Angeles Times: Hoopalicious Storm Hooper, the Hoopnotica Fitness TravelHoop, the BodyHoops Infinity Travelhoop, the Canyon Weighted Hula Hoop, and the Original Hula Hoop by Wham-O. What did Wallack think? He found the Wham-o hoop to be "not as fun as the adult hoops, too much work, and the noise gets irritating fast." We couldn't agree more. What else did he have to say? See for yourself: LA Times
Getting Kids Fit Through Hooping
In North Carolina, some elementary students in Southport are learning how to stay healthy by hooping. Dosher Memorial Hospital has teamed up with Southport Elementary School to focus on creating a healthier community. During a recent assembly students and competed in a hula-hoop challenge too. But what's the best way to get kids to stay fit? Answer: When there parents are role modeling fitness behaviors. "The kids emulate what their parents do," said Dan Jacobs with Dosher Memorial Hospital. "Getting their parents to engage in healthy, active lifestyles at home is gonna carry on, is gonna basically affect these children, not just now but into the future and into adulthood." WECT TV6
Will The Hula Hooping Obamas Make It Hip?
Vicky Hallett, Fitness Columnist for The Washington Post, is wondering if the hooping Obama family will make hooping hip. Apparently she doesn't know that it already is! She writes, "Barack Obama has made no secret of his love for shooting hoops. But you may be surprised to learn that Michelle Obama is apparently more comfortable spinning them. She was photographed at her daughter Malia's birthday picnic last year showing off a few tricks. ... Word of Michelle's skills has the hooping community buzzing, particularly in Washington, where several instructors have been recently certified by Hoopnotica, a California-based group that has standardized ways to teach moves. And just about all hooping enthusiasts are waiting for that invitation to get together on the East Lawn. "I've created this daily vision of me hooping with Michelle, Malia and Sasha," says Jocelyn Gordon. The article also talks to Noelle Powers, Tina Bauch and Martine Koissy. As previously reported, Barack has called Michelle the best hooper he knows. The post article also references Hooping.org so if Michelle or Malia or Sasha are reading, we couldn't be more excited! Full article with the photographic evidence: The Washington Post
Reuters: Hooping - From Child's Play To Exercise Workout
Reuters reports that the hula hoop has returned as a fitness tool "to strengthen the core and battle the love handle." Christabel Zamor (pictured) informed the news service "that contemporary hooping has evolved into hoop dance -- a form of fitness, healing and meditation for adults of all ages and ability levels. She said hooping is often called 'the new yoga' because of its holistic and wellness benefits." Reuters also speaks with Baxter. Full story: Reuters
Hooping Away The Hips In West Virginia
In West Virginia, The Herald-Mail reports, "Sometimes vigorous play is the best way to accomplish some serious fitness work. ... Melody Robinson and her daughter, Stephanie Connell, 22, of Hedgesville, W.Va., have been selling hula hoops at Boomtown Hoops since 2004. ... "People love it," Connell said. "They are not only reminded of their childhood, but they enjoy the full workout they get from hooping. Hooping is great for core strengthening, abs, glutes, arms - pretty much everything. ... My mother lost 35 pounds in four months," said Connell. "She combined a proper diet with hooping. She is really an example of how much hula hooping can aid in the weight loss process." Full article: The Herald-Mail. You can also check out Boomtown Hoops in Flip Magazine.
The Holistic Nature of Hooping
Bee Varga in the UK writes about the holistic nature of hooping, "The physiology behind it is quite straightforward. In order to protect the organs in your abdominal cavity, your abdominal muscles remain contracted constantly. As we all know as a measure of prevention from muscle fatigue the muscle fibres contract in series – some of them contract fully while others relax a bit. If the effort is sustained & maximum effort is required, you develop fatigue. With hooping effort is not at its maximum and can be adjusted at any time by different sized hoops. What you get basically is nice toned abs and back without the nasty back-pain that abdominal exercises usually make you end up with. But hoopdance does so much more for us to be healthy and pretty – the hoop as your personal trainer will tell you if your posture is not good enough. You will find that you are keeping yourself upright, nice and tall and working at a steady speed. Poor Quasimodo couldn’t have kept a hoop going – you can, as long as you concentrate on your posture and speed." Full post: Holistic Local
Hoop Away Unwanted Holiday Pounds
Worried about the possibility of putting on some holiday pounds? Don't forget, your hoop is there for you. Golden Health Club reports, "The main focus of [hooping] is on your mid section but by moving the hoop around your body you can get a full body work out. When you use it to concentrate on your stomach you will strengthen and tighten those stubborn abs and have fun doing it. The best part is that it takes virtually no time to feel that burn that lets you know that your work is actually working. ... If you’re already a hula hoop champ here are some guidelines to help you along. 1. To get the most out of your workout you need to keep that hoop moving. The longer it stays in motion the more calories you burn. 2. Place the hoop in the area you want to work on. For example if you want to work the abs have it around your waist. You want to work your hips, thighs, and buns put it lower on your waist. 3. Once you are used to the process, try mixing it up with a dance routine. Golden Health Club
Bangkok Senior Hoops To Get People Exercising
Changing the view that the elderly can do only light exercise is Trasak Satrawatit, a former advisor to an education permanent secretary in Bangkok, Thailand. Trasak spun a stainless-steel hula hoop in front of the press recently. During the 30-minute exhibition, he spun it 1,280 times saying that he was addicted to exercise. From sit-ups, he graduated to the hula hoop two years ago and said he would be unhappy if he could not spin his hula hoop, that it would feel as if something important was missing from his life. "I just want to encourage people to exercise," he said. Nation Multimedia
World Diabetes Day Spawns Blue-La Hoop Challenge
World Diabetes Day, held on November 14th each year, was created to raise awareness of the diabetes epidemic which now affects 246 million people and their families around the world. Given that the symbol for World Diabetes Day is a blue circle, noted for its symbolism of positivity, life and health, the annual event has been bringing about ‘blue circle’ spectacles around the world to help raise awareness. This year the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and Novo Nordisk Canada created the Blue-La Hoop Challenge and blue hoola-hoops were provided to major sites by Novo Nordisk Canada to get Canadians on their feet and swinging their hips to help raise diabetes awareness. Bay Today
Dr. Christiane Northrup Discovers Hooping
Christiane Northrup, M.D., is a best-selling author who is internationally known for her empowering approach to women’s health and wellness. A leading proponent of medicine and healing that acknowledges the unity of the mind and body, as well as the powerful role of the human spirit in creating health, it isn't a big surprise that she's discovered hooping. She's "found a pleasurable new way to exercise" and she shares about it in detail in her latest podcast. You can listen to and/or download it here. Posting: DrNorthrup.com
Workout Hoopla in Iowa
The Telegraph Herald in Dubuque, Iowa, reports, "Cindi Haugen 'hooped' her way to a smaller waist. 'In one month I lost 2 inches, in the second month I lost 2 inches and I have lost 5 inches since April,' Haugen said. Haugen used a weighted hula hoop to shed inches. The Dubuque woman thought so highly of the workout, she decided to create weighted hula hoops and she sells them to raise funds for her children's school, Resurrection Catholic Elementary School. ... 'I couldn't hula hoop when I first started -- I had never hula hooped before,' Haugen said.'" Full Article: Telegraph Herald
Minnesota News: Get Fit With The Hoop
KARE 11 in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, let viewers know that hoops are not just for kids. Chris Freytag reports, "Hooping can burn around 100 calories in ten minutes. ten minutes in the morning, 10 minutes in the evening; not too hard! Hula hooping is also great for low impact exercise, you can do it at home and it's just plain fun. I have a client who had foot surgery and was worried about not being able to do any cardio exercise, she had a boot on her foot and could stand up but couldn't power walk, bike, etc. So I sent her home with a weighted hula hoop and she was able to get her heart rate up without using her foot. Now that's getting creative!" An event is being held at the Mall of America. Full story with video: KARE 11
Hooping and Chakras
Melody Abella writes, "Is it me or is hooping a wonderful way to open the lower chakras (1-3)? Chakras are energy centers in our bodies. The root chakra, the first of the 7 main chakras in the human body, resides at the base of the spinal column. Traveling up the spine from the root chakra are six other centers of energy. Each chakra plays a role in how we feel – mentally, emotionally and physically. ... Recently I did a two-hour hooping workshop. Two things I noticed: 1) my already in-shape yoga abs were sore for two days after the workshop. 2) I felt extremely relaxed in my hips/pelvic region. I’m viewing these as added bonuses to hooping. The hips/pelvic region is where the base of the spine starts and the first two chakras reside so I’m thinking hooping is a great way to release tense/stressful/negative energy that we store in our lower chakras. The abdominal/belly region is home to the third chakra and is obviously, based on my hooping experience, impacted by hooping." Full post: abellaYoga
Helen Damato: Still Hooping at 103
The Tahoe Daily Tribune reports: "Helen Damato isn't a stereotypical 103-year-old -she's actually quite hip with the times. Not only does she use her cell phone on a daily basis, have all of her teeth and move around without the help of a cane or walker, but she still can do the shimmy. 'I can shake every bone in my body,' Damato said. In fact she was hooping just last week. ... So what's her secret to a long life? 'Vitamin E,' Damato said. 'I've been taking it for 50 years.' Besides her daily supplement, Damato said she eats healthy - no fried foods, and she doesn't drink or smoke. Tahoe Daily Tribune
Washington D.C. Hoops For Fitness
WUSA9 in Washington DC reports, "You need a little bit of rhythm at least to learn the basic stance, but once you get going participants say you don't even realize you're working out, because it's so much fun. A revolution is happening these days in the fitness world says particpants like Jocelyn Gordon. Jocelyn is a movement therapist who teaches dance, yoga and movement, but these days she spends most her time teaching people the joy and benefits of the hula hoop exercise. ... From the kids at Camp Oje to the women working out in Arlington, Hoopers say, doing it for just twenty minutes and you will reap the benefits of building strength and muscle tone. Sheila Cordaro, owner and fitness instructor of Fit4Moms says don't mistake hula hooping just for fun. "It's an exercise that hits every part of your core. You get a full body workout," she explains. Full story with video: WUSA 9.
Shelley Wain Puts a Spin On Fitness
Laura Van Wert writes for The South Hills Record in Pennsylvania, "I never thought I'd add spinning a hula hoop on my foot to my list of skills. I'm pleasantly surprised to say that I have, though. ... I took a hula hoop aerobics class in the basement studio of Shelley Wain's Jefferson Hills home last week. Wain, who operates Spin on Fitness, teaches both hula hoop aerobics and pole fitness classes. 'You don't have to be a stick-figure for this to be sexy and fun,' Wain said. 'It's really just a fun workout.' I was surprised at the workout I got from spinning a hoop around my waist. I worked up a pretty good sweat within the first 10 minutes of the class. I assure you, though, hoop aerobics isn't as easy as it looks. Maintaining a hoop at a consistent speed takes core strength and rhythm." Full Story: South Hills Record
Take Care Of Your Waist!
Over at Women's Health Blog they're urging women to take care of their waists - by hooping of course. "During centuries-old existence a mankind thought up lots of ways to stay fit. Various diets, starvations, physical exercises… But hoop remains one of the most original and in many respects pleasant ways. ... We offer a list of advantages of hoop exercising: 1. Pleasant pastime. Hula-hoop makes struggle against superfluous kgs exclusively pleasant. 2. An irreplaceable assistant in training of muscles of hands, backs, feet and shoulders. Its use provides a set of various exercises on extension. 3. Effective organisation of time. Hoop rotating for only 10 minutes a day in a waist zone will provide you a considerable effect in its reduction and strengthening. Each of us tried hoop in childhood. Now we matured and forgot about an old hoop. But, having left the childhood, we have not left our dreams: we dream, as before, of a beautiful harmonous body and smooth skin. There is a simple way to embody this dream in reality. It is a way from our childhood, it is a hula-hoop." More advantages in full post: Women's Health Blog
Hulaerobics Hits Scotland
Dozens of people have taken part in the first sessions of "hulaerobics" at the Cowdenbeath Leisure Centre in Fife, Scotland. Glen Rorrison, Fife's sport and leisure manager, told the BBC, "We have had to rush through an order for more hula hoops." Class instructor Debbie Leitch informed them, "Hulaerobics is a great body toning class in which you learn to hoop on your torso, arms and legs. It's ideal for losing those unsightly bulges around the waist and hips and it will also tighten your behind, improve your posture, elevate your heart rate and allow you to have a lot of fun while you are getting fit." Full article includes video of the class: BBC Scotland
Why Do We Stop Playing?
Maura Shuttleworth, a lawyer and powerlifter who is currently the national champion on the bench press in the 105-pound weight class, has some things on her mind. She writes, "Today, I was out doing my cardio... I walked by a playground and it occurred to me that playgrounds are great places to get a mini workout in. At the playground, I walked by, there were bars to swing across or do pull-ups on, a rope thing to climb on, jungle gyms of course, and then swings for when you are finished with the other stuff. How fun! So, I wondered, why do we stop playing when we get to a certain age? Is it because it's not adult-like to go swing on the swings and swing across the playground bars? That we're socially trained that we're not supposed to do that sort of stuff?" Read the full post: Maura Shuttleworth. Maura does know how to play. Her and Fawn Friday hoop it up in the video below:
Newsweek: Hoop For Fitness Makes Sense
Newsweek Magazine took a look at "Seven Silly Fitness Fads" to see if any of them actually worked and while the focal point for hoop fitness revolved around weighted hoops, they still managed to hit the nail on the head. "Hula Hooping, the backyard mainstay from the 1950s, is back—and a whole lot heavier. National gym chains like Bally Total Fitness now offer hooping classes to kids and seniors alike, with weighted Hula Hoops that participants wheel around their outstretched limbs and torso. Will the toy-based hybrid of strength and cardio give you the toned curves of Beyonce, who says she hoops to stay svelte? 'The unweighted, traditional ones definitely work your core, and you can actually get the cardio system up,' says Jim White, certified fitness trainer and spokesman for the American Dietetic Association (ADA). 'I would recommend staying with the normal ones—with the weighted [hoops], beginners could pull a muscle.'" Newsweek
Hooping at the IDEA World Fitness Convention
by Marjorie Schwartz-Scott
I've been a fitness instructor since 1980. Almost every year I attend a World Fitness Convention sponsored by the International Dance Exercise Association (IDEA), to keep up with my certifications and see what the newest trends are in the industry. This year the convention was in Las Vegas. What was different for me this year was that I decided to bring my hoola hoops and perform a 5 minute hoop dance at one of the parties the convention usually has for some of the attendees. As I found quiet spots to practice in between attending workshops many would watch me with surprise and a little amazement. I don't think they realized how much one could do with a hoola hoop. Some would approach and ask questions. The most common was, "Are those weighted hoops?" Of course, since it was a fitness convention, people would naturally want to equate it to some exercise apparatus. I would explain that they were not weighted. Sometimes they would ask to try it and I'd get excited. Us hoopers like to share the experience.
As for my performance, I was both excited and nervous about hooping at the party, but eventually the time came and it went really well. Everyone who saw it was enthusiastic and gave me positive feedback. They couldn't believe it was me doing it, a definite change from my usual fitness instructor profile. One person was amazed at how limber I was. I think, or at least hope, I touched a chord and opened a path.
Having taught some form of exercise classes since 1980, a few years ago I had found it not to be as joyful as when I first started. My enthusiasm was gone in spite of all the variety of fitness styles the industry had to offer. What I realized was that it had lost it's soul. When I was introduced to hooping a couple of years ago I found that soul again. One woman at the convention saw me with my hoop and asked if a knew a man named Baxter. She was from the East coast and I was surprised and ecstatic to find a soul mate. She told me that he taught hoop classes at her fitness studio. Here was someone who understood what the hooping community was all about. Of course Baxter is just one of many who are speading the experience. We can all name a few. After she and I talked for awhile we both agreed. The Fitness Industry needs to get it's soul back. Maybe we can do just that. If I can share my love of hooping and how it brightens and gives joy to everyone, that will be an achievement. In the meantime, to all the hoopers, let's keep spreading the love.
---------------------------
Marjorie Schwartz-Scott lives in San Francisco, California. She is a very active member of Bay Area Hoopers and assisted Hooping.org previously by sharing her fitness expertise on our Hooping DVDs Review panel.
Published on July 17, 2008 | LINK | Comments (0)Fitness Expert Reviews Wii Fit Hooping
With a lot of fuss these days being paid to hoopers using Nintendo's Wii Fit, we had to wonder if there might be something to it. So when Diet.com's fitness guru Sarah decided to review Wii Fit, we were certainly curious. She put the Wii Fit through its paces and came to one rather obvious conclusion: It's better than not exercising. But what did she think about Wii Fit hooping? Sarah explained, "According to my heart rate the benefits I received from [the Wii Fit] hula hoop were equivalent to a walking warm-up. My advice, go out and buy an actual hula hoop if you like it that much." Her opinion of Wii Fit's running program was equally interesting. She said, "Why purchase a $90 game to run when you can do it for free?" Indeed, and real hoops cost a lot less and give a better workout too. Watch the video below:
Punk Fitness Detroit Hoops It Up
Nothing Beats Your Second Childhood
Hoop Troop Fitness Goes Hoopnastic
Amazing Hoops Makes Weighted Fitness Hoops Comfortable
Comparing Exercise Hoops
Dig Deeper: Into the Archives