Department: Health and Spirit
Hula Hoop Fitness: What Do The Experts Say?
The San Jose Mercury News invited a few fitness experts to sound off on five fitness trends, including the hula hoop. Some of their so called experts though didn't know what they were talking about. Valerie Orsoni (pictured), celebrity coach and owner of Le Boot Camp is a smart one. She explained, "If you are able to use this for 15 minutes a day, you will have a slimmer waist. Start with a larger hula hoop, as they are easier for the beginner. You won't burn many calories, but this is a cheap device and, for me, a must have." While Dr. Clay Hyght, a chiropractic doctor and professional bodybuilder, didn't even know the score. He said, "For weight loss? No. The caloric expenditure is not going to be substantial. If you're doing steady-state cardio like walking, you're going to want to do it for 30 minutes several times a week. Who can hula hoop for 30 minutes besides a hula hoop champion?" Pretty much everybody reading this post Clay, for starters. Full story: San Jose Mercury News
Jessica Bullock Accidentally Got In Shape
In Dallas, Texas, the Advocate Magazine reports, "Some people drink booze or pop anti-depressants in order to stave off the blues, but East Dallas resident Jessica Bullock deals in another way. 'I could never be in a bad mood while I’m hula hooping,' she says. ... A few years ago, Bullock located some hula-hooping soul mates, and the group began holding weekly hoop sessions at White Rock Lake. Today she is training to become a certified hula-hoop instructor through hoopnotica.com. Instantaneous good moods are nice, but the groovy exercise has had unexpected perks. Bullock, a self-proclaimed 'big girl', has toned up significantly by way of the core-strengthening hula movements. 'I call it the accidental workout,' she says. 'I’ve lost about 30 or so pounds without even paying attention.'" Full story: Advocate
Jack Smith Is Hooked On Hooping - At Age 66
Jack Smith (pictured), a 66-year-old fifth grade school teacher in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is hooked on hooping. Why? "You know you gotta shake your booty," Jack said, adding, "because when your booty stops they bury you!" Jack who has lost eight inches around his waist taking classes run by Constance Poe, has some other great comments. Meanwhile, Constance told Fox 8 News, "I wasn't developing my core so with hooping you get a great core workout. You're working the back, you're working the hips, you're working the buttocks, you're working the quads, hamstrings and legs as well. You're getting a total body workout and it's lots of fun!" Watch the full video below:
Christine MacDonald Lost 60 Pounds Hooping
WCSH Channel 6 in Portland, Maine, reports that three years ago, Christine MacDonald suffered from back problems and got winded after walking up a flight of stairs. Then her daughter received a hula hoop for her third birthday. "I saw it sitting on the floor so I decided...I wonder if I can still do this." She was amazed at how great a workout it was, and was determined to get better. Today Christine has lost 60 pounds thanks to hula hooping, and now teaches others how to hoop at Miss Fit Hooping. Full story with video: WCSH
Couples Hoop It Up Together To Get Famously Fit
In the UK, Famously Fit Health and Fitness Magazine sent Jenny and Wayne to explore the rapidly growing fitness activity of hoopdance, and to see if all the hip swivelling could benefit couples looking to work out together. Joining Diana Defries of Hoopswhirled for a 90 minute session, the pair also wanted to see who had the sexiest hips, most supple pelvis, the best rhythm, most tricks and ultimately who could keep it up the longest. Wayne said, "It took a while before I got into the rhythm, understood the concept of hooping and broke into a sweat." Jenny said, "Once we mastered the basic moves the fun really began. We spun the hoop round our waists, chest, hips, knees, hands necks and even bottoms."
South Florida Morning Show Spins It Up To Get Fit
Kristin Anderson's fitness segment on The Morning Show for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel this week spoke with Jocelyn Gordon of Hoopnotica on everything from hoop size to burning calories. Jocelyn told her, "You can burn 300 to 800 calories an hour while toning your legs, your buns, your core, your arms." During the "Fun Workout To Get You Fit" where Gordon got Anderson hooping, Anderson asked her a good question. "What am I supposed to do with my arms?" You can find out the answer as well as watch the whole segment in the video below:
Give The Hooping Workout a Whirl
The Courier-Journal in Louisville, Kentucky, reports, "In Kentucky, hoop dreams usually revolve around basketball, but when Rhonda Miller and her students get together, there isn't a net or a free-throw line to be found. Miller, 28, teaches a kind of hooping that is one part rhythmic gymnastics and one part good, old-fashioned backyard child's play. “I think the first appeal is the fun, but then after you start hooping, you start sweating,” Miller said. “It's really good for your core area. I just became really addicted to it because it's really fun,” she said. “You just gain this sense of accomplishment when you learn how to do a new trick, and so that kind of keeps you motivated.” The article also features Christabel "HoopGirl" Zamor. Full story: Courier-Journal
Hula Hooping Builds Super Powers
Once upon a time Ms. Philosophydoll left her home in Canada and visited her friend in Seattle, Washington. Her friend had a great big hoop up against the wall in the bedroom. Ms. Philosophydoll writes, "In a second I had that full circle spinning until there was a party going on in my body… A few minutes later I discovered that with one leg just a bit ahead of the other, the less you move the better it is… A month after that I made a class set for the twenty-four six and seven year olds I was working with… My students would always say, 'Ms. Philosphydoll can’t we go outside first… it is so much easier for us to sit down and work after we’ve been hula hooping… it must build some kind of super powers.'" Soon the hoops were taking over the school! Full post with photos: Canuck'd
Celebrities Hula Hooping To Get In Shape
USA Today, in their article about celebrities who are hooping it up to tone it up, speaks with Celebrity fitness trainer David Kirsch who expects that since Michelle Obama's nationally televised public whirling last week that "hula hoops will start flying off the shelves. The fact that she is the living embodiment of health and wellness in a very real and accessible way sends a very powerful message." Kirsch, also talking about previously reported hooper Liv Tyler, who is his client, told USA Today that hooping is good for Tyler because "it's something she can do with (her son) Milo, and she likes to move. It's not like doing bicep curls and crunches. They're effective and good for us, but they're boring. She wants to get outside." Other celebrities mentioned revealed no new names - Marisa Tomei and Beyoncé Knowles.
The First Lady of Hula Hooping Talks Healthy Living
We've found 266 news articles or internet postings about Michelle Obama hooping at the White House yesterday, and we're not about to share them all with you, but in the UK, The Daily Mail is calling her The First Lady of Hula Hooping. At the Healthy Kids Fair she hosted, she told everyone in attendance, "We want our children to eat right, not just because it's the right thing to do but because, quite frankly, healthy, good food tastes good, and we want them to experience that. We don't just want our kids to exercise because we tell them to. We want them to exercise because it's fun and they enjoy it. And we want them to learn now how to lead good, healthy lifestyles so that they're not struggling to figure out how to do that when they're older." You can watch her whole White House lawn address below:
Madeline Cumbey Hoops For The New Generation
The Journal Gazette in Fort Wayne, Indiana, reports, "The past three months have been filled with applications, interviews, conference calls, meetings, slogans and projects for Madeline Cumbey (pictured). There’s also been a lot of conversations, healthy eating, exercising and hula hooping. Days are filled with at least an hour of exercise, and meals include carrots, pasta, water and milk. 'I always eat healthy for dinner, even if anybody else doesn’t,' Madeline said. 'I still try to tell them to eat healthy, don’t try to hog down the doughnuts.' It’s the life of an ambassador, but for the 9-year-old Lafayette Meadows Elementary School student, it’s worth it. Madeline was one of 25 students nationwide selected to serve on the Youth Advisory Board for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation." Full story: Ft. Wayne Journal Gazette
American Council on Exercise Hoops It Up
The American Council on Exercise (ACE) wanted their membership (60,000 consumers and fitness professionals) to know that if you think you can dance, you can exercise. "With so many dance techniques to choose from, it’s only a matter of time before you too can reap the benefits of feeling more energized and looking fit and toned." Hoopdance is definitely on that short list too, highlighting Valentina "Unity" Martin of Unity Hoops in San Diego, California. She told ACE that many people don’t realize that hooping is a solid aerobic workout. “It increases flexibility in your back, is low-impact and you can definitely feel it in your stomach, arms, legs, and glutes,” Martin added. If that message wasn't enough, ACE took the hooping message a step further featuring a video on hooping for fitness in their monthly e-newsletter "Health eTips." Want to see it? It's posted below:
Time Magazine Gets Hooping
Catherine Sharick writes for Time Magazine, "To get in shape for her October wedding, Dawn-Samantha Cahill, 25, a production coordinator in New York City, tried every exercise routine she could think of. But the upended positions that yoga required made her feel self-conscious. Running on a treadmill was a bore. And lifting weights was just too difficult. Frustrated, Cahill started overeating instead of exercising, and her weight, on a petite, 5-ft. 2-in. frame, ballooned to 212 lb. Cahill was nearly ready to give up, until one day last spring, she discovered a video on YouTube about hula-hooping. 'The woman in the video was so sexy, and the moves she was making with a hula hoop were so cool,' Cahill says. 'Normally, watching a gorgeous woman like this would make me feel bad. Instead, I wanted to imitate her.'" Full story: Time Magazine
Letting Go and New Connections
K. in Virginia writes, "Becoming 'a hooper' has changed my whole identity - or, rather, completed it. Sure, I had a decent idea of who I was before the hoop - but it was a work in progress at best. Describing myself always consisted of those horribly bland adjectives that everyone uses - 'smart, funny...' and of course under hobbies, the ubiquitous, 'likes to read.' Ugh. Man! I wanted an exciting hobby. Windsurfing. Mountain Climbing. Cave Diving. But, those things took a LOT of time, money, training... and ...well, did I say money? Then of course, I found the hoop. For relatively cheap I had something intriguing to say about myself. This led to a personality shift - or, really, discovery. Suddenly, I was outgoing, adventurous, garrulous, free-spirited, open-minded ... and more! I became a teacher. I met new people everywhere I went. And the best part was, having this new passion did not feel foreign - it brought out the person I always felt I was." Full post: Thinking and Hooping
Christian Science Monitor Gets Readers Hooping
Kimberly Chase writes for the Christian Science Monitor, "It's a common sight in San Francisco – the green grass of a neighborhood park is accented by brightly colored hoops twirling at improbable angles around people grooving stylishly to dance music under the afternoon sun. These are the Bay Area Hoopers, who meet every Sunday afternoon in parks around the city to practice their moves, holding the hoops aloft, then spinning them around their midsections, arms, shoulders, and legs. For Philo Hagen, cofounder of the Bay Area Hoopers and editor of Hooping.org, the hoop is a way to shift one's attention from the head to the rest of the body. He says hooping is fun, childlike, and meditative, all of which make it tremendously good for the spirit. 'It's hard to get caught up in anything too seriously when you're hooping, and it's pretty guaranteed to put a smile on your face,' Mr. Hagen says." The Monitor also speaks with Christabel Zamor. Full story: Christian Science Monitor
Hoopilates: A New Pilates-based Hoop Exercise Routine
The New York Daily News reports on a new exercise routine developed by Brooklyn instructor Jen Bleier. It's Hoopilates, where hooping meets pilates. Bleier came up with the hybrid workout and more than 40 curious exercise enthusiasts signed up for her class in Prospect Park. Even though the pairing seems like an odd combo, Bleier told the press they dovetail perfectly. "Because I'm a Pilates instructor and trained in bodywork, I can't just turn that part of my brain off," she said. "It was natural to combine hooping and Pilates. It's playful, it's joyful and anybody can play. It's something everyone can do." New York Daily News (Thanks Lesley)
British Kids Get Into Hoop Hop
The Northern Echo in Darlington, England, reports, "Hundreds of primary school pupils got themselves in a spin when they tried out a new way of keeping fit. Gathered in Middlesbrough's Centre Square the youngsters enjoyed a Hoop Hop session, combining hip hop music with the traditional hoola hoop. Kellee McQuinn, the founder of Hoop Hop, led the sessions with children from Sacred Heart, Abingdon and Newport Primary schools. Janette Bainbridge, Middlesbrough Council's Healthy Schools Manager, said: 'Hoop Hopping is a dynamic physical activity that is ideal for improving health, getting fit and losing weight while having fun. ... Its very suitable for people who do not like team games and requires little equipment.'" Full story: The Northern Echo
Hooping For Health
ABC WTVD 11 in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, reported that "the key to physical and spiritual health could be a favorite childhood toy." In their television piece entitled "Hooping For Health" they start out speaking with Ellie Musgrove of Bend, Oregon), a cancer survivor, who told reporters that she found relief inside the hoop. Musgrove said, "It gave me my body back basically, because it's taken about a year and a half, but now my body is my own again." In the news report the crew from WDTV also speak with Ann Humphreys of The Hoop Path and Abby Albaum of the Hoola Monsters - and capture many other hoopers in the spin that you just might know. Watch the video below:
Austinites Using Hula Hoop To Get Fit
In Austin, Texas, Michelle Valles reports for CBS 42 KEYE, "I went to Alisa Dance Academy in West Lake Hills in search of a new, low impact workout and perhaps a new 'circle' of friends. ... Our instructor Laura Scarborough not only had a perfect body with almost zero percent body fat, but she made the Hula Hoop look so easy! 'I've been hooping for five years and it's just been growing. At first I did it just for myself. And then I found that it actually transformed my life actually,' says Scarborough. Wow! Transform your life? Okay, don’t exaggerate Laura, I thought to myself. But she wasn’t." Full article: KEYE TV
Celeste Takes Back - And Inspires
Celeste in Colorado writes, "I've spent the last month examining and working to change my eating habits and attitudes. I think I have made huge strides in that area, so now it is time to focus on the next thing- exercise. Yes, exercise. Many people cringe at the word and imagine tight leotards, sweating profusely, pain and suffering. The thought of walking several miles is daunting. Excuses are made. I am guilty of all of the above. I have never been fond of sweating or getting short of breath. I haven't really RUN since I was a small child, and even that wasn't terribly common. Exercise is one of the best things that you can do for your body, and a key part of losing weight effectively while increasing strength and stamina. It must be done. What is a tired, hard working fat girl to do? ... Hula hooping!!" Full post: Celeste Takes Back
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
Couples Hoop It Up Together To Get Famously Fit
South Florida Morning Show Spins It Up To Get Fit
Give The Hooping Workout a Whirl
Hula Hooping Builds Super Powers
Celebrities Hula Hooping To Get In Shape
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