A hula hoop, probably named after
the motions of
the Hawaiian hula dance, consists of a simple hoop, usually made of
plastic. The children's version is light, cheap, and tends to break
easily, but the current trend of hula hooping for weight loss is
anything but child's play and uses a weighted hula
hoop.
A weighted hula hoop is larger, heavier, and made
of
sterner stuff than the hula hoops made for children. A hula hoop
exercise consists of using the hoop in the
traditional fashion, which requires a rotating motion with the body to
keep the weighted hula hoop from falling down around your ankles.
These weighted hula hoops are both larger and
heavier than any traditional hoop, so they require greater effort to
use; although, they also include features like foam padding to make the
work out comfortable.
The hula hoop exercise works the core body muscles
with the range of benefits that other similar exercises present. The
main difference between hula hoop exercises and normal exercises like
pushups or sit ups is the number of muscle groups exercised. The motion
of the body during hula hoop exercises works every abdominal muscle and
even the leg muscles, in order to keep the hula hoop from falling.
In fact, hula hoop exercises burn a lot of
calories compared to other weight loss fads currently
popular. Experts say that the hula hoop burns as many calories as in
one minute as a running for the same period time. Even better, the hula
hoop is a low impact work out, which means that the chance of injury is
very slight.
Hula hoop exercise are intensive, and many find
that in the first few weeks only a few minutes a day will make their
torso and abdomen sore the next day. Many practitioners suggest a slow
start to avoid painful soreness, which can be demotivating.
Like any exercise program, hula hooping depends on
eating fewer calories than the exerciser expends, which means that a
healthy diet paired with hula hooping will accomplish far more than
exercise alone.
Hooping vs. Hula Hooping:
Hooping is way more fun than the hula hooping you remember as a child,
because the bigger and heavier the hoop, the slower it rotates around
your body. This means that even if you think you can't hoop, with one
of these hoops, you can! Everybody can hoop,
regardless of age, size,
or sense of rhythm. When you're using a customized hoop that's four
feet in diameter, the rotation is slow enough that even clumsy amateurs
can keep the hoop going - and it's not too hard to get into dancing and
even doing tricks.
Hooping also just feels good. Another advantage of
a bigger heavier hoop is that as it circles your waist, it gives you a
solid massage. Your intestines and organs get a firm rythmic rubbing.
It feels great! Some claim that hooping has other
energetic benefits as well, but I can only speak for myself:
I find hooping quite meditative, and perhaps more importantly, hooping
makes me smile. Playing with a hoop works up a nice sweat, and like any
cardiovascular exercise, it can hit the reset button on a bad mood.
It's simply a lot of fun; and I'm a firm believer that fun is healthy!
