By now just about everyone has heard of Hooping for fitness. There are classes for it. Etsy shops selling hoops abound. There are even videos for it! Hooping is now suddenly trendy. How did this fitness revolution start? With people like me! Although it hasn’t been mainstream for long, festival goers and sideshow acts have been hooping for years. I remember my first time, it was about six years ago at Smilefest and it was awesome! From that first rotation I was hooked. Not for fitness but for how fun it was! I have always been pretty shy about dancing in front of people, and suddenly with this hoop I felt like it gave me rhythm and confidence. Now I’m an old pro. Until I had my son, I traveled with friends to festivals everywhere with hoops in tow. A few of my friends even hoop fire!
When I was pregnant, people would always ask me if it was safe. Of course it is! As long as you feel like doing it, you can. (Except if you have medical issues) I hooped well into my seventh month. It is a great way to stay active in your pregnancy. There are many different sizes and weights of hoops, so I went from using a pretty large heavy one to a relatively smaller very lightweight one.
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| Right before I got pregnant |
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| Six months pregnant |
See how buff I was? that was probably the hooping. It is an excellent cardio workout, it tones your tummy, and it really helps you become in tune with how your body can move. There is a lot of helpful info out right now about hooping, but there is also a lot of misleading info too. For starters, you don’t need to spend $40-$80 on a “custom” “weighted” or “specialty” hoop. Yes, they come in all sizes and shapes and they have to be made by hand but you can make them yourself for about $15! The materials are very inexpensive and found in any home store. If you want fancy colors just go to A.C. moore or look for online tape retailers. I’m thinking about doing my next tutorial on Hoops.
The next misconception is that you need classes or videos to learn. I learned mostly everything on my own. And I’m good! If you’re dead set on getting some lessons, go to a concert instead. There will most likely be hoopers there who would love to help out for free. You can also check out YouTube.
Overall, hooping is an excellent workout with no set rules or technique. Anyone who tells you otherwise is probably just about the hype.
