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Hula hooping is a low-intensity workout for most people, and according to the American Council on Exercise, you should burn approximately 200 calories if you work out for 30 minutes. This varies according to your current weight. Heavier people burn more calories during any exercise, because it takes more work to move around.

Many exercise classes use special heavy-weight hula hoops to increase the cardio workout and to burn more calories. High intensity aerobic exercise burns up to 400 calories during the same amount of time.

One of the benefits of hula hooping is that it can be done by people who are overweight – just try a high-intensity aerobic class if you’re carrying 50 extra pounds. It puts too much strain on your knees and ankles, and if you’re really out of shape you’ll run out of breath long before the class is over. Continue Reading »

The hula hoop has been in use for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. There are many variations and reasons behind the hoop, including both cultural and play.

Perhaps the first known occurrence of a hoop device was those that were in use in Egypt over three thousand years ago. These hoops were made of grape vines and were propelled by sticks on the ground rather than a part of the human body.

The term that we know today, hula hoops, did not come to be until the early part of the eighteenth century when sailors noticed a stark similarity between hoops and the Hawaiian hula dance.

In the United States, hula hoops made their first real appearance in 1958. This is the year that the big toy maker Wham-O released a plastic version of a hoop that children could spin and play with. This was the beginning of a huge fad where the toy maker sold over 100 million of these hoops in only two years. Due to the fact that these hoops had been used over the course of history, no patent could be obtained, but the toy maker still made lots of profit on this simple invention.

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When I was a kid, I was no athlete although I would have liked to be one. When the hula hoop was introduced, it looked like something I could actually do, so I begged for one. My mother found these heavy black rubber ones that sold for about a dollar while the regular ones were several dollars. She did buy some of the smaller hard plastic ones, though.

My younger sister and I practiced and practiced with those clunky black hoops and got really good at it. When we got the chance to use a ‘real’ hoop, we were even better, so when the local shopping center announced a contest, we were eager to participate. My mother was rather stunned by the idea of me competing in anything remotely athletic since I was a chubby klutz.

There were competitions for the longest continuous use of a hoop, the most hoops going at once, and for tricks as well. And they provided all the standard hoops for us to use, so those black things didn’t slow us down. My sister won two of the contests in her age group and amazingly, so did I in the older age group. I felt like walking on air. The prizes included a rather large collection of those real hoops which was great.

Learning to use a hula hoop was a great confidence builder for a shy and awkward kid. I could not only do what my friends did but could even do it better than they could. Being too poor for fancy equipment didn’t even matter, so I have a special place in my heart for hula hoops. Continue Reading »

OK, you can’t teach anyone how to do these moves in a text article – just watch the video and see if you can do this in your living room. Be sure to move the lamps first, though.

Here’s the real question – how can anyone work up this kind of exercise routine with a hula hoop, working his hips the way he is, and still stay somewhat overweight? This may prove that a healthy diet is more important than exercise for losing weight. But he is kind of sexy, don’t you think? Continue Reading »

Why not have fun with your aerobic exercise program? These easy hula hoop exercises will make you feel like a kid again.

Hula hoops are more than just toys for kids.

They can be a fun way for adults to exercise and achieve fitness in a low impact way. Hoops can be used in many different hula hoop exercises for flexibility and to build muscle and help foster coordination in movement.

The basic hula hoop maneuver is good for toning the waist and flexing the hip joints. This is performed with the large, standard size hula hoop around the waist. The hips are then rotated in a circular motion to get the hoop rotating around the waistline. To add to the exercise, continue the motion but balance first on one foot and then on the other.

This is harder than it sounds, so start by slightly lifting one foot off the ground and then progress to holding the leg out to the side and eventually straight out in front. This does wonders for balance and works thigh and calf muscles as well. Also, you can progress to using more than one hoop at a time. Continue Reading »