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.

Today, these hoops have grown from a child’s toy into a fun and useful tool. While lots of kids still enjoy hooping, many adults have joined in as well. There are fitness classes all over the country that are dedicated to using weighted hula hoops for exercise for the fun and  health benefits that can come from it. By adding moves, such as walking or dancing, you can take your hoop experience to a new level and burn lots of calories at the same time. With so many Americans fighting for weight loss, hooping has become a valid method of exercise.

There are also various competitions around the world that hoopers can participate in. The world record for the longest time spinning a hoop is over ninety hours! Today there is even a hooping world championship that people from all over the globe can participate in.

Beyond the fun factor, the sport does not require the purchase of intense or expensive equipment. You do not need a special trainer in order to learn how to spin a hoop. It simply takes practice and some sort of hoop. These days most people actually make there own hoops. You can find lots of tutorials online that will teach you how to do this. Hula hooping has truly become a niche sport that thousands of people can enjoy.

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.

Today I still use hoops for fitness as well as for just plain having fun. It’s still pretty neat to impress both little kids and your doddering peers with hoop skills. I’ve also found that the hoops can make exercising even more fun. With pretty bad arthritis in my knees, I can’t do anything high impact, but I can sure wiggle enough to get some hoops going.

Using hoops is easier for me when doing arm-extended exercise than just trying to hold arms up without a hoop. Making it more comfortable motivates me to do more exercise and the fun aspect makes working out feel more like play than a burdensome task.

If you never played with hula hoops, I don’t believe it is ever too late to start joining in on the fun. I know a ninety year old lady who still twirls a mean hoop and looks pretty cool doing it. The neatest part of watching her is her great big grin as that hoop spins.