Almost every person I’ve ever hooped in front of says, “I can’t even keep a hula hoop going around my waist”and I always respond, “Trust me, you can!”. Hula hooping takes practice. Granted, lots of it, but practice is truly all you need.
Hooping is my favorite exercise. I’ve been hooping for 4 years now, and I will say, it’s a lot of hard work. You have to have dedication and perseverance to avoid discouragement when learning new skills and tricks. The skills don’t just come naturally, and they don’t stay with you unless you use them regularly. It has taken me several months to learn one trick before, so don’t get discouraged.
Hooping is also a fun, easy way to stay active and stay in shape. Before you know it, you’ve been practicing for an hour and are dripping in sweat. Overall, hooping is a cardio exercise. However, not only does it work for cardio, it can also function as an amazing toning exercise for various muscle sets. Shoulder hooping, chest breaks, and isolations tone and work your arm muscles, while knee hooping and other leg hooping tricks work your leg muscles. You can focus your exercises on the areas in which you feel the most work, and the overall cardio will burn calories everywhere.
I first learned about hooping from a friend of mine, who showed me a few basics, and from there, I am completely self-taught. My skills come from making up things as I go, or seeing new tricks and picking them up. You can find various tutorials online as well as learning from other hoopers. There are many fan pages and community websites in which you can connect with other hoopers in your area.
It’s a form of dance, so get into it! Play some upbeat music and go to town. Your tricks don’t need to be perfect, or anywhere near it. They just need to be something that you love doing. I’ve found that it’s much easier and more uplifting to exercise when you love what it is that you are doing.
Start with learning to hoop around your waist, then go from there. Have fun!