The hula hoop is a trendsetter when it comes to fitness exercises. Turn up the music and get ready to burn some calories. The fun is guaranteed with this new fitness trend.
The benefits of the hula hoop workout
The hula hoop is probably the most popular new fitness companion. Whereby “new” is not quite right, because hula hooping was already a real trend in the eighties. But can you really burn calories with a little hip swing, and what are some other benefits of hula hooping?
- Tone your skin and your abdomen: If you work out regularly with the hoop, your abdominal muscles will be heavily used. Consequently, you can create a tight, flat stomach.
- Burn some calories: With the right workout, you can lose up to 900 calories per hour. If you can’t keep it up for that long, don’t worry, it’ll come naturally over time. However, you should let your hips swing for at least 15 minutes a day.
- Increase your stamina: By spinning the hoop you will not only burn calories, but you’ll also improve your physical endurance. Put on the right music. This will make your workout so much fun.
- Strengthen your core: The rhythmic circular movements strengthen our core muscles. These are responsible for the general balance of our body.
- Have fun: Working out and having fun at the same time – Sounds like utopia to you? Then just try out the training with the hoop. You will notice, working out does not always have to be sweaty and annoying.
- Save some money: Dumbbells, kettle bells or exercise bikes can be very expensive. This can make you lose the desire to exercise. But exercising doesn’t always have to take the last few bucks out of your wallet. With the hula hoop you can train relatively inexpensively at any time and any place.
Hula hoop: How to exercise & tricks for beginners
Are you new to hula hooping and have no idea how to start or what to do? We’ve got some tricks for all hula hoop beginners out there.
Before you start
Before you get started with your new hobby, you should first think about the right hula hoop.
- For dance choreographies, light hoops of 36” diameter are best. If you want to increase the fitness factor, it is best to choose heavier hoops with a diameter of up to 42” diameter.
- The general conditions are also important: choose a place without any obstacles to avoid the risk of throwing objects on the ground with your hula hoop. If you like being outside, try hula hooping in a park or garden.
- Choose clothing that is tight around the hips. Clothing that is too loose slows down the hoop and can possibly cause bruises.
- Let’s go – by the way, it’s even more fun with motivating music!
Tricks for beginners
To learn hula hoop, you first need some practice and patience. But once you get the hang of it, hula hoop is a fun and exciting workout.
- Get into the starting position, where you place one foot forward. Right-handed people usually use the right foot for this, left-handed people the left.
- Put the hoop around your hips and place it on your lower back. Make sure to keep the hoop parallel to the floor.
- Turn your upper body in one direction and then give the hoop a strong push with both hands in the opposite direction. To keep the hoop up, start moving your hips forward and backward. Don’t try to make a circle motion with your hips.
- Try to find a rhythm and shift your weight forward and backward.
Become a hula hoop expert with more advanced workouts
Once you feel confident and have mastered the basic position, you can move on to more difficult hula hoop tricks.
- Most people have a direction in which they succeed better at hula hooping. So the next challenge is to do it just as well in the other direction.
- It’s also fun to compete with friends: who can spin the hoop the fastest or keep it in the air the longest?
- Also try taking a few steps forward and backward while hula hooping.
- Finally, try hula hooping with several hoops.
Hula Hoop: Weight loss & calories
Skilled athletes can make the hula hoop not only rotate around their hips, but also their neck, legs, feet or even arms. In the process of working out with your hula hoop, you burn a few calories, depending on the type of movement.
How many calories do you lose during your workout
- How many calories you burn doing the Hola Hoop depends, among other things, on the duration of the workout and your height. It also depends on how fast you move.
- For example, at a height of 5”6 and a weight of 143lbs, you will burn about 370 kcal within one hour.
- In addition, you can use a hula hoop with integrated weights. If you use this and give it an hour of power, you can even burn up to 900 calories.
- However, as a beginner, you should first start with an ordinary hula hoop and then gradually increase.
How to lose weight by working out with your hula hoop
If you set aside 30 minutes every day for hula hoop workouts, you can quickly shrink your waist and hips.
- When you start exercising, take the first 15 minutes to warm up your body and find your pace. This way you can use the next 15 minutes for more intense exercise to increase the calories you burn.
- Depending on the intensity of your hula hoop workout, you can burn between 500 and 900 calories per hour.
- As you get into this sport, you can add additional exercises to work out other parts of your body.
- Keeping your hands in the air or away from your body for 15-20 movements of the hula hoop is a great way to warm up the muscles in your arms.
- If you bend your knees slightly, you can increase the intensity of the workout for your hips.
- One of the easiest ways to get the most out of your hula hoop workout is to add music and dance to the beat.
Bruises after hula hoop – that’s where they come from
Surely you know the feeling when you work out with your hula hoop and discover bruises around your hips the next day. Every time you touch it, it hurts, and you want to throw the hoop in the trash. But that’s perfectly normal, especially in the beginning.
- Pain and bruises around the hips after the first training sessions with the hula hoop are completely normal. Especially with the heavier hoops, which also have knobs or bulges, slight injuries happen.
- However, the pain in this case occurs only in the first few days. Your body is not accustomed to the hoop itself, nor to the circular motion. Thus, both bruises and sore muscles occur. If you use the hula hoop more often, the pain will decrease over time.
- For this very reason, it is important that you do not exert yourself too much during the first training sessions with your new hula hoop. Try circling the hoop around your hips slowly. Stop as soon as the pain in the affected areas becomes stronger.
- Once your body gets used to the massage effect, you will hardly feel the hoop. Your workout can continue for several minutes to even hours at a time without having to suffer from sore muscles later.
- If you are a beginner when it comes to hula hoop, and you want to use the hoop for fitness reasons, then get some advice before buying a product. The best way to do this is to go to a sports store. Here you can get tips when it comes to the right size and weight.
Hula Hoop during pregnancy: Things you should know
Many women wonder whether they can continue to do hula hoop during pregnancy, as it mainly involves the abdomen and hips in the workout. We’ll tell you how much hula hoop is allowed.
- If you have already actively practiced hula hoop before pregnancy and now want to continue this sport, it is not a problem at first. However, beginners are advised not to start hula hoop during pregnancy. This is because, especially in the beginning, the Hula Hoop causes bruises on the abdomen and hips.
- In the first weeks of pregnancy, Hula Hoop is completely safe as long as you feel fit. If you are experiencing pregnancy discomfort such as nausea or fatigue, you may want to scale down the workout a bit and do shorter sessions.
- As your pregnancy progresses and your belly grows, it’s time to consider whether hula hooping is still comfortable for you. Light exercise is fine because it gets the circulation going, is easy on the joints, and is reminiscent of belly dancing, which is even recommended for pregnant women.
- Hula hoop strengthens the pelvic floor. Some midwives advise pregnant women to start pelvic floor exercises even before giving birth. Others say that an overly trained pelvic floor can make childbirth more difficult.
- It is better to refrain from hula hooping towards the end of pregnancy. Your body’s center of gravity has shifted so much by now that you may be a little wobbly on your feet. Also, your belly, which is probably quite large now, will make the pressure of the hula hoop uncomfortable.
What you should pay attention to as a pregnant woman if you want to hula hoop
- Use a light hula hoop without knobs so as not to strain your abdomen too much.
- Avoid jumping while working out as this may feel uncomfortable.
- As soon as you feel dizzy or very out of breath, stop the workout.
- After pregnancy, hula hoop is a good workout to start exercising again.
Working out with a hula hoop is not only fun, it also burns a lot of calories and strengthens your core muscles. By training with your hula hoop for an hour, you can burn up to 900 calories, but don’t worry if you can’t work out for that long, 15 minutes are enough if you are a beginner. Furthermore, hula hoop is a cheap alternative to working out at a gym or buying expensive equipment.
The ridges in weighted hula hoops can help to keep the hoop around your body, as they add more friction to the movement when you move your hips.
As with any physical exercise, too much hula hooping can actually harm your health. Don’t forget to listen to your body regarding your workout and include rest days in your training schedule. Don’t work out if you are in pain or experience sore muscles.
Place one foot forward (right-handed people usually use the right foot for this, left-handed people the left) and put the hoop around your hips. Place it on your lower back and make sure to keep the hoop parallel to the floor. Turn your upper body in one direction and then give the hoop a strong push with both hands in the opposite direction. To keep the hoop up, start moving your hips forward and backward. Don’t try to make a circle motion with your hips. Try to find a rhythm and shift your weight forward and backward.
If you work out regularly with the hoop, all of your core muscles will be heavily used. Consequently, by hula hooping you can create a tight, flat stomach and slim your waist. It is also a great workout for your glutes and thighs.
To learn hula hooping, you need some practice and patience at first. But once you get the hang of it, it is a fun and exciting workout. Choose a place without any obstacles to avoid the risk of throwing objects on the ground with your hula hoop and wear clothing that is tight around the hips. Also try not to move your hips in a circle when hula hooping, but move them forward and backward.
For beginners, light hoops of 36” diameter are best. If you want to increase the fitness factor, it is best to choose heavier hoops with a diameter of up to 42” diameter.
