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Weighted Hula Hoop Exercises

Apr 29, 2012 | By Kira Jaines

Even in the 1950s, hula-hooping was considered good exercise, though it was not the exercise craze it has become these days. Not a 50s fad anymore, hooping has become a viable cardio exercise that raises your heart rate and burns calories. An hour-long hooping session can burn as many calories as an hour-long treadmill run, according to a 2009 Time.com article. Hooping.org recommends an adult hoop weighing 1 to 2 lbs., which is ideal for all types of hooping. It may take some practice, but exercising with a hula hoop may be just the fun you need to get in shape.

Basic Hula

Basic hooping alone will strengthen your core and improve balance, as well as give you an aerobic workout, states Jessica Matthews of the American Council on Exercise. Stand with the hoop around your waist, pulled up against the small of your back. Put one foot in front of the other and swing the hoop around your waist. Shift your weight back and forth to get hoop momentum, and then move your feet out to the side, about shoulder-width apart, and rock back and forth slightly to keep the hoop going. Work up to hooping for several minutes at a time. As you become more practiced, try turning around in a circle as you keep the hoop moving or lifting each hip and touching the tip of your toes to the floor.

Triceps Toner

When you are comfortable with basic hooping, you can add exercises that will work other muscles, even as you keep the hula hoop spinning around your waist. Starting with an arm exercise is easiest and will help keep your arms out of the way of the hoop. Lift your arms above your head, either separated or with hands held. Drop your hands behind your neck, and then push them back above your head again, to tone the triceps muscle at the back of your upper arm. Do sets of 10, alternating with basic hooping around your waist or with squats.

Squats

Even hooping for five to 10 minutes at a time is beneficial and can contribute to the 30 minutes a day of aerobic activity recommended by federal exercise guidelines, concludes Consumer Reports. Targeting different muscles as you work your core with the hoop can enhance your workout. To strengthen the quadriceps, hamstring and gluteal muscles, do some squats. As the hoop spins around your waist, bend slightly at the knees and push your buttocks out, as if you were going to sit in a chair, then stand up straight again. Make sure your knees don’t extend over your toes as you squat. The basics of performing a squat remain the same whether you do it with or without a hoop. Work up to sets of 10 and alternate with the triceps exercise.

Stepping and Walking

Once the hoop is spinning around your waist, step forward and back several times, alternating right and left legs. Work up to sets of 10. Between each set walk forward and back several steps. You can also step to the side or march in place. To increase the cardio benefit, move your arms as you step. Perform biceps curls in front or to the side. Hold fists at the shoulders, and then reach straight up and pull back down to your shoulders. Or hold fists at the shoulders with elbows out and open your arms out the side and bring them back in again.

References

Article reviewed by Victoria Dugger Last updated on: Apr 29, 2012

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