Hula Hoop Exercise Routines

Although hula hoops were originally created as a child's toy, they've become a useful tool for adults to lose weight and stay fit. Exercise routines using hula hoops are featured in books, web sites and videos and also included in aerobics routines in gyms and fitness classes. You can burn calories effectively with hula-hoop exercises while adding variety to your workouts, even in the privacy of your own home.

Identification

People have used various types of hoop twirling for weight loss since ancient Greece, with the earliest versions made of plants, wood or metal. In the 1950s, two toy-company founders developed a hollow plastic version they called the "hula hoop," which sold 25 million units in its first two months. Although the initial popularity faded in the 1960s, the years beyond 2000 have seen a resurgence, with hoops added to Pilates and yoga classes, along with choreography and dance music. Exercise hula hoops tend to be larger than the toy versions, 37 to 45 inches in diameter and also weighted, up to 4 lbs.

Benefits

An hour of using a hula hoop, or "hooping," can burn as many calories as running on a treadmill for an hour: up to 600 calories, according to the American Council on Exercise. Hoop routines that incorporate additional arm and leg movements create a full-body workout to strengthen muscles and improve balance.

Hula Hoop Exercises

Christabel Zamor, author of "Hooping: A Revolutionary Fitness Program" and founder of HoopGirl Inc., which offers instructional videos and classes, has created such full-body hula hoop exercises as the Pulse, which stimulates the core body muscles, the Limbo for the back and thighs and the Wild West, which tones biceps and triceps. The basic form is the same for all exercises, where you put one foot in front of the other and shift your weight back and forth from foot to foot while moving the hoop in a rocking or pumping motion.

Expert Insight

Researchers from the Exercise and Health Program at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse, tested the effectiveness of hula-hoop exercise routines using volunteers that were at an intermediate or advanced level. The study, sponsored by the American Council on Exercise, found that hooping burned an average of seven calories per minute and led to an average heart rate of 151 beats per minute and average oxygen consumption of 20.6 ml/kg per minute. The researchers concluded that hula hooping provides the same aerobics results as boot-camp classes, step aerobics and cardio kickboxing.

Considerations

Choose a hoop that's the correct size for you, reaching somewhere between your waist and chest when it's resting vertically on a level surface. Smaller, lighter hoops take more energy to keep going, while heavier hoops are easier to use for longer periods. Mayo Clinic's Dr. Edward R. Laskowski cautions that if you have a history of back problems, you may need to avoid using hula hoops for exercise.