When was the last time you used a hula hoop? For many, it’s been decades. While the childhood pastime may invoke memories of time spent at recess, it shouldn’t be an activity reserved for child’s play.
Hula hooping is a safe, fun and effective workout for people of all ages. Some people swear by hula hooping for a powerful, full-body exercise — one of these is Sara Cole Barnette, a massage therapist and yoga and hula hoop instructor based in Houston, Texas.
While hula hooping may have originated as a toy for children, it has evolved over time, Barnette tells TODAY.com. These days, hula hoops come in various sizes and weights to serve different purposes — from fun to exercise to dance and acrobatic performances, she explains.
Benefits of hula hooping
Hula hooping around the waist, or waist hooping, is a great aerobic exercise that raises the heart rate and the engages the whole body, Barnette explains.
“Just hooping around your waist (with a normal hoop, not a weighted one), you’ll see after about three minutes your heart rate is pumping,” says Barnette.
In addition to engaging the hip muscles, abs and obliques, waist hooping also works the legs, arms, and other parts of the upper body, Barnette adds. “It is an intense full-body workout and your heart will be pounding, similar to doing a spin class or an aerobics class or Zumba class,” says Barnette. At the same time, it’s low-impact on the joints and generally very safe, she adds.
Keeping the hula hoop in orbit around the waist requires a good deal of coordination and stability. “The main thing that most people love that it builds is core strength and balance,” Barnette notes.
Similar to being right- or left-handed, people tend to spin in a dominant direction when hula hooping, either clockwise or counter-clockwise.
“We encourage creating balance by trying to go in both directions,” says Barnette, adding that this adds an element of focus and mindfulness. “It brings connection to yourself and your body in the…
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