Hula Hoops And Exercise – Swing Into The Newest Exercise Craze
You wouldn't think a children's toy would be the next exercise craze, but it's turning out to be one of the best ab workouts you can try. It's fun, challenging, and a great way to get your core in shape.
Why Hula Hoops Are Great Exercise
When it comes to exercise, having fun is key. If you look forward to doing your workout, you're more likely to stick with it and keep going.
Hula hoop exercise is tough work. A few minutes of hula hooping is equivalent to a few full minutes of aerobic exercise. The rapid movements help increase your heart rate, improving your overall cardiovascular fitness.
But, it also gives you an intense muscle workout for your core. Your hips and core muscles must work overtime to keep the hula hoop going as it should. The repeated, quick motions really put intense pressure on your core muscles. Additionally, it targets your oblique and hip muscles which are often forgotten in many workout routines.
It can also give your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves that intense workout for shapely curves, especially after you get going for a while.
The biggest caution to pay attention to is the amount of space the hula hoop requires and any balance issues you may have. Because of the motion and continually rocking across different muscle groups, losing your balance could be very easy.
How To Start and Exercise Routine With The Hula Hoop
It's not hard to get started with hula hoops. All you need is one hula hoop.
You can get a simple hula hoop at most toy stores. However, if you're going to do hula hooping for exercising, it's a good idea to get a proper, adult-size, weighted hula hoop. You can often find them in sporting goods stores and online retailers.
Hula hoop exercise authorities recommend getting a larger hula hoop that you can spin slowly to get started and work your way up to more complex routines.
You probably will not find a teacher in your area unless you're living in a bigger city. But, that's no reason not to get started. Dozens of videos on YouTube can get you going and keep you motivated.
And remember, hula hooping is not just around your waist. You can do all sorts of exercises with your arms and legs to really get the full benefit.
A couple of things you should remember:
- Make sure you are someplace safe, especially if you lose control of the hula hoop
- Wear tight-fitting clothing, so it doesn't catch
- Maintain proper form
Hula hooping is a muscular exercise, not a joint one. It can be easy to damage your knees or your back if you don't keep your core strong.
How To Round Out Your Exercise Routine
If you want to get started, the biggest thing is to have fun. So grab a hoop, get outside, and start twirling.
Once you want to go a little bit further, check out some of the exercise routine videos you can find online or in any number of magazines. Cosmopolitan did an excellent breakdown of several different ways to exercise with the hula hoop.
Like most kids find out, the hula hoop doesn't just go around your hips. You can use your arms and legs. And although many kids put it around their necks, we do not recommend that. It can be far too easy to hurt your neck or throat.
Remember to start slowly. Focus on repeating the slow, muscular movements and practicing good form.
After a while, you can step up your routine and start incorporating more tricks and faster movements.
Some of the videos we watched were very basic, showing how everyone can get started. Other videos took it to the next level, letting you practice and challenge yourself.
And some out there lead you through really complex routines that almost look like performances. Not only would this challenge your body, but it would also challenge your mind as you rehearsed the different moves and remembered the sequences.
We hope you give hula hooping a try. It can be a fun, childish type of exercise that can leave you in laughter. When you have fun, you lose more weight and build more muscle faster and easier than trying to slug through a boring workout. Plus, this fun exercise can really build up your core and get rid of stomach fab fast.