Thursday, October 29, 2015

Hula Hooping? A different 'spin' on exercise or a 'core' lesson worth noting?

Your core, or roughly the 35 muscles that surround your spine and pelvic area, are a group of muscles that help support and stabilize your whole body. Strong core muscles work together to hold the body upright, maintain balance and make possible, effortless arm and leg movements.

A strong core or the desire to develop a better one, is where the fundamentals of hula hooping begins? Hula hooping is a fun way to exercise but the benefits of developing the skill, can hardly be called 'child's play'!

I remember when I decided to begin my hula hoop practice in 2010? Determined to find new 'fun' things to do, I signed up for a local class. I remember feeling initially awkward and somewhat off center, as I tried to make my hula hoop spin before it eventually dropped to the floor!

Watching my instructor as she effortlessly spun and twirled to the music, made me more determined to  'get it'!  "Think of your hula hoop as your dance partner", she would say." "Don't try to control it. Just go with the flow."  Hummmm?  Those words caught my attention. I was already aware of other area's in my life that I needed to learn the art of "letting go". So began my hula hooping passion. Here are some basic hula hooping facts that you may or may not already know?

Hula hooping is a combination of dance, exercise and play. Hoop dance inspires creativity and the expression of movement. Endless opportunities exist with the only boundaries being your own imagination. As an exercise, hooping is aerobic, combined with strength and flexibility. The American Council on Exercise (ACE Sponsored Research) conducted a study on the effectiveness of a hooping workout, in regard to it's aerobic and calorie burning results. The researchers concluded that during a 30 minute hooping workout, the participants burned an average of 7 calories per minute or a total of 210 calories, making it an acceptable exercise that can contribute to better weight management. http://www.acefitness.org/certifiednewsarticle/1094/  As play, hooping increases feeling of joy and laughter. This is my own observation from my experience with teaching children and adults.  I've seen countless times, almost immediately after 'putting on a hula hoop', a smile appears followed by laughs and ahhh's as skill after skill, is mastered!







2 comments:

  1. What a great article on core strength. I look forward to taking your classes and strengthening my core!! Thank you.

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  2. Thank you for posting your comments. I'm glad you enjoyed our blog and I look forward to meeting you. Please check out our website www.fungoingforward.com for upcoming class information. If I can be of further help, please let me know?

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