Thank Goodness for My Weighted Hula-Hoop
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A short week and a half into quarantine, I’d had my fill of online fitness classes. Following a peppy instructor on a screen began to feel monotonous, and slightly irritating — I wanted something I could doby myself, and that didn’t involve jogging up and down Flushing Avenue while anxiously sidestepping the two-block-longmaskedline outside of Wegmans.
Because free time often dredges up long-forgotten memories, one afternoon, after knocking a bowl off of the counter in mykitchen, I was reminded of Hula-Hoops — specifically, the hours I spent as a child knocking things over in my living room while spinning one around on my waist. From there, it occurred to me that Hula-Hooping had, in recent years, been touted as a sort of at-home miracle exercise — I’d seen an article at some point about celebrities like Kelly Osbourne and Michelle Obama hooping their way to a super-tonedbody. Further research revealed that Hula-Hooping is, in fact, excellent exercise: According to the American Council on Exercise (whatever that is), you can burn seven calories a minute while hooping, and it also helps improve posture, boosts circulation, and strengthens core muscles.
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My Google search (“hula hoop exercise”) led me to a brand called Spinsterz, which sells weighted hoops in various categories. I placed an order for a one-pound fuchsia hoop and when it arrived, quickly put it together. Finding the space to Hula-Hoop in my shared 1,000-square-foot apartment was a bit of a challenge, I’ll admit. But after some trial and error, I found that there’s a zone where the “living room” meets the “dining room” that works — and it’s where I’ve been more or less since the thing arrived.
I set up myyoga mat, spread my feet hip-width apart, and started hooping. And after several days of doing it incessantly, I’ve learned this: It takes about ten minutes to feel cardio effects (sweaty forehead, faster heartbeat). If you want to intensify the workout, a good trick is hooping in a squat position. It’s also useful for stretching, as it turns out — you just place the hoop in front of you on the floor, extend your arms to grab the outer edges, and bend forward. And though it’s only been half a week, my core does feel tighter. If I were to buy a Hula-Hoop now, I might try one that is ever so slightly heavier (two or three pounds), as the one-pound hoop is challenging to keep up for long bursts of time. On the flip side, the harder it is to keep up, the better the exercise, meaning myone-poundermakes for a slightly more challenging cardio workout than its two- or three-pound counterparts.
I’ve been using my sparkly pink Hula-Hoop so often that my roommate has been forced to make some rules: I’m not allowed to hoop while we’re watching TV, for instance, or while we playgames(mostly rummikub). Which still leaves me with plenty of other opportunities to hoop during the day: while listening to podcasts, calling my mom, staring off into space, or even having a glass of wine. It’s good exercise, sure, but it’s also offered me a way to harness the constant restlessness I feel while stuck in my home.
Other weighted Hula-Hoops
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This hoop is a bit heavier (just over three pounds) and has a foam-padded exterior for a comfier workout.
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It’s weight adjustable (you can remove sections to make it lighter and smaller), meaning this hoop is a good option if you’re unsure if you’d prefer something on the heavier or lighter side. It comes in eight separate interlocking pieces that can be easily disassembled for storage.
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Marisa Tomeibuys her hoops from this LA–based company founded by Gabriella Redding. All of their hoops are handmade.
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An in-between-er weight. This hoop is also detachable (it’s comprised of six pieces) and was designed to be used on yourarmsto tone shoulders, biceps, and triceps.
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