The Latest Craze to Hit our Gyms is Hula Hooping!
Recently I appeared on Mornings with Kerry-Anne to give her some tips on how to Hula Hoop. You can watch the clip here (use the tabs on the right of the video to locate the Hula segment).
Ever since October 2009 when Michelle Obama hula hooped 142 times without stopping, the world has gone hooping mad! Gyms and dance studios are including more and more hooping classes, and many celebrities are coming out of the woodwork saying it’s their workout of choice.
The History of Hula Hooping
Hula Hooping originated in ancient Greek times when it was invented as a form of exercise. Although the name ‘hula hooping’ came about in the early 1800’s when British soldiers witnessed Hawaiian women performing hooping as part of a dance. The 1950’s was when hula hooping really took off, and while it has always been popular amongst kids, it’s only been recently when the adult world has rediscovered their love of the hoop.
Nintendo Wii Fit has a lot to do with the sudden popularity of hula hooping as do celebrities such as Michelle Obama. Wii Fit’s hula hooping game is a really effective cardiovascular workout. Whilst standing on the Wii you have to rotate your hips trying to keep your virtual hoop from falling. In the meantime more hoops are flung in your direction and you have to lean your body whilst rotating to catch them (or you get donked on the head). I was embarrassingly puffed the first time I tried this, luckily I wasn’t the only one!
What are the Benefits of Hula Hooping
- Increased fitness
- Weight loss (you burn around 600-800 calories per hour)
- Improved muscle tone, particularly your core muscles
- Balance and coordination
- Increased energy
- Improves lower back flexibility
- Heaps of fun!
What Muscles does it work
- Upper and lower abdominals
- Obliques
- Lower and mid back
- Gluteus (butt)
- Upper Thighs
- Heart and Lungs – a great cardiovascular workout
How to Get Started
Watch this video to learn how to get started. It takes practise but you will improve faster than you think!
What is a Good Hula Hooping Workout
- Warm up for 5 minutes doing total body stretching and some walking on the spot
- Hoop for 5 rounds of 2 minutes, with a short (30sec) break in between
- Move to your arms and hoop with each arm for 3 rounds of 1 minute, alternating sides.
- Switch back to hooping with your waist for another 5 rounds of 2 minutes, trying to hoop faster and add a few turns with your body if you can
- For your final round count the repetitions and try to beat your last score. Can you beat Michelle Obama’s 142 reps?
- Drop the hoop on the ground and hop in and out of the hoop for 20 reps, turning around going the other direction for 20 reps. (do lunges if you prefer low impact)
- Finish with some cool down stretches, and a big drink of water
- Alternatively you can add hooping into your regular workouts a. Add it at the start and finish of your walk, run, or class. If you do circuit style workouts, make hooping one of your circuits.
Although you probably view hula hooping as a kids game, give it a go and soon you’ll realise it’s a solid workout that will leave you smiling and panting at the same time!
Go to http://www.hooping.org/ to find out about your local hula hooping classes.
If in Sydney Australia visit Hooping empire.
When was the last time you hooped? I’d love to hear your hooping stories!
EA Sports Active, More Workouts 6-Week Challenge. Product Review:
Since the creation of Wii fitness, there has been an explosion of fitness based products on the market. EA Sports active is one of them, and with a newly launched More Workouts addition, they are proving to be leaders in the development of fitness based Wii products.
Recently I have been trying out the new addition to EA Sports Active Franchise, More Workouts. They have upgraded their fitness program to include the More Workouts addition with a 6-Week Challenge and this is what I have been trialling.
How it works
The six week challenge is entire workout program based around your level of fitness. It works both cardiovascular fitness, strength, and flexibility. It has a tracking system whereby you can monitor your progress and compare your results to previous weeks. It is set up, exactly as it says, as a 6 week challenge, designed to push your boundaries. The exercises are similar to the original EA sports active, but with the addition of new exercises and more of an emphasis on your abdominals, all wrapped up into the six week challenge.
The accessories you need is the leg strap and some elastic resistance bands (provided) and of course the Wii nunchucks. You can also use the balance board on certain exercises (not mandatory).
My Experience
Being a trainer I was really trialling this out from my clients perspective. I wanted to see if this program could be something I prescribed and could feel confident that my clients were getting a decent workout.
The verdict: Yes.
Unlike other Wii games, this program had you moving from one exercise to the next in quick succession and some of the exercises were quite challenging! The squats and lunges I had trouble initially getting the nunchuck to register, which I have decided is a clever ploy by EA to get you holding your position for longer (gotta love that burn!).
There is a large variety of exercises keeping the program interesting and always challenging. I particularly loved the boxing, with ducking and weaving getting my heart pumping. In one workout you can expect to be going from lunging, to waterskiing, to skipping, paddle surfing and negotiating an obstacle course. This is all performed at the Wii Sports resort, which leaves me torn between feeling like I’ve just been on a tropical island to desperately wanting to go to one.
The abdominal component is very thorough, there were some new exercises I hadn’t seen before as well as some variations on the classics. I was surprised that some of the curl ups used straight legs, as opposed to bent, but I feel very confident that a lot of research and testing has gone into the exercises chosen.
Having a virtual trainer there to motivate me was a novelty, being a trainer myself, it was nice not to be in the drivers seat. She (you can chose male or female) was a big help in demonstrating the exercises, and providing motivational comments.
I really enjoyed the cool down at the end of each workout. Some of my favourite stretches were incorporated here although I would have liked to see a bit more variety for next time.
The verdict
The More Workouts 6-Week challenge is a great program for people wanting to incorporate fitness into their life in a fun, convenient way. The program is easy to set up and use and is one where the whole family can get involved. The workout would be best suited to below average to average fitness levels. For above average users, you would need to supplement some other training in (such as a run prior) to get the full benefits. Unlike other Wii games there is much less fiddling in between sets and this is definitely the ‘real deal’ when it comes to workout programs.
I am giving the 6-Week Challenge a big two thumbs up and recommend it to anyone wanting an effective workout at home, which will leave you smiling, sweaty and with some visible results.
You can order it here or for more information go to EA Sports Active
Have you done the 6-Week Challenge or used Wii Fit? I’d love to know your feedback.
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