Traditional Hula Hoops are circular objects in the form of a large hoop that is used to be twirled around various parts of the body, especially the waist.
You probably think of dumbells and medicine balls when you think of workout equipment. Something you probably don’t think about is using a weighted hula hoop. Weighted hula hoops are just a heavier version of a regular hula hoop.
Health Benefits of Using Hula Hoops
The misconception is that a hula hoop is just a toy for kids to play with, and it simply has no place in the workout. The reality is that it can be a handy tool for workouts and can offer you some significant benefits for both kids and healthy adults. Here are some advantages.
Using hula hoops, especially a weighted one, helps burn calories. One of the first things you will feel when using a weighted hula hoop is burning calories.
Typically, you can burn 200 to 300 calories on a routine basis in gym workouts and routines. That’s a great calorie burn. It is a bonus for someone trying to lose weight by burning more calories than they are acquiring.
If you are looking for a full-body workout with minimal equipment, then using weighted hula hoops is the right choice for you.
The hula hoop can give you a full-body workout and adapt your body resistance regimen. You can do lunges while working your arms with the weighted hula hoop.
It all depends on how you use the routine and hula hoop options. You can work your abs, arms, shoulders, legs, and core. You can also do various yoga poses for balancing using the smart weighted hula hoop.
If you have a problem with your spine and back, your posture is one of the most important things that you will be told to work on.
By using hula hoops regularly, you will automatically have a great posture. This is because you have to hold the hoop properly and have a proper posture while doing it for many techniques. You must keep your back and spine straight, which involves developing your muscle strength.
How to Use a Weighted Hula Hoop
Choose the workout process that is planned for your experience level. You can get much quicker results from the plan that fits your experience and level. People who are just getting started with a weighted hula hoop can even prepare their workout routine or procedures.
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Stretching
There are many hula hooping options and techniques that you can do with a weighted hula hoop for stretching. So you will have numerous options. It is advisable to do warm-ups and cool-downs of your choice on your own. Let’s look into easy and efficient weighted hula hoop workouts and techniques.
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Comfortable and Good Posture
Do some stretching beforehand, and then keep your feet hip-width apart to use weighted hula hoops. Get yourself into the hoop and wind it up on your good side. You can place one of your feet front or the way you are comfortable and start spinning the weighted hula hoop flat and firm.
Then move your abdomen back and forth in a uniform manner. Continue to do this until the weighted hula hoop starts to spin naturally along with your body movements.
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Twirling
Now slightly rotate or twirl your body so that the hoop circles around you without falling. It helps in increasing your attention span. Burning fat with the help of a hoop workout is around 75 calories. The mass of the muscles in our body is increased with this workout.
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Progress
If your hoop is not getting any power behind it, you will have to put in a little more muscle work and push it slightly more in the beginning. Once you get your push sorted out, you can start moving your body slightly. You can do it in many ways.
Uses of Hula Hoop
Hula hoops are widely used, kids use established equipment fun, and adults use weighted hula hoops for exercises.
1. Burning Fat
It helps in burning the fat in the abdomen. This forces you to turn your hip circularly, which will help burn the fat.
2. Role in Mental Health
Nowadays lots of people are busy with their works and get stressed out. Mental health is so important, and not many people know this, but hula hooping is great for your brain and your mental health in general, so hula hooping is such a great way to get relieved.
In a hula hoop workout, the body and your mind get at a particular point and move so that your body gets endorphins. It makes you happy, relieves pain and stress.
There are different hoops where you can get a little more out of your workout. By hula hooping, more calories will be burned out.
3. Reducing Weight
By using a weighted hula hooping, many workouts can reduce belly fat.
According to the results taken in 2015 regarding the loss of inches around your waist and hips, hula hooping was said to be the right type of exercise.
4. Flat Belly
Using a hula hoop helps in the significant field of tone abdominal muscles and burn calories, which can contribute to creating a flat stomach.
A weighted hoop could also be made from plastic or steel and could be made with some padding around the hoop to help protect your body from unwanted injuries and bruising. A weighted hula hoop can typically weigh 1.7pounds – 5 pounds. The exercise should be enough challenge for beginners to give your body a true workout.
5. Cardio
Hula hoop also plays the main role in the workout of the complete body, and it also involves a cardio workout.
The person should have to be coordinated in hula hooping, but the absolute truth in hula hooping is that it improves your coordination.
6. Size of Hoop Matters
In hula hooping, they say that it makes your core strength up and tends to be more powerful. The smaller or lighter the hoops are, the easier they can use. And they can be done without strain, whereas bigger hoops are the best ones for beginners.
You can learn your way in a fun and joyful environment. At the same time, it helps improve your cardio and strengthen the core muscles.
Hula hoop can improve your overall range of body movement, hand-eye coordination, improve balance, flexibility, and positively impact significant muscle groups.
7. Strengthening the Muscles
In hula hooping, to keep that front/back or side/side motion going, you need to recruit more muscle groups in the body to help power the movement, such as the legs and glutes, meaning that you strengthen those muscles too. So spinning it around your waist builds muscle strength and endurance as a result.
Weighted hula hooping is an excellent way to target and train your muscles and reduce abdominal fat. A strong core is vital in everyday life, helping to stabilize the spine and protect it from injury, preventing lower back pain, and improving your posture and form during workouts.
Top 5 Exercises To Do With Hula Hoops
1. Rolling Reach
One of the most effective exercises for your back and legs is Rolling Reach. This exercise is quite similar to controlling steering while driving.
2. Tree Press
During a tree press exercise, you will use the weighted hula hoop like a dumbbell and flex your elbows as you place the hoop behind you.
3. Hula Hoop Squat
Squats are a very popular workout in anyone’s routine. And you can do squats using a weighted hula hoop too.
With a hula hoop, you can lose extra fat on the hips.
4. Standing Twist
This is one of the most popular hula hoop exercises. It works effectively for your abs.
5. Hula Hoop Russian Twist
Russian Twist is a powerful exercise to strengthen your core, and if you want to level up your game, use a hula hoop.
Prevention is Better than Cure
So using a weighted hula hoop is a better choice for an easy workout. Using weighted hula hoops in the wrong way and the wrong direction can cause some issues, but learning how to use them properly is not a very big deal.
A regular hula hoop workout is a contact activity similar to pole dancing. Your body isn’t used to having a big plastic circle spun around it. The more you hoop, the less you bruise.
Final Thoughts
According to the American council on exercise study, the hula hooping workout acts as aerobic exercise and can burn more than workouts like jumping jacks and 100 meters running. So by their view of suggestion in hula hooping, approximately 310 calories are burnt.
It is not advised for pregnant women to pick up a hula hoop on their waist as a new form of fitness. However, if you already have a regular practice of using a weighted hula hoop, your muscle and body are already adapted to it.
But it is better to ask your trainer, a physical therapist, or any group fitness instructor and clarify if you can still hoop during your pregnancy.
So, that’s all we have for you on hula hoops!!
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