hooping

Posted on | May 20, 2009 | 19 Comments

I have a new obsession.

It’s a 42″ collapsible hula hoop from Spirit Hoops and it’s taken hold of me in a way that I never would have imagined.  I woke up at 2:30 this morning and couldn’t get back to sleep because I was thinking of hooping.  I’ve practiced in the back yard for 30 minutes before work the past two mornings.  Yes, I’ve given up sleep for hoop practice.  It’s that serious.

And it’s this video’s fault (I’m sorry, I tried to embed the video and couldn’t get it to work!).  Doesn’t she make it look easy?  And fun?!?!  Well, fun it is, easy it isn’t.  But I’m hoping that with lots of practice, I’ll be able to hoop too.  When I got my hoop on Monday, I averaged 3-6 rotations before it crashed – now I can do 10-12 rotations.  More occasionally, but the average is still pretty low. 

Last night I went to a hoop fitness class and practiced with a 3 lb. water hoop, which was MUCH easier than my 1 lb. hoop.  It travels more slowly across the body, which gives your brain enough time to understand the movements needed to keep the hoop going.  I also learned to halo, which is when you move the hoop above your head, circling around your palm and across the back of your hand. 

It’s an easy trick to learn, but hard on the hands.  I need to practice with my left hand next, and give this bruise time to heal.  Hooping is a great workout, it’s low impact and my abs and lower back are really sore, but not so much that I want to stop.  If I ever get really good at it, I’ll make a video and show you guys what I’ve learned!  In the meantime, there are some great videos in the Hooping for Knitterly and Crafty Types flickr group.  Those girls are inspiring, I don’t know how they learned so quickly!

Now the shocker:  I haven’t knit or spun in two days.

Category: self indulgence

Comments

19 Responses to “hooping”

  1. margene
    May 20th, 2009 @ 10:28 am

    You could run away and hooping troop!

  2. Bubblesknits
    May 20th, 2009 @ 10:35 am

    Holy mother of….that woman is amazing! What a neat video!

  3. Cookie
    May 20th, 2009 @ 10:35 am

    You’ve replaced knitting/spinning with hooping?

    Oh my…

    I bet it is a really good workout that won’t get boring.

  4. Carol Hughes
    May 20th, 2009 @ 11:09 am

    Thanks for sharing – it looks like a blast! (Going to check what’s left of the kids’ toys in the attic…)

  5. Paula
    May 20th, 2009 @ 12:19 pm

    Oh man, I am sticking to the Wii

  6. JoyMichele
    May 20th, 2009 @ 1:15 pm

    I’ve got the hoop bug, too. (Can’t wait to get my hoop blog going so I can relay all my hooping adventures.)

    As for the halos? I would try to keep the hoop rolling right at the palm/finger joint area, rather than mid-palm… it’s harder to maintain there at first, but I find it causes less bruising and pain on the back of the hands if you can manage it.

    Thanks for the excellent video, and happy hooping!!!

  7. Laurie
    May 20th, 2009 @ 1:20 pm

    Very intriguing. I’m tempted. Which one is a good beginner hoop that isn’t the 3# one?

  8. cyndy
    May 20th, 2009 @ 3:57 pm

    shoop shoop hula hoop…oh my..I’m giving my age away..I used to have a pogo stick too…and pogoed around the block! Yes indeed, I once was a pogo stick champ :-)

    No knitting? Surely- you jest!

  9. Lynn in Tucson
    May 20th, 2009 @ 5:21 pm

    Very cool! I wish my kid’s were collapsible. Maybe it would be easier to put away!

  10. Suzanne
    May 20th, 2009 @ 5:58 pm

    I’m pretty positive I don’t have enough coordination for that!

  11. grace
    May 20th, 2009 @ 7:41 pm

    Where did you go for the hoop class?

  12. Janice in GA
    May 20th, 2009 @ 8:05 pm

    I’ve got a hula hoop, and I’ve totally lost the knack I had (when I was 8) for keeping it going.

    I’ll keep trying.

  13. Carrie
    May 20th, 2009 @ 8:54 pm

    Holy cow, I want to be that girl on that video. (And I want that song on my iPod.) Good luck! When you get that good I can say, “I knew her when…”

  14. Tina M.
    May 21st, 2009 @ 1:12 am

    Keep it up, I think you’ll do well. Anything that makes moving around fun, I’m all for.

  15. Becky
    May 21st, 2009 @ 6:31 am

    Okay, watching that video, I couldn’t keep still. I kept catching myself moving trying to keep the hoops moving. It was the strangest thing. Keep it up. It looks like lots of fun. I could never get the hoola hoop when I was a kid. It was around my ankles much more often than around my waist.

  16. Diane
    May 21st, 2009 @ 2:26 pm

    That video is amazing, she makes it look so easy. I’d be content to keep one hoop going without hurting myself.

  17. Emily
    May 21st, 2009 @ 8:37 pm

    You are the second person today to mention hula hoops as exercise! I had never thought about it but that seems like fun!

  18. Sara
    May 24th, 2009 @ 7:26 pm

    Looks like fun, but I wouldn’t be able to manage more than oh…2 rotations! Good luck with your endeavors!

  19. JessaLu
    May 31st, 2009 @ 9:47 pm

    ohno I’m starting to be intrigued too…this whole hoop thing is fascinating!