Everybody loves a great hula hoop workout including Beyonce, Marisa Tomei, Liv Tyler, as well as first lady Michelle Obama. Hula hoop workouts also called hooping are fun, relaxing, and most importantly they boost body confidence.

My fascination with hooping started about 3 years ago after watching the Cirque du Soleil show Zumanity (at the NYNY Hotel & Casino) that featured a killer aerial hoops act. Not only did the perfomer gyrate more than 30 hoops at once she managed to do it while hanging on to a rope with one hand and flying through the air. Watch the video below to see what I mean.

Why Hooping Rocks

Hooping is amazing to watch and it’s an incredibly fun way to burn calories, work your entire body, and improve your mood. It can also reduce stress and help you get focused. The reason most women love hooping so much is how liberating it feels. Rotating a hoop around your hips and performing fun tricks frees your body to move in all directions and gets you out of linear patterns that create stiffness, pain, and stress. Best part of all is it feels like play.

How To Get Started


Getting started is easier than you think the key is getting the right size, weight, and type of hula hoop. Be sure to look for a hula hoop specifically designed for hooping workouts. The hula hoops sold at sporting goods stores won’t work and neither will the acu hoop or the sport hoop. The experts explain that they are not weighted properly so they won't spin plus I actually tried these and they just don’t work. If you want to have great workouts you'll need to splurge on a specialty hoop. Also if you’re going to hula hoop away from home a lot, you may want to consider a collapsible Travel Hoop like the one featured here.

Once you have your hoop the only other thing you need to do to get started is find a good dvd. Be sure to watch a few sample videos with different instructors to make sure you like their style of teaching before ordering a set of dvd’s or signing up for a course. Some hooping instructors don’t provide very good tips while others are just not inspiring. My #1 choice is Hoopnotica: Hoopdance Workout - Beginner, Level 2. I found hooping instructor Rayna McInturf and her girls to be the best teachers and very fun as well as sexy (you gotta get sexy with your hooping workout).

Safety Tips & Care

Once you get confident enough to start hooping in more confined spaces without a dvd be sure to clear the clutter so you don’t damage your hoop or break ½ your living room decor. I managed to do both just a few weeks into my hooping adventures. To care for your hoop just lay it flat and keep it out of the sun to prevent warping.