There was Jazzercise in the '70s, Yogilates in the late '90s and now there is hoopsters? That's right; the hula hoop is re-emerging as a part of a workout regime that fitness experts say provides an intense cardio workout and perhaps even a meditative one.
Swinging a plastic hoop around your hips may not seem like a relaxing experience, but Kelly Strycker, the director of Chicago Hoop Dance, uses hoop dancing as a form of moving meditation.
"The meditative aspect is in the rhythm, the rocking movement that stimulates the heartbeat," she tells Reuters.
Hoop dancing attracts mainly women, between the ages of 25 and 60. Strycker's hoop dancing classes include 20 to 25 minutes of yoga moves, lunges and squats. The dance is an all-body workout, including hooping for the wrists, hands, shoulders, legs, hips and waists.
According to a 2011 study sponsored by the American Council on Exercise (ACE), hooping can burn up to 600 calories an hour.
"We found that just by the nature of movement it did a pretty effective job," Dr. Cedric X. Bryant, chief science officer at the ACE said. "The only downside is if one had difficulty mastering movement. But larger hoops reduce the learning curve."
The hula hooping exercise trend has been gaining traction for some time now, with celebrities like Kelly Osbourne claiming how the circus exercise helped her loose two inches from her waist. According to a 2010 study done at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, strength training still wins over hula hooping for toning lean muscle. Though John Porcari, the study's author, says hula hooping is still pretty effective as an aerobic workout.
Hula hoop classes may become the next exercise trend, perhaps rising to the same level as the ever-ubiquitous spin class. But it could easily be relegated to the exercise fads corner, where failures like the Shake Weight and Sauna Pants lurk to remind us how far people will go to avoid actually hitting the treadmill.
