HOW WELL DOES HULA HOOP TONE YOUR STOMACH?

Hula Hoop: The Ultimate 10-Minute Workout to Tone Your Stomach, Thighs and More.

Are you afraid of wearing something that hugs your body?

Dreaming of having abs like Beyoncé, but too busy to hit the gym? Meet the Hula Hoop: The Hula Hoop. No, seriously.

You may not have touched it since you were 10 years old, but did you know that it helps you strengthen your core, tone your stomach , thighs and butt? And the best part?

It's as fun as you remember, and it doesn't even feel like you're exercising. It comes in different sizes, colors, and weights. Knowing what you want from it will help you choose the right one.

However, if you are unsure of your goal, it is probably best to start with a standard hula hoop which is over a meter in diameter and weighs just under a kilo. It is suitable for all levels, from beginner to the most advanced user.

Did you know: The smaller the hula hoop, the faster you have to work to get it spinning.

So it is easier to handle a larger, heavier hoop, but that doesn't mean you should buy the heaviest hoop you can find, as it is not safe to use a hoop that is too heavy.

So how do you lose those extra pounds? The repetitive movement helps tone your abdominal muscles. If you hula hoop for 10 minutes, you'll burn up to 100 calories per session.

Learn the basics and top tricks like twirling, whirling and swaying, with not just one but two or even three hoops.

The movements may surprise you at first, but remember: Practice makes perfect.

You can start with the basic moves until you feel comfortable, then move on to more advanced moves, mixing and matching them to achieve your own toned look from head to toe.

It's all about finding your own rhythm and once you find it, it never goes away. But you should consult your doctor before starting this type of exercise, as with any physical exercise during pregnancy.

Is Hula Hooping Better Than Sit-Ups?

Hula Hooping vs. Sit-ups

Children have been using some form of hoop as a toy for centuries. Egyptian children were swinging stiff grass hoops around their waists in 1000 BC.

In 1958, Americans bought 25 million plastic "Hula Hoops" when this toy was first introduced. The modern hoop has evolved into a cardiovascular workout that involves the entire body.

On the other hand, sit-ups are a strength training exercise that aims to strengthen the abs.

Type of fitness exercise

Hooping can be compared to other types of aerobic activities that work the entire body, such as cardio boxing, step aerobics, or boot-camp fitness programs.

For a 30-minute session, you can expect to burn about 210 calories. Sit-ups are a type of calisthenics exercise in which you use your body weight to strengthen your abs.

If you weigh 60 kilos, you can expect to burn about 135 calories in 30 minutes of moderate calisthenics. If you weigh 70 kilos, this calorie expenditure increases to 167 calories.

The calorie burn of hula hooping is higher than that of sit-ups, and it is also difficult to perform sit-ups for an extended period of time.

Muscles worked

Sit-ups not only strengthen the abdominal muscles, but also the hip flexors and lower back.

Unlike a crunch, the sit-up requires you to lift your lower back off the floor, which engages your hip flexors and activates the stabilizing muscles in your lower spine.

When you do a hoop workout, you typically use a large hoop, 37 to 45 inches in diameter and weighing between 1 and 5 pounds.

Because these hoops are heavier than the plastic ones from the 1950s, you can swing them around your torso for longer periods of time.

The rhythmic swinging motions of the hoop can condition your arms, back, abdomen and legs.

Variations

Although you can add resistance to an ab workout, such as holding a weight plate, the movements of the exercise are fixed.

To balance out your ab workout, you'll typically add other types of exercises, such as crunches, leg raises, or twists, that involve different movements.

The hoop uses a single piece of equipment that can be used for a variety of movements.

You can move the hoop up and down your torso, or push it right and left at shoulder level to work your arms.

As the hoop rotates around your waist, you can perform dance steps, such as touch steps or pivots on one foot.

Benefits

Like jumping rope, hula hooping improves your motor skills, hand-eye coordination, flexibility and balance.

You also need to develop a sense of rhythm as the hoop moves around your body. Unlike jumping rope, the hoop does not put as much strain on your joints.

If you can manage to spin the hoop for at least 10 minutes, it can be part of your weekly aerobics routine.

Sit-ups help strengthen your core muscles, giving you better stability and power for different sports, such as running, swimming, or tennis.

Since you're also strengthening your lower back, sit-ups can help relieve back problems.

Does hula hooping make your butt bigger?

DOES WEIGHTED HULA HOOPING MAKE YOUR BUTT BIGGER?

Nowadays, many women want to have Beyonce's butt. Well, thanks to personal care products like the weighted hula hoop, it's possible!

Targeting and activating the core, hips, waist and thighs, the weighted hoop is a simple and fun way to help reduce fat and tone the body.

We're not saying that weighted hula hooping will make your butt bigger like Kim K, but it will help you develop and strengthen your glutes and thighs! You'll get a higher, rounder butt.

To start growing your butt with a weighted hula hoop, start with this simple weighted hula hoop squat exercise.

• Start with your legs shoulder-width apart, feet firmly planted on the floor.
• Rotate the weighted hula hoop around your waist, keep good posture with a straight back.
• Bend your knees and begin to sink down slowly and in a controlled manner
• Make sure to keep your back straight as you descend, don't put your body weight forward and rotate the hoop.
• Once you've gone as low as you can, hold for 3 seconds, which will work your hamstrings and thighs.
• Come back up until your legs are straight and return to standing position.

Repeat this process 5 to 7 times.

As we mentioned, this exercise is a great way to make your butt bigger. By strengthening and developing your glutes and thighs, you help create a more lifted and shapely butt.

Other benefits include improved flexibility in the hips.

Do you have a lot of experience with smart hooping and are you more advanced in your fitness journey? If so, you should try our next exercise, the glute hula hoop!

This is a special exercise that involves rotating the hoop around your butt. This is an advanced exercise that you should probably do with a traditional hoop, as it can cause bruising.

If you are confident in your hula hooper, looking for a challenge and want to make your butt grow as big as possible.

Check out the step-by-step guide below.

• First look at your body position, squat down a little and arch your back while looking forward.

• Next, place the hoop and let it rest on your lower back.

• When performing this movement you want to make sure that your hip angle is right, not too close to your calves, but not too far away either.

• Be sure to arch your back and not round it upwards.

• With your right hand you will spin the hoop, the left hand holds the hoop in place, then you gently spin the hoop.

• Gently move your body up and down using your buttocks to rotate the weighted hula hoop.

• See if you can catch the rhythm of the hoop and make sure to keep your hands out of the way.

• Remember to look forward and arch your back.

• See how many times you can rotate the hoop on your butt and repeat this process for 5-10 minutes.

This exercise can be a little difficult at first, with some people only managing to do one or two turns. Don't get discouraged as it takes a little while to get the hang of spinning the hoop.

After a few weeks, you will notice significant weight loss as well as greater flexibility in your hips.

Should You Hula Hoop Both Ways?

Hula hoop BOTH ways!

Hula hooping both ways... it has its advantages!

Exercise your body.

• If you're lifting weights, you probably won't just be doing straight arm bicep curls.
• You would work both sides equally, for strength and balance.
• When you practice using both sides, you train your body to develop stronger muscle memory.

Exercise your brain.

• The right side of your brain controls the left side of your body, and vice versa.
• Additionally, when you challenge your brain with new learning, you create new neural pathways.

Variety and expansion.

• If you are able to perform a variety of movements in both directions, you will expand the possibilities of your hoop practice exceptionally.

Extra Ah-Ha Moments!

• You can get something on your non-dominant side that you previously struggled with when you were hooping in your comfort zone, aka your "favorite side."
• Hooping on your "preferred" or "dominant" side is often referred to as your "stream." I like to hoop in both streams.
• I also strongly encourage my students to regularly hoop in both directions.

This increases what is easily possible and accessible. If you can only perform a move or transition in one direction, you limit your fluid dance options to what is comfortable and accessible in your preferred direction.

By working both ways while hooping, your creativity can become exponential!

How do you get that “other side” when it doesn’t feel so natural?

We often refer to our opposing current as our "bad side."

These words make me cringe, because this side has done nothing wrong to deserve this unfortunate nickname, except that it doesn't have much practice time.

Also, if you keep saying these words, you may end up believing them as the truth. And it's not fair to put yourself down.

So I call my so-called non-dominant side, "My side that needs a little more love." So give that side more rotations, so it feels more comfortable.

Muscle memory takes time and repetition. Practice is key.

It might not feel great the first time you try it, but as you practice it will feel more natural, and eventually it will even become second nature!

Warm, cozy and snug

Finally, know that your current/dominant side can become a warm and cozy comfort zone.

Sometimes you don't try new things. It can also become a rut where you get stuck. Often times we develop an unconscious habit of how to do something.

If you get stuck on a new move, change the direction, or side, you're trying it on.

When you engage in this "beginner's mind" methodology, you are much more open to discovering and trying a new technique than the accustomed brain is.

Enjoy the strapping in both directions.

May your enjoyment of incorporating both sides, build your hoop dancing toolbox of possibilities.

We've spent a lot of time bringing you the most comprehensive article on how hula hoop tones your stomach, we hope you enjoyed learning about it.

Do not hesitate to subscribe to the private club, you will also receive our complete book as a gift on the best way to structure your fitness training, you will receive an email in advance when an article appears on our site leboxdufitness.com