Hula Hoops Help You Lose Weight

Cori Magnotta, 32, was the kind of person who couldn't stick with a workout routine. But faced with stubborn extra pounds after the birth of her son, she decided it was time to make a change. She lost 85 pounds in a year doing an exercise she loved: Hula-Hooping. 

When I was 5, Hula-Hooping was my party trick. I was really good at it. As I got older, I Hula-Hooped less and less and eventually joined the real world, put the hoop aside, and forgot about it.

I'm 6 feet tall and I've always struggled with my weight. I just didn't find working out fun. I would join a gym, go once, and never go back. When I was pregnant with my son, I developed preeclampsia, or high blood pressure, and had to be on bedrest for 2 months. Being sedentary contributed to my weight gain during my pregnancy. At my heaviest, I was 265 pounds. My son was a big baby—10 pounds!—so I attribute some of that to him. But I struggled with getting the rest of it back off. I developed hypothyroidism after my pregnancy,  and my metabolism had slowed, making it easier to gain weight and that much more difficult to lose it. (Get a flat belly in just 10 minutes a day with our reader-tested exercise plan!)

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In October 2014, I was down to 250 pounds, and I started searching the internet for fun workouts. I came across FXP Fitness, which uses a weighted Hula-Hoop in a routine that borrows from barre, yoga, and pilates. I remembered how much I loved hooping as a kid and signed up for a class. I drove from my home in Portland, CT, to Massachusetts, the only place classes were available at the time. Let me go see what this is all about, I remember thinking.

I immediately loved it. It's impossible to not smile while Hula-Hooping. I wore a fitness tracker and a heart rate monitor and watched my heart rate spike like I was doing a high-intensity interval training workout. I could burn as much as 800 calories in an hour, doing the class's combination of ballet movements, yoga poses, strength exercises like squats, and of course traditional waist hooping. We even hooped around our arms and our hands to give our waists a break. We used the weighted hoop to do stretches and hooped while we did dance routines like the YMCA and the Macarena.

I took the 2 lb hoop home with me to Connecticut and started hooping on my own. I started with just 10 minutes a day and built up my stamina. It was easy to stand in front of the TV and whip it around my waist, even if I had toys all over my living room floor from my son. It didn't take me long to decide I wanted to become an instructor myself. I decided I was going to push my fears aside, and I went to Boston to get certified.

Day Hula Hoop Challenge Results

Hooping helped me slowly and steadily lose weight, and in about a year, I was down 85 pounds to 165. It helped that I now have a 2-year-old I have to chase everywhere! Once you start exercising, there's a snowball effect: You have more energy to do more things. I started eating a little bit better, because I now had the energy to cook instead of going to the drive-thru. I had the energy to play with my son instead of watching him at the playground. Now, I teach hooping three times a week.

I competed in pageants when I was young, and 20 years later, I gave it another shot: I was recently crowned America's Fit Mrs., and I Hula-Hooped as my talent. I was even recently featured as Trainer of the Month with FXP Hoop Fitness. If you told me 2 years ago I would now be a fitness instructor, I would have laughed at you.

The most important thing is that it's fun. Most people crack up when I tell them I'm a Hula-Hoop instructor and tell me they can't hoop. But I have yet to meet someone I can't teach to hoop! I have 21-year-olds and 65-year-olds in my class, petite people and tall people, couch potatoes and marathoners—it's for anyone and everyone.

Interesting Health Benefits Of Hula Hoops

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I Lost 85 Pounds By Hula Hooping

Using a hula hoop to exercise can be a great way to get fit, thanks to the heart-pumping twisting and muscle-strengthening spinning that's involved. That's not to mention how much fun it can be! Granted, if you want to take your workout to the next level, then you should consider checking out the best weighted hula hoop exercises to lose weight.

What is a weighted hula hoop? As you might assume from the name, it's one that has some extra weight to it. To be exact, while a typical hula hoop tends to be lighter than 1 pound, according to Byrdie, a weighted hula hoop can be anywhere from 1.5 to 8 pounds. The purpose of using a weighted hula hoop is the same as any weighted item: to add resistance to your workout, which can help you get stronger and lose weight faster. Healthline notes that if you're just getting started out with a weighted hula hoop, it's best to stick with one that's 1 to 2 pounds.

As for the effectiveness of a weighted hula hoop, a 2015 study found that they can help you lose inches around both the hips and waist. On top of that, a 2019 study saw participants who used weighted hula hoops lose both inches around their waist and burn a good percentage of abdominal fat.

Everything You Need To Know About Weighted Hula Hoop Workouts

If this has left you intrigued and excited, then be sure to check out the best weighted hula hoop exercises to lose weight, according to trainers. Read on to learn all about the best weighted hula hoop exercises to lose weight, and next, check out The 6 Best Exercises for Strong and Toned Arms in 2022, Trainer Says.

The conventional hula with your hula hoop is a great exercise for many reasons, as it engages many muscle groups including the core muscles. [It] is very effective for burning calories, Alan Morton of TRAINFITNESS tells

Morton has worked in fitness for nearly 20 years in different roles, including sports coach, personal trainer, tutor, and a sports conditioning coach.

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Beyond that, Morton adds that using a weighted hula hoop is great fun … so finding an exercise you enjoy and will go back to can help long-term weight loss and help achieve that toned body you are looking for.

Hula hoops aren't just for twisting and spinning! Morton notes that while performing walking hula hoop exercises, You get all the great benefits as mentioned before, but by adding movement into this exercise, you get the bonus of burning more calories and improving coordination. He adds, This gives both [the] body and mind a great workout, which will improve your coordination and balance as well as burn calories and tone up.

Morton instructs exactly how to do this exercise. He says, You would do all the points mentioned above, but this time, you would need to start by transferring your weight from one foot to the other, From there, Lift one foot off the floor for a short time, and then place it down, transfer the weight, and try the other side. Once you can manage to do this on the spot, then start placing the foot down slightly in front of you (or go in a circle). The more confident you get, the faster this can become, and the larger the strides. Always push the hips forward as you move. Lead with the hips.

Does Hula Hooping Help You Lose Weight?

Morton also points out, The weighted hula hoop is fantastically versatile and allows you to do resistance-based training as well using the hoop as a weight. For instance, Morton notes, A full-body exercise (like a squat press) uses many muscle groups including glutes, quads, core, and shoulders, which are all great for burning calories and great for toning. A large exercise like the squat press can help tone up all these areas in one exercise.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

To get started, perform a typical squat. Morton adds, At the top of the movement, raise the hula straight up toward the