Thanks to my friend Paige, one of my favorite new(ish) workout ideas is...
hula hooping.
Yes, really! After listening to Paige rave - and seeing the videos she posted on Facebook - for an entire summer, I broke down and bought a hoop of my own last October. Now, it's important to note that this isn't a $5 kid's hoop from Toys R Us - this is a handmade, oversized and weighted hoop designed especially for use as a workout tool. (It's also pretty! She uses shiny "mirror" tape in addition to grippy tape to make it fun as well as functional.)
It took me about a week of daily practice before I mastered just spinning the hoop around my waist for more than a couple revolutions. I had the most amazing sets of bruises...all around my knees and calves from dropping the hoop. Once I got that down, though, I pretty quickly mastered "stalling" the hoop - stopping it in mid-spin with my hands - and sending it back the other direction. Wheeeee!
Hoop practice kind of took a backseat over the holidays, but earlier this week I picked it back up again - thankfully I turned out to be not too rusty! I also figured out another trick - how to lift the hoop in mid-spin from around my waist to over my head!! It took me several more tries to figure out how to keep the hoop spinning around my hand, up in the air - the first several attempts I either hooked the hoop with my thumb (nearly dislocating it in the process) or sent the hoop flying through the air across the room (OOPS!). Thank goodness for youtube - there are dozens of hooping tutorials (my favorite are Caroleeena's) and I was able to figure out what I was doing wrong without seriously injuring myself...or my house.
Anyway. I'll leave you with a few of my favorite hooping videos. The first you may have seen before - it was making the rounds in mid-2008 or so, and I love the energy (and the song!). The second is the video that inspired my friend Paige to start hooping - this girl makes it look so easy. I'd love to be that effortless someday! (It also has a kick-ass soundtrack.) Last but not least is a video from a Cirque de Soleil performance that simply blows. me. away. Obviously I never will be that girl, but I can watch this video over and over again.
If you're wondering when you'll see a video of ME demonstrating my mad hoop skillz...you might be in for a long wait. Maybe if I ever learn how to move my feet and spin the hoop at the same time...
Addendum: Paige dropped off a new hoop for me to try this afternoon (it's hot pink and black and silver!!). The diameter is maybe 3 inches smaller than my old hoop, but holy hell - it's like starting over from scratch. So far I can't keep it up more than 4-5 revolutions. It's okay - I'm up for the challenge!
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