HEALTH

I was psyched when the girls over at Hoopnotica offered to send over a TravelHoop and a beginning hoopdance DVD for me to check out. I had this vision that I’d totally tone my tummy just by doin’ this DVD a few times. Hula hooping is one of my secret talents (or so I thought!), and this seemed perfect. Or so I thought….

When I assembled the TravelHoop, it was absolutely ginormous. Gulp. My apartment is pretty teeny, and I had trouble hooping without hitting a wall or desk. Frustrating!

The DVD opens with lots of fit-looking women and men hooping in a field. I quickly learned why. This takes up some serious space. Definitely move mom’s Hummel collection and back away from the flat screen if you’re gonna hoop inside!

The DVD did a fab job of explaining just what the heck to do with the hoop. There were plenty of troubleshooting tips, and they give you lotsa things to think about (“power point” takes on a whole new meaning), whether you were simply hooping like ya did as a kid or “haloing” that crazy thing in the air. You’ll learn exactly how ya need to move, in order to get the hoop goin’ in all kindsa different ways. Who knew it’d look cool to twirl around, with a spinning circle whirling around your arm? Well it does, and I definitely can’t do it!

Hoopdancing is supposed to burn 450 calories, and has loads of celeb fans (Beyonce and Charlize Theron, to name a couple). Thing is? The first DVD only teaches you how to hoop in different ways...like at the waist, hips and overhead. It took a lot of coordination, but I never felt like I was dancing, per se. I know I worked my abs (and my brain!), but it wasn’t the cardio blast I was hoping (hooping?) for.

I recommend hoopdancing for girls who are patient, coordinated and have some rhythm. Or, if ya just wanna try out something totally different and are willing to commit to learning how to hoop step-by-step. Unlike some exercise DVDs, you’re probably not gonna get a major sweat on your first twirl. But keep spinnin’, and I bet you’ll see some rewards. Like any workout DVD, I recommend trying it out at a friend’s our borrowing it from the library first!

by Katie A. | 2/1/2016