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Hoop Hoop Hooray Who says exercise has to be high-tech to be effective? Certainly not the hula-hoop enthusiast 
Tired of the treadmill? It may be time to give an old hobby a new spin: the hula-hoop. The second revolution of hooping has captured the fitness scene from coast to coast, with hula-hoop oriented fitness classes popping up from Music City to the Pacific Northwest, The Big Apple to the City of Angels. The rebirth of hooping happened first in the jam band music festival community and underground dance community scenes back in the 90s, when bands started throwing hoops into the crowd. But this isn't your granny's hula-hoop. “Most of what you'll find today are hand-made adult-sized heavier hoops that pretty much anyone can use. You could never do what people are doing now with a 1950's Wham-o special,” says Philo Hagen, editor of Hooping.org magazine (www.hooping.org) in San Francisco, CA. “Another big difference is most of the time the hoopers of today are hooping to music. It's hoop dance for fun and fitness.” Just one hour in a custom 1.5-pound hoop - whether it’s dancing or an aerobic workout - can burn between 400 and 600 calories. Not only does hooping tone your torso, but twirling the hoop up your arms and legs strengthens other muscle groups. “There's hundreds and hundreds of tricks you use,” says Mollie Hogan, who teaches hoop dance at Hoop Dazzle in Bend, Oregon. “You can pass the hoop under your legs, do spins and reversals, jump through it. It's literally like a circus of moves.” Hogan's students have lost as much as 60 pounds individually from hooping. Hoopers may include both men and women and range in age from five years old to 81. “The 81-year-old woman saw these gals doing it and she remembered doing it in the 50s,” Hogan says of one student. “She had a real hard keeping the hoop up the first class, and now by the third class she is starting to show us up” And while you may lose some weight, much of the loss will not come from your wallet or purse. Hoop classes range from $90 to $120 for a six-week course. Hoops, most of which are custom made, average around $40. What you will gain is a sense of self, community and friendship. “I have even received emails saying that I helped save a marriage through hoop dance,” says Anah Reichenbach, who teaches hoop dance at Hoop Revolution in Los Angeles. “Community is a big aspect in these fitness classes. It goes a lot farther than your average workout class,” says Sunny Becks, owner of Hooprama in Nashville, Tenn. Her hoop fitness students recently hooped more than 13 miles in the Music City Marathon to raise funds on behalf of Hooping For Hope, which offers free hoop classes for women who are survivors of breast cancer. How far can you carry hooping? Some hoopers light up their hoops with LEDs, which creates a mesmerizing effect. Others have even been known to dance inside a flaming hoop. But Hogan may just be ahead of the curve. “I've started to get my dog, a girl Weimaraner, to learn how to jump through it every once in a while,” Hogan laughs. |
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