How to Hula Hoop and Other Important Fitness Lessons

Learning to hula hoop was something that I was singularly focused on at age 9: one of those fads that swept through my fourth grade class like a wildfire, and then burned out almost as quickly.  But for three months, when it was a valued skill among my peer group, I was a champion-level hooper.  Too bad it stopped being cool and I stopped practising.

It seems like much of my interest in fitness has followed the same path of desire, dedication and then indifference.  Yes, I’m one of those people: the kind that works up enough enthusiasm to start going to the gym every morning before work, until the routine is interrupted, that is.  The second I fall off the bandwagon, for any reason, it’s pretty much the end of my training.

Or it was.  It took a few years, but I’ve finally figured out the trick to maintaining interest in my fitness regimen.  The secret?  Hula hoops.  Who would have guessed?

The problem, it developed, was that I didn’t like going to the gym.  It just never occurred to me that going to the gym was anything other than a chore: like doing laundry or picking up groceries.  I didn’t expect to like it, and so didn’t feel like anything was wrong when I continually found reasons not to go.

But when a friend took me along to her favorite gym class, Hoopnotica, I finally understood how I could make my routines stick.  Hoopnotica is a new workout which combines elements of modern dance with the hula hooping moves I once knew so well.

Of course, it’s been a while since I was 9, and I had to relearn the basics: how to shift my weight to keep the hoop up, how to stand, how to get the hoop started… It was exhausting—in a good way—and was a great aerobic and muscle toning workout.  But most of all, it was fun.

I enjoyed the creative aspect of the dancing, and also the fun of interacting with a hoop like I used to when I was a kid.  I also like the group atmosphere: this was the first time I had ever tried a fitness class, and it wasn’t nearly as intimidating as I had expected.  And I couldn’t wait to go back the next week.

Suddenly, having a fitness routine wasn’t so hard to stick to.  I was excited about going to the gym twice a week, and I started to see my workouts not as a chore but as a fun, social activity.  I realized, and here’s the moral of the story, that finding the right workout for you, the workout you actually enjoy, is a huge part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Now I approach my workouts differently: rather than spending time on a treadmill, I just try to have fun being active a few times a week.  This includes hooping, hiking, biking and the occasional game of tennis…  I’m not going to win any body building competitions, but I’m definitely healthier than I have ever been.  And this time, I don’t think fitness is a fad I’ll give up on.
Author Bio:  Whitney Cox is a blogger based in Christchurch, New Zealand, who enjoys cooking, hiking and relearning how to hula hoop.  She also supports Hoopnotica New Zealand, where she orders her hoop products. Image by JodiWomack