Just when I thought I’m destined to be an office chair potato and just about everything in the grocery list, I came across a product while doing some research for our Gossips column and it piqued my interest - Hula Hoops. Celebrities are dishing in onto this new exercise trend called Hulahooping and they are called the Celebrity Hooper.
Zooey Deschanel can hula-hoop for hours, “Most people spend too much time comparing themselves to others. Get to know yourself a little bit better. Stop and ask yourself a few questions, and think about you.” As for health and exercise she suggested, “A lot of people work out to be skinny. That’s so boring, and it seems like a depressing goal for a modern woman. I work out to be healthy and because I like it. I do sports or classes, things that engage my mind. If you’re active, fitness will follow; and probably a good figure, too.”
Most of us have probably played with them at one point of time or another during our childhood. And chances are, those moments were always accompanied by laughters and huge doses of fun. So I got myself some hope, I mean hoops!
To give you a heads up, the hula-hoops are not the typical ones that you’d find in a toy store or stored away in a school’s PE equipment room. The people at HulaHoopSingapore.com have managed to create a line of sports hula-hoops designed to work your abs, waistline and even help you shed some weight while you’re at it, in a fun way reminiscent of childhood playtime.
Slimming Waistband
To reduce the impact of these hula-hoops on the torso, it’s best that you wear clothing that protects the waist region. I got myself the Slimming Waistband from HulaHoopSingapore, which saves me the hassle of picking out my attire. The waistband is like a compression garment but more confortable and it’s easy to put on. It’s made from high quality and breathable material rendering it very suitable for exercise activities. It also comes with additional properties that help to improve blood circulation, increase metabolism and aids in slimming as well!
As most of you are aware my niece, Sara, is living with us and she’s quite the inquisitive and adventurous child. We all know that children learn by imitating what they see so she’s always been game to try the stuff that my husband and myself would do.
From lifting dumbbells, to yoga to even taking out her laptop and pretending to be working on something… like me!
So I got her a set of hula-hoops as well.
I Don’t Wanna Grow Up
The first hoop that I tried was the Smooth Kid 350g. This hula-hoop is actually designed for children from the age of 7 and up or taller than 130cm in height. Considering that I do feel like a kid surrounded by all these hoops and I definitely fit into the ‘or taller’ criteria, I gave it a spin. The weight (very light) and smooth surface of the hula-hoop made it easy to spin and stay spinning! There was no discomfort and I dare say that it was very fun even! It was indeed a good starting choice.
For the next one, I decided to surprise Sara. I got her the Wavy Rainbow 300g, which was lighter and smaller in diameter. This hula-hoop is designed for children ages 5 and up. Sara was excited at the prospect of trying it out and she used the term ‘play’, which reinforces that getting fit can be fun! Though she seemed to be doing as many revolutions as the hula-hoop itself nonetheless with more practice, she’ll have it down to pat I’m sure.
Arms Akimbo
I decided to take a breather from waist hooping and delve into some arm hooping. That’s right! HulaHoopSingapore also carries the Arm Hoops. These are rubberised foam miniature hula-hoops designed to work your upper arms, upper back and shoulders. They are weighted so do consult your doctor if you’ve any history of arm or shoulder injury before using them. I must say you do feel it in your arms after giving them a few twirl and that can only be a good thing!
All the hula-hoops require assembly except for the Arm Hoops. They’re pretty easy to assemble; a quick slip, a click and the parts fasten to each other.
Drop Me A Massage
The Magnetic Hoops was what that got my interest and curiosity piqued. I’ve always believed that a massage was more effective when you’re relaxed either lying down or in a sedentary position so I wanted to find out if these hula-hoops would change my thinking.
At first glance except for the Solid-1000, the others such as the WH002 Magnetic Hoop 1.45kg, WH003 Magnetic Hoop 1.7kg, WH004 Magnetic Hoop 1.6kg and WH005 Magnetic Hoop 1.1kg look rather imposing with their bumps and not forgetting, the weight. It turns out that the bumps are actually magnetic protrusions protected by soft gentle rubbers that are supposed to render a massage effect and increase blood circulation. Honestly, I did find the weight and design a little cumbersome. I couldn’t get a full spin and if massages were supposed to be relaxing, these hula-hoops sure make you work for it. I was spinning like a broken record but then again, perhaps I’ll get the hang of it after a few more sessions.
One thing I found out, it was a good thing that I had my Slimming Waistband on. The bumps on the hula-hoops could potentially leave some bruising especially if it’s the initial trying and getting used to period or when the hoops are in full momentum.
A Weighty Issue
Weighted hula-hoops are supposed to intensify the twirling effect to help increase metabolism and strengthen the core muscles. Some come in the form of fixed weights like the Magnetic Hoops while others are adjustable.
The Smooth Adjustable Weight and Wavy Adjustable Weight hula-hoops as their name suggest, fall into the latter category.
Most of us arguably have had to deal with weight issues at some point of our lives. These hoops take that to another level. I must stress that perhaps it may be due to the fact that it’s my first time twirling my waist to these weighted hoops or maybe I’ve been away from ‘hula-hooping’ too long but they took a lot out of me.
These hoops come in adjustable weights in the form of 6 iron rods each weighing 150g. You insert them into the individual parts of the hoops, fasten the pieces together and hula away. But it’s not that easy. As I mentioned, I found it difficult even to complete one full revolution. Maybe I should’ve started out with lesser number of rods as suggested and slowly build my way up but I guess curiosity got the better of me. My bad.
All newbies should start hooping for 5 minutes for the first 2 weeks. Like any new exercises that you adopt, start slow and steady to reap the benefits of a ribbed and toned waist!
Remember I mentioned earlier how easy it was to fasten the pieces of the hula-hoops together? Well, it’s the same for these adjustable weighted ones. Always learn from the mistake of others – in this case, learn from my mistake – always ensure that there's a "click" sound when you assemble the parts, else it will fling open like in the video above. As these hula-hoops are weighted, they can bruise the waist so it’s advisable to wear the Slimming Waistband or thicker set of clothing.
In Conclusion
Post by Bianca Zen.
I read somewhere that when it comes to exercising; it doesn’t have to be to all monotonous, regimented and for lack of a better word, grim. Experts advise us to observe the child at play to learn how to do them the fun and even proper way. The hula-hoops especially the Smooth Kid 350g, Wavy Rainbow 300g and the Arm Hoops were indeed good healthy fun as Sara would even attest.
Though the weighted ones were a little frustrating that I couldn’t even twirl them proper nonetheless I take them as a challenge. And for those who know me, I’m not one to back down. In fact, I’m determined to schedule in some time to not waste any more time for some waist time.
They will be twirled… in time!