Hoopsters put circus-inspired spin on cardio workout

It has been a circus prop, a toy and a 1950s fad, and now the hula hoop is making a comeback as a workout tool that fitness experts say provides an effective cardio and even meditative workout.

A new generation of hoop activists is putting another spin on the hoop, which ancient Greeks fashioned from grapevines and used to exercise the hips.

Kelly Strycker (C), director of Chicago Hoop Dance, is shown in this handout photo provided by Arthur Ortiz of FotoMoto Photography teaching members of Depaul University's Hoop Troupe at Depaul's Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center in Chicago, Illinois January 2014. (REUTERS)

Circus hooper Marawa Ibrahim, known professionally as Marawa the Amazing, lives a nomad's life performing and teaching hula hooping around the world.

"Fitness hooping is what I'm really into. Even at circus school I developed a workout using core muscles to push the hoop," said Ibrahim, who can spin 133 hoops simultaneously and has appeared on the UK reality show "Britain's Got Talent."

The 32-year-old Australian said anyone, regardless of age or fitness level, can keep the hoop spinning but choosing the right size hoop is essential.

An illuminated hula hoop during the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California in this April 12, 2013 file photo. It has been a circus prop, a toy and a 1950s fad, and now the hula hoop is making a comeback as a workout tool that fitness experts say provides an effective cardio and even meditative workout. (Reuters)

"You can't hoop with a kid's hoop. When you were a kid you were half as tall," she said, adding that a hoop should reach to the hips, at least. "I used to teach a gym class of overweight women. I made hoops that were almost up to their armpits and they could do it."

Proper technique also means balance. Even the pros can develop lopsidedness, she said, so spin in both directions in order to tone the body evenly, head to toe.

 

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