Have you seen a hula hoop a toy twirl around the waist, neck, and limbs to play or exercise? Did you know a hula hoop is not just for children?
And if you knew it, you must not be aware that it could help you get perfect abs. Right? So, let us see how a hula hoop can help you tighten up your abs and trim your waist.
It is a fun way to burn calories for adults. And if you are a person who is lazy or doesn’t like to exercise, you must try hula hoops once!
Hula hoop and its types
Do you know that using a hula hoop can also lower the risk of heart diseases and diabetes? Also, it can improve cholesterol levels, brain function and help reduce stress? But, how? As soon as you make a hula hoop a part of the routine, blood flow improves, heart rate increases, and lungs work harder.
Hula hoops come in various types, and you must buy one of them according to your requirement and body type. Let us dive deeper into the types!
1. Polypro/ Featherlight
Polypro hoops are sleek, minimal, faster, bouncier, and light. Usually, people who want to increase their speed and mobility of hula hooping buy it. Polypro hoops refine your speed and precision.
2. Regular/ Dance
A regular hoop is best for beginners as it weighs less and requires less effort than other hula hoops. The diameter of it may vary between 40 to 44 for adults.
3. Fitness/ Power/ Thicker/ Weighted
Compared to all types, the weighted hula hoop is heavier and weighs between one and a half to eight pounds. It increases the workload on the body, which helps build up a stronger core.
What exercises and workouts can you perform with a hula hoop?
While using a hula hoop, you can wear comfortable, and skin-tight dresses like leggings for women and slim fit lowers for men. And you can play some music to completely involve yourself physically and mentally in the workout session with a hula hoop.
Advice: Warm up before any exercise or workout to prepare your body for aerobic activity. It may also reduce the risk of injury and muscle soreness.
Now, let us see the exercise and workouts you could perform using a hula hoop to gain killer abs.
1. Stretch (arm, side, back)
To stretch your arms, hold the hoop vertically at your back and handgrip both sides of the hula hoop by folding your elbows. And fold your body downwards, pushing towards the ground. And to stretch your sides, hold the hula hoop up, raising your hands straight. Bend on both sides and keep a distance between your legs while you do it.
The hula hoop is excellent for the back as it strengthens your back muscles and increases your spine’s flexibility.
2. Hula body fold
Fold your body down towards the ground, hold the hula hoop at your neck, and scoop your hands inside out of the ring. Stand up gradually, open up the hoop to one arm, and rotate the hoop, stretching up your arm.
3. Hula body twist
Get inside the hoop and hold it by stretching your arms at both sides and start twisting your torso from the hips, and gradually bring the hoop twirling to the upper body.
4. Hula body tilt
Hold your hoop at your back vertically by bending elbows and start tilting your body side to side.
5. Ninja pass
Open your legs wide and slightly bend your knees. Rotate your torso side to side by holding the hoop with both hands, stretching arms in front. Repeat the passing of the ring from left to right-hand, simultaneously twisting sides.
6. Halo spins
Outstretch your arms and keep your tummy tight. Keep your legs close and spin the hoop around your body. Not only for abs, but this exercise is also good for arms and shoulders.
7. Hoop sit up
Lie down flat and place the hula hoop between your mid-back and above head. Then bend your knees by keeping your feet touched on the ground. Grab the sides of the hoop and start sit ups contracting your abs.
8. Basic hula hoop
Place your legs shoulder-width apart and rotate the hula hoop around your waist by wiggling your hips.
9. Basic hula with piles
You can add pile exercise to a basic hula hoop by stretching the legs apart and facing feet outwards. Then half-sitting back by bending knees, pushing your hips outward in a squat position. Continue moving the hoop around your waist while repeating the pile exercise.
10. Booty bump
Stretch your feet apart and bend the back around 45-drees to the hips. Keep moving the hoop around your waist and pop your booty while performing the exercise.
11. Hoop and walk
Start walking as you start hooping. Move at different speeds and directions to get the momentum for spinning the hoop easily.
12. Lunges with hoop squeeze
You know that people make lunges to tone their booty. Right? But, if you rotate the hoop stretching out one of the arms upward, holding the hoop and the other to the side, it may also engage the arms, chest, shoulder and back in lunges.
13. Waist hooping- Forward, side stance
For ‘forward waist hooping,’ place one foot in front of the other and keep the hoop spinning by moving your hips and lower back backward and forward. And for a side stance, stand feet apart and move your sides, side to side, spinning the hoop around the waist.
14. Waist hooping- The cross
Start spinning the hoop around your waist by pushing it with the belly button and hips in a back and forth motion. And do this by keeping your legs closer and chest up.
15. Waist hooping with ballet legs
Waist hooping with ballet legs is similar to ballet dancing. As in this, you need to start spinning the hoop around the waist by pushing it with the belly button, then hips and then thighs, and as you come downwards, bring your legs close and start pushing your knees back and forth to continue hoop spins.
16. Waist hooping with a squat
Stand your feet planted shoulder-width apart and start rotating a hula hoop around your waist. While spinning the hula hoop, keep sitting and standing again and again by bending your knees outwards and then straight.
17. Hula 360-degree
Stand in a forward stance position, put the weight on the leg positioned backward, and push off the ground with the other leg. Complete a spin of 360 degrees with your hula hoop during this act.
These exercises will help you burn calories within a session of 30 minutes. Also, it will strengthen your core and improve mobility. A man can burn around 200 calories, and women, 165 calories by hula hooping in 30 minutes.
A hula hoop is not very expensive and convenient to use and carry anywhere you wish. Do consider buying it and give it a try. You will achieve killer abs with all other health benefits with hula hoops.
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Bottom Line
A hula hoop a toy twirled around the waist, neck, and limbs to play or exercise. It generally comes in three types: regular, weighted, and polypro hula hoops. You must buy a suitable one according to your body type and needs.
Hula hoop can help you get killer abs by various exercises and workouts like hula body fold, tilt, twist, ninja pass, halo spins, hoop sit up, basic hula hoop with a pile, booty bump, hoop and walk, and lunges with hoop squeeze. You can also perform waist hooping types like forwarding or side stance, cross or ballet leg, or piles and squat. Or, workout hula 360-degree spin for 30 minutes.
You will be able to lose more than 150 calories in only 30 minutes of hula hooping. It will strengthen your core and keep you healthy. Please share your story of using a hula hoop and the results you got from it with us in the comment section below.
