Hula Girl
The kids are freakishly good at hula hooping and can literally while away the hours playing on them. They’d spent the summer playing with their water filled ones from Asda and had mastered the art of it. Imagine their delight when in September they had Hoopstarz day at school. They learnt new tricks and were both asked to get up at the end of the day in front of the whole school to show off their skills. Proud Mutha moment!
The kids having such fun with their hula hoops reignited my fancy of a weighted hoop. I’d put off buying one in the past as I knew the hubby would think it was gimmicky and would end up in the cupboard with a layer of dust (next to the weird thigh contraption bought out of the Avon…don’t ask!) Anyway, at only £16.99 for the Pro Fitness Weighted Hoop from Argos it had to be worth a go so I excitedly reserved one and dashed to collect it. It came in sections that just push together so if you don’t have much storage space it can be dismantled pretty easily.
The main benefit of a weighted hoop is that it can trim your waistline while also strengthening your core. Sounded good to me! Hoop was out of the box and clipped together, I was good to go. It’s absolutely huge so you need a good size area to avoid bumping into any furniture. I’d been warned at this point that the hoop really hurts at first and I’d be likely to bruise. Not sounding quite so good now. I won’t lie, the first few times around my waist hurt like hell and I had to have a break from the pain after a few minutes. Don’t panic though or give up at this stage because the pain disappears and before you know it you’ve found a rhythm and have been hulaing for ten minutes. The fact that I’ve got some fat around these parts probably helps cushion the pain, ha!
Me and the kids now have hula hoop competitions to see who can hula for the longest. It’s great because I can squeeze some exercise in without them realising I’m grabbing some me time and they get to play with their hoops. Win win!
My verdict? It’s early days and I need to incorporate it into my routine properly. My aim is to hula for at least 15 minutes 3 times a week. I’ve taken my waist measurements and will be keeping track of my progress. I can say though that I absolutely love it and it’s a brilliant bonus to be able to exercise while having a giggle with the kids.
