Remember how much fun hula hooping was when you were a kid. It didn’t matter if you were a boy or a girl, it was fun. I bet you never thought about how beneficial it was to your health at the time while doing it. You were just playing. Try doing it now and see how well it does or how long it lasts. This was the challenge that one of my daughters gave me a while ago. I had no idea what to expect. Even as a healthy adult, he sucked … And he used to be good. I can bench 320 pounds but I can’t hula hoop more than 2 or 3 rotations. He screamed my story. It’s because I kept trying over and over again. And then I realized that a hula hoop provides explosive core training.
My challenge to all of you is for your kids to put down the remote or game controller for 30 minutes every day and challenge them with a hula hoop. Make it fun and exciting. Kids love a challenge and so do you. Doing hoops on a regular basis is a great way to narrow your waist lines and strengthen the core muscles on which all body movement is focused. The most dangerous fat in the body is the fat around the waist called visceral fat which is related to heart health. It is also the most difficult fat to remove as you age.
Hula hooping incorporates many muscles, more than 30, and burns large amounts of calories the longer you do it. The more muscles you work and the longer the duration, the more calories you will burn. One of the most important muscles you will use is your heart. Within seconds of starting, your heart rate increases and that’s what burns the calories. Not to mention, it helps with stamina and muscle tone. And it’s all in the name of fun. Children have no idea that they are exercising. It’s almost like cheating.
The hoop not only helps the heart, but also the entire cardiovascular system, spine, hand-eye coordination, joints, and much more. It even helps to strengthen the facial muscles due to the huge smiles that are kept on the face for long periods of time.
Try this for fun. Basic hoop, takes a bit of practice to get, but kids seem to get the hang of it very easily. Once they learn it, make it a challenge. We like to race against the clock between the two older girls. If there is only one child, then that is the perfect opportunity for you to be the opponent. Just keep the time from when they start until the hoop hits the ground and record that time. So the next opponent goes. The person with the most time wins !! You can even add prizes for them to win to up the ante. Whether it’s a HEALTHY snack, more TV time, or whatever comes to your mind. Just get creative and make it fun for them and for you.
You can also have them try some tricks like walking while doing the hoop. It sounds easy but it is very difficult and it will give you hours of laughs watching you do it. Hilarious !! You can even try moving the hoop up and down their body. Crazy skills are required. Get them to start with their waste and then move the hoop as high as they can, preferably towards the neck, without hands. We parents do a great abs workout just by laughing so hard watching. Which, as a side note, is great for our hearts, laughing.
You can even have them spin a hoop on one arm while they keep spinning one at their waste. Or maybe one on each arm. Or have them stand on one leg and make a hoop. The possibilities are truly limitless. Just don’t make it impossible. They will surely laugh a lot and the children will get excellent exercise … And maybe they will go to bed a few minutes earlier.