Tuesday, 15 September 2009

• Hoopy happiness

  
  

   
  

  
  
  
  I've made my hoopdance hoop today ! And I think I've found "my" way of fitness at last ! I love my hoop so much that I wanted to post photos of it, but the camera is traveling through Peru at the moment, so maybe another time. Anyway, it's several shades of blue, with silver. It feels good to use a hula-hoop I've made and decorated myself, and it's great to have an adult-sized hoop at last !
  
  
  

  What is hoopdance ?

  Hoopdance is dancing with the hula-hoop. It's a loooot of fun, helps you develop coordination and works out all of your body. It's low-impact cardio, and can burn from 400-600 calories per hour.
  
  My inspiration for trying hoopdance was this video:
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  I had been looking for a way of fitness that would feel like a hobby, not a chore; something that I could do anywhere and would not cost much. Hooping is all that,and unlike most exercises that you can do at home, it's never repetitive. I get bored of fitness routines, and probably you've all heard that you get better results if you are actually focused on your body while exercising. With hoop-dance I am constantly learning, and there are a hundred ways to hoop. If you don't feel like hooping sensually Beyonce-style, you can hoop crazy-furiously or simply chill and hoop cool.
  Another reason why I love hooping is that this story could be mine.
  
  

  
  Everything you need to know about hoop-dancing...

   ...is on www.hooping.org
  Where to buy hoops, how to make them, help with hooping moves, plus lots of videos and discussions.
  
  
  

  How can I learn to hoop-dance ?

  
  Check on hooping.org for classes near you, or ask the hooping reps of Europe. There are also tons of videos on youtube, just search for "hooping tutorial" or "hooping tricks". For basics, I'd suggest a DVD. I read the reviews, and choose Hoopnotica, which I bought from Hoopguy.
  
  
  

  Can I use a hoop from a toy store ?

  
       You can, but and adult-sized hoop is much easier to use. Adult size hula-hoops reach between your navel and your chest, usually that's 110 cm in diameter.
       In the beginning I filled a child's hoop with water (to weight it) and covered it with Gaffer tape (for friction). A heavier hoop is easier to control, but it still spins really fast, and there is much less space inside -- that makes some moves difficult to learn. Anyway, I had a lot of fun with my small hoop, but I longed for an adult sized hoop.
       The options of buying and adult-sized hula-hoop are limited in Germany, so I decided to make my own -- it's pretty easy, and I liked the idea of making my hoop myself.
      I tried out my new hula-hoop today and it felt fantastic... gliding smoothly like butter, spinning slower, and it actually felt lighter than the small one (because the weight is distributed over a bigger surface).
  
  You can buy hoops on Etsy, or you can find more options at hooping.org.
  
  

  
  Wanna make a hoop ?

  
    I got my tubing for my hoop from Ebay, since that's the only place here where you can buy this tubing in smaller quantities. You need 3/4" 180 PSI Poly tubing (PVC tubing). In Germany that translates as PE rohr 25mm x 2,3mm 12,5 BAR. I bought insert connectors and tapes from fancy-tapes.co.uk and I can't recommend them enough. I did try to get tubing and tapes in the local Baumarkt, but it turned out that this kind of tubing is stocked only by agriculture supply stores. And the Baumarkt didn't have any nice tapes.
  The total cost of making one hoop is 11€, however I did pay a bit more since gaffer tapes are available only in big rolls: enough for taping 10 hoops ! I hope to make some hoops for my friends though, who will (hopefully) want to start hooping after seeing my (future) hooping skills, after I show them my moves (when I stop losing the hoop all the time).
  
  The basic hoop-making tutorial is *here*.
  
  
  My hoop-making tips:
  
  

  • When measuring the tubing to cut, make sure that your "mock hoop" is round. Tubing comes rolled up tightly, and when you open it it will not be perfectly round at first. Most of us measure by holding the tubing in a way to mimic a hoop, that comes up to their solar plexus. But this "mock hoop" may actually be oval, and mess up your calculations. I check before a mirror, and try to hold it round.

  • Sandpaper the ends of the tubing after cutting, to make them straight and even. Otherwise you'll end up with gaps where the two ends join together. Place the ends against a flat surface to check it is cut straight.

  • Make sure the water is really boiling. Mine wasn't, and I had a hard time inserting the connector.

  • Put the end of the tube in the water for half a minute. Don't worry, it won't melt. But it needs to soften quite a bit, otherwise you might have problems with inserting the connectors all the way in.
    

  • One hoop needs two tapes of 11 mts (36ft) tape. Of course if you want to make fancy patterns, you'll need more tape.

  
        
         Making a hoop is quick and easy once you've got hold of the materials. And hoop-dance is the greatest fun !
  
  Update:
  Need tubing ? If you are in Europe, I have a huge roll of 25mm x 2,3mm tubing and another one of 20mm x 1,9 mm tubing that I probably won't need, you can have any length you want for 1€ per meter + shipping.
  I can also make you a ready hoop !
  just send me a line at the_eternal_voyageur at rediffmail dot com !
  
  

  
  Photo by BakkoBrats

  ---

  You might also want to read:
  
  * Exercise from heels for thighs, from toes for calves
  

  * Adult-sized hula-hoops that I made !
  * Skills Learned From Pilates That Amp Every Fitness Method
  * Call For Clips For Worlwide Hooping Video: "Where The Hell Is Hoop" !
     *more*
  
  

  ---

  
  

  • 8:18 PM
  • 761 Views
  • 2 eProps
  • 2 Comments