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Finding a form of exercise that you enjoy is one of the most important parts of an Age Management Medicine Program.
Every person can find at least one activity that they enjoy doing on a daily basis. This is the key to fitness and vitality.
I would like to share a form of exercise with you that you may have enjoyed a great deal when you were younger.
The Hula Hoop.
Before you decide this is not for you and delete this e-mail, please read and consider the information that I provide below.
The Hula Hoop has come a long way since you used it as a kid. Really.
The name "Hula Hoop" was a term trademarked by Wham-O in the 1950's.
Although they were the first to introduce the "craze" to the United States, the fundamentals of Hooping have been around for thousands of years.
The Ancient Greeks used hooping for fitness and in the 1400's hooping became popular in England.
Hoops have been made from every sort of material from wood to metal and have varied in size.
Portable Hula Hoops now exist that can be broken down into five or six pieces and easily stored in a suit case or a car.
They are especially designed for an adult and much easier to use than the ones that you used as a kid.
Hula Hoop instructional workout DVDs and classes now exist that you can take with you for instruction and inspiration.
You may just be surprised how much fun you can have burning 600 calories an hour-
it burns 100 calories every 10 minutes,which is as much as running on a treadmill and a lot more fun.
And it's low-impact, so it won't put a lot of stress on your joints.
Hula hooping engages you in a form of exercise that can:
Build core strength
Increase flexibility
Strengthen and tone your entire body
Increase energy
Define your waistline
Experience an intense cardiovascular workout
Develop balance and coordination
Enjoy a low-impact workout
Clear and quiet your mind
Reduce stress
Boost self confidence
Generate positive thoughts and feelings
Improve your mood
Open creative self expression
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Hula Hooping Fun
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Have Fun While Exercising
I have reviewed the various Hula Hoops and programs available on the internet.
There are two that I highly recommend for adult beginners.
Both have Hula Hoops that are portable and can be taken with you when you travel for the ultimate in exercising fun.
Hula Hooping is a low-impact workout combined with elements of dance and meditation that people of all ages, shapes and sizes can enjoy.
Hoopdancing is the art of maneuvering the hoop around your body as you burn calories and increase your flexibility and balance.
You may find yourself hesitant at first, but once you've learned that first move, you may find yourself addicted to practicing and mastering each move.
You may notice an increase in energy, or that you have become slimmer.
You may find yourself more joyful and less stressed out.
You may even find yourself more creatively self expressed, both in the hoop, and in other areas of your life!
Hooping is beautiful, transformative and mesmerizing.
It can be used as a tool for fitness, meditation, or in the playful art of seduction.
More than anything else, it is FUN.
Have fun when you exercise!
Hoopdance provides an outlet for Hoopers to explore their creative inner selves and tap into the playful art of seduction.
Feel sexy and boost your self-confidence while you burn calories and tone your body.
Hoopdancing is great to do with friends, family, and your kids and/or grandkids.
You can take the portable hoop with you when you travel and exercise in the privacy of your own hotel room.
You can listen to great uplifting music and hula hoop to as many songs as you can.
You can keep a hula hoop in your office and hoop for a few minutes to take a break.
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The Hula Hoop
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My Recommendations
Hoopnotica is a California based company (www.hoopnotica.com) that provides hula hoops and instructional DVDs.
They have created the Hoopnotic TravelHoop which is the first of its kind; a segmented hoop that can be easily made smaller to fit a petite adult, is as beautiful as many full-size hoops, and stores easily for travel (as compact as a yoga mat).
As an added bonus, the patent-pending TravelHoop has a special tape that provides the extra grip necessary for beginners.
Hoopnotica also has three instructional DVDs available.
The other Hula Hoop and DVD instructional kit that I recommend is the Marisa Tomei HoopBody Hoop and DVD Kit from Gaiam. It is available at
http://life.gaiam.com/gaiam/p/Marisa-Hoops.html
The kit includes a 40" full-sized hoop that collapses down to ¼ of its size, an instructional segment, plus 3 energizing DVD workouts that everyone can do regardless of age, size or experience.
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Hula Hoop Workout Tips
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1. Stabilize your torso and legs, and mobilize your midsection. Only use your abdominal muscles and hips to keep the hoop spinning.
2. Scoop your belly in and lift your ribcage. Extend from the center of your body out. The better your posture, the easier it will be to hoop.
3. Hold the hoop parallel to the floor as you start the spin, and give it some good momentum so it doesn't start out wobbly.
4. If your hoop starts to fall, lengthen your spine, push forward and back, and move faster. Imagine yourself as the axis of the orbit, not the orbit itself. If you try to move with the hoop (rotating your hips in a circle) the hoop will lose momentum and fall.
Move side to side with your waist and hips or back to front with your belly. Feel the centrifugal force, but don't try to be the circle; let the circle move around you.
5. Stick with it. The longer you hoop, the more your body gets used to the movements and the more skill and confidence you'll have with your hoop. And that will make your workouts even more effective and more fun.
The hoop is your dance partner.
You are creating new muscle, greater flexibility and burning calories as you allow the hoop to move around you and allow yourself to be moved by it.
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