so you bought a hula hoop…what’s next?
Hi,
as I assume you are reding this cause you just got yourself a hula hoop & you are wondering where & how to begin your adventure with it. Exciting! Watch a video about it below, or if you prefer reading simply scroll down.
No worries, I’ve been there too – in my case it was 2008 & honestly by that time there was not so many possibilities to look around for tips. Today I can offer you a luxury pack of knowledge + guidance.
First thing you probably want to reach out for, would be to get to know the basics.
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Try to find your focus. The first video that I’ve uploaded to my channel, as a beginning, opening of all hooping fun that I want to share was called “hula hoopin’ styles”. It wasn’t by accident the first of them all. With hula hoop you can go on in so many different ways. It always depend on your focus, your personal preferences – maybe you’d like to exercise in a joyful way, lose weight, maybe you’re more into movement & dancing. you can be interested in acheiving new tricks on a daily basis. Check the full article about it here. Ofcourse it is highly possible that on this stage it can be pretty difficult for you to choose, so don’t put too much pressure on it & open yourself for a research.
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From here you can go straight into the youtube academy & check out the beginners tutorials playlist for basic skills, hints & tips for hoopin’ newbies. Best if you subscribe to the channel & stay up to date with all the fresh publications You can also do it by joining my newsletter here.
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If you are ready to move on in a more dynamic mode, than a great solution is choosing an online course. Ofcourse it is no secret that youtube explodes with tutorial videos. However for a newcomer it may result a bit messy to jump from one trick to another. The biggest advantage of a fully prepared & directed online course is that beside the pack of fancy tricks it gives you the integrity of the experience. You are now in point A – you’ve got a hula hoop, maybe you’ve already seen a tutorial or two, but you miss a plan & you are not aware what a point B can actually mean. Also highly important, while hula hooping – movement hygiene & safety features such as warm ups & stretches not really often appear in short tutorials. With a course you are simply able to achieve more complete goals.
Check out your area. Sometimes we are looking too far for what we need & it appears that we have it right under our nose.
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Do your research, maybe close to you there are other hoopers, that not only can give you support & push forward, but it can also create opportunities for new friendships or training buddies.
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Maybe you can even find stationary classes in you area. Hula hooping is super popular, so many dance studios, fitness centres, neighbourhood associations etc. offer from time to time hula hooping classes!
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If not regular classes, than try to search for hooping JAMs & events. If there aren’t any – maybe you want to organise one & attract your friends or local community to try out together.
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Social media groups – I use the ones from facebook, but you can have your own paths in other platforms as well. In the groups you can find a lot of useful info, stay up to date with worldwide hooping events & most important share your stuff, ask, get support.
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Hooping Canarias this is my local group for hoopers visiting or living on Canary Islands.
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Follow profiles of other hula hoopers that inspire you. Pretty often even people sharing their art are from time to time dropping some tutorial on their profiles. Hoopspire yourself.
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Join festivals, conventions, meetings, retreats – yes there are plenty of them! Here grab one of the sources of these infos: Worldwide Hoop Events
Practice safely.
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Reach out for knowledge, you live in times of luxury in this area – you can get tons of advice from other experienced people. Use it & truely take care for yourself while training. Hula hooping is a beautiful & super joyful activity, it has a long list of benefits, but as any other form of movement without a proper knowledge can bring you harm. A lot of movements in hula hooping are basing on short, repetitive motion. If you will not follow a simple body hygiene it will result with unwanted side effects, such as tensions, or pain. Take care for yourself. Also a very important hint for the beginning don’t go for long lasting drills from the very first day – if somebody tells you, or you by yourself come up to the idea of spinning around your waist for 45 min daily from scratch, than please don’t do it! Search for advice, ask me, read, watch tutorials, begin to dose it, adding piece by piece.
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Warm up & cool down, this is kind of repetition of what I mentioned before, but I will be putting a lot of effort on this blow to pay attention on the importance of this matters. Make the juices flowing in your body. Before starting training the tricks & techniques bring your focus to the parts of the body that you will be using. After finishing the workout take care for relaxation & stretching in the same zones. It doesn’t have to be super long, complicated, or in an way tiring – bring it into your trainings as a part of fun.
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In case of any doubts about your condition always check out with your physician. There are several direct contraindications for on body spinning, such as pregnancy, primary stage of menstruation, back or posture issues, however hula hooping is not only about spinning it around your waist. So again take care for yourself. Don’t resign if you have doubts, try different techniques, ask a professional for advice.
I hope this helps you a little to start your adventure. If you have any questions regarding this topic don’t hesitate to leave a comment below, I will make sure to answer it & the answer might be helpful for others as well.
fot. Michal Pawlik
