Fighting childhood obesity in America with a hula hoop

Remember how much fun it was to play hula hoops 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 for your health at the time while you were doing it. You were just playing. Try doing it now and see how well you do or how long it lasts. This was the challenge that one of my daughters gave me a while ago. I had no idea what was in store for me. Even as a healthy adult I reeked of it… And it used to be good. I can bench 320lbs but can’t hula hoop more than 2-3 rotations. My tale was shouted. It’s because I kept trying over and over and over again. And then it hit me, a hula hoop provides an explosive core workout.

My challenge to all of you is to have your kids put down the remote or game controller for 30 minutes every day and offer them challenges with a hula hoop. Make it fun and exciting. Children love challenges and so do you. Jumping hoops regularly is a great way to narrow your waist lines and strengthen your core muscles that all body movement is focused on. The most dangerous fat in the body is the fat around the waist called visceral fat which is linked to heart health. It is also the most difficult fat to remove as you age.

Hula hooping incorporates a lot of muscles, over 30, and burns massive amounts of calories the longer you do it. The more muscles worked and the longer the duration, the more calories burned. One of the most important muscles you will use is your heart. Within seconds of starting your heart rate increases and that is 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 stay on the face for extended periods of time.

Try this for fun. Basic hopping, takes a bit of practice to get but kids seem to get the hang of it very easily. Once they get used to it, make it a challenge. We like to do a time trial between the two older girls. If there is only one boy, then that is the perfect opportunity for you to be the opponent. Just keep time from when they start to when the hoop hits the ground and record that time. Then the next opponent goes. The person with the longest time wins!! You can even incorporate prizes for them to win to up the ante. Whether it’s a HEALTHY snack, extended TV time, or whatever comes to mind. Just be creative and make it fun for them and for you.

You can also have them try some tricks like walking while jumping. It sounds easy, but it is very difficult and will provide hours of laughs watching them do it. Hilarious!! You can even try to get him to move the hoop up and down his body. Crazy skills are required. Ask them to start with their droppings, and then move the hoop as high as they can, preferably up to their neck, with no hands. Us parents get a great ab workout just 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 still spinning one in their waste. Or maybe one on each arm. Or ask them to stand on one leg and jump. The possibilities are truly limitless. Just don’t make it impossible. You will surely have a lot of fun and the children will get an excellent exercise… And maybe you will go to bed a few minutes earlier.