Hula Hoop Your Way Fit

There is a different type of workout rising in popularity, and it’s one that University of Wisconsin researchers say can blast 210 calories in 30 minutes.

Even more intriguing is that you may already have the only equipment you need stored away in a box in your garage labeled, “Childhood memories.”

It’s the hula hoop. And it is everything you need for a great workout.

“A hula hoop workout is a great new fun way to work out your entire body!” said Sterling Painton, hula hoop fitness class instructor and owner of in Dormont. “We use custom-made adult hula hoops to learn various moves with our hips, waist, legs, chest and arms as we engage in a ‘child-like’ fun cardio, strength and stretching program. We are moving and grooving for the whole hour, which consists of lots of laughter.”

Unlike other types of workouts where you may need to dedicate yourself to a certain timeframe to achieve results, Painton said that the benefits of a hula hoop workout are almost immediate.

“The idea of taking yourself out of your comfort zone to just play around again is liberating!” she explained. “The class takes place outside, so instead of leaning over a desk and computer all day or being cramped up in your car, you are outside with nature. As a result, you begin working on your posture immediately.”

Painton begins each class with a warm-up of just waist hooping in both directions, in addition to all of the squats and bend-overs to pick up the hoop. Participants then do a few stretches with the hula hoop and then get ready to start the class, which consists of learning “tricks” with your body and the hoop.

“We spin the hoops on our arms, toss them, and move them across different body parts, all while keeping the hoops moving. There are endless possibilities of ways to use the hoops,” she said.

Contrary to a workout at the gym, where one or two body parts may get the majority of the attention, hula hooping works the entire body, including those that you may not even think about.

According to Painton, a hula hoop workout will enable you to engage your brain, hand/eye coordination, peripheral vision, and balance, as well as coordination as you move to different foot step combinations.

And the results can be more than what you see in the mirror.

"I have found that with myself, I love the playfulness and the freedom of body movement,” Painton said. “The hula hoop helps me to transpose into a meditative state, and I think relaxation is a great expectation for any program in today’s society. Also, like many long-term dedicators to any art form, the participants become performers and have beautiful choreographies.”

Painton and fellow instructor, Colleen Miles, teach weekly hula hoop fitness classes from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sundays at Sterling Yoga until the end of October, and then will begin again in the spring.

The studio also occasionally hosts guest hula hoop instructors who offer workshops that typically last an hour and a half to two hours.

For more information about the hula hoop fitness classes, call Sterling
Yoga at (412) 260-0533 or visit www.sterlingyoga.com.