During a recent survey of 3,000 women, 58% said their stomach was the body part they most wished they could change. It’s hardly a surprising statistic, but how do you improve your wellness so that you have abs like Jessica Ennis? According to the latest celebrity fitness craze, there may be an unlikely solution: hula hooping.
Kelly Osbourne recently tweeted, ‘I’m all about hula-hooping right now! Five mins in the morning, five mins at night … in five days I lost two inches from my waistline!’ Beyoncé has also accredited her fantastic figure to the humble hoop, as has Michelle Obama, who can apparently hula while kneeling. And who can forget Grace Jones, who hooped throughout her Queen’s Diamond Jubilee performance last year.
Hula hooping expert Anna Drury, 30, who works at a gym in South London, first picked up a hoop in 2006 after seeing them used in a performance at a music festival. For five years, the trainer has been hooping professionally and teaches in schools, runs adult classes and performs at events worldwide, often using several hoops at once and even setting them on fire. According to Anna, everyone can learn to hula hoop; the secret is lots of practice and the right equipment. Anna explains that larger and heavier hoops are easier it is to control will help you to tone up the most.
When it comes to what to wear, Anna notes that wearing as few or tight clothes as possible helps the hoop stick to you rather than the fabric. As for the hooping itself, Anna says that it’s just like riding a bike; one you’ve found your personal rhythm, you never lose it! Anna also recommends music, as it helps you to relax – which makes everything easier. While it’s relatively easy to get your hula hoop “in flight”, keeping it twirling for more than a few rotations may take some practice. Anna advises that you stay positive, and just concentrate on trying to keeping the hoop from falling. Sure, chances are that you’ll get a fair few knocks as your hoop clatters to the ground, but Anna asserts that bruises are par for the course when learning, and that your stomach will toughen up, so you should look at them as war wounds.
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