Hallelujah for Hula!

Remember when you were a kid and exercising was fun? Think back to way before you learned about treadmills, and you played tag with your friends, or maybe dodgeball, and all of that moving around kept your heart beating and your muscles stimulated without any drudgery. What happened to those days? Happily, the newest trend in exercise brings you right back to the old school yard, as super retro hula-hooping is the hottest craze in fitness.  Seriously. Hip shakin’ hula is an amazing way to trim your abs, tighten your core, and yeah, put a smile on your face. Hula-hoop workout classes are popping up in New York and LA, and Marisa Tomei – a hula addict with a body to die for – released a hula-hoop workout available on Gaiam.com.  And did we mention Michelle Obama has been spotted famously shakin’ it on the White House Lawn? President Obama, in fact, told People magazine http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20214569,00.html “she is the best Hula-Hooper I know. Once she gets the rhythm going, she can drop to her knees!”

So, we took a class. First thing’s first, these are not your mama’s hula-hoops. In class, we didn’t use a classic Wham-O model; we used a weighted hoop that made us forcefully gyrate our hoops (and arms, and legs) when we started to really spin. What a work out! We were sweating gumdrops but laughing all the while. The music was upbeat hip hop and Latin-inspired – kind of like Zumba with a touch of the Hawaiian Isles – and looking at the lean lines of our instructor, we knew, without a doubt, that if we keep this up, we’ll be happy when we put on our bikinis.

So shake up your workout, and become a Hula Hottie.  Hula’s particularly great if you can’t make it to the gym and want to workout at home to find a fun class near you, go to http://www.hoopnotica.com. All that hip action and mobility can come in handy elsewhere.  You’ll see…

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Related Articles

The Rum Diaries

Paper umbrellas, be gone.  Blenders, beware. Fine aged sipping rum – akin to scotch and bourbon or, depending on the cask, even cognac – is the stuff of sophisticated connoisseur dreams and it could not be further away from the … Continue reading →

 

 

Happy Feet: Get Your Kicks

The latest workout shoes are designed to really get you going. Revved-up neon pink – or shall we say HOTTTT pink – is the shade of the day. These kicks are so bright they look like they have their own … Continue reading →

 

 

Barefoot on the Beach

Marathon Bahamas weekend has come and gone, but we’ve still got running on the brain, especially during these health-minded resolution-heavy days. Barefoot running seems like the latest craze, with Vibram FiveFingers everywhere we look, including last fall’s New York Marathon—where … Continue reading →

 

 

Mad Men on the Beach

In case you hadn’t noticed (though we’re pretty sure you have) the mod look and feel of AMC’s cult hit Mad Men has burrowed its way pretty deeply into our cultural and fashion consciousness—so far, in fact, that Banana Republic … Continue reading →

 

 

Make Mine a Mocktail

We don’t know about you, but after weeks and weeks—sometimes it even felt like months—of holiday celebrations, we’re ready to stay off the sauce for a little while. At least a week. Or maybe a day. Okay, a few hours. … Continue reading →