I Tried Hooping for 30 days - Hula Hoop Dance

Look up #hooping on Instagram, and your mind will be blown. The circular motions of the hula hoop put you in a trance. Every hula hoop dance is unique, so you can perform with much grace or an edge. Hooping LOOKS very easy, but I learned that it was way harder...like anything in life. So, can you learn hooping in 30 days?

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I purchased a hula hoop at my local Dollar Tree and turned to YouTube videos to teach me how to hula hoop dance (often called "hooping"). As a kid, I attended birthday parties where the outside DJ would host hula hoop competitions. I never made it to Round #2 because the hula hoop would hit my ankles in 1.2 seconds.

But these hula hoop dances looked so easy. The performers were seducing their audience with a few twirls. I wanted to be just like them! So, even though the odds were against me, I wanted to learn hooping. How far can you go in only 30 days?

My first hooping video was Can You Learn to Hula Hoop in 30 Days?, and I've conveniently embedded into this article. (Help me pay off my student loans and watch....heehee...) Or keep scrolling to read more about my hooping journey.

Right away, I learned that you need...

• Hand-eye coordination - If you are somebody who routinely plays ball sports, you will have definitely leverage. My field hockey days and P.E. dodge ball games were a long time ago, so I hadn't exercised my mind like that. A hula hoop is thin and is constantly in motion, so it's okay to practice in slow motion. Maybe practice bouncing and catching a ball on the side?
• Good sneakers - You don't have time to worry about your footing as you twirl. Not too grippy or slippery.
• Find an open space - Your hula hoop will fly across the room. It will. Be careful. But also, walls and furniture will limit you from practicing, make you frustrated, and convince you to stop. But also, if you practice outside in the heat, you will get discouraged quickly as well.
• Correct hula hoop size - I didn't know that I purchased a kids' size hula hoop that would limit me. If you shop at a Dollar Store or Party City, your only option may be a kiddy hoop.

The video featured in this article is not my only hooping video. I've showed off my hooping progress on my Patreon under the Hooping tag. 

I wish that I had fully immersed myself into the hooping culture prior to starting this video. That alone would have motivated me. These hula hoop dancers primarily fit the EDM-crowd with outfits, shuffle dance moves, and neon lights. Plus, I would have better showed it off in the video to pay my respects.

If you want to sculpt your core, you can buy weighted hula hoops on Amazon. I would think hooping with a weighted hula hoop would be hard and painful? I would just use it in ab workouts.