We get readers every week wanting to know if they can hula hoop with a bad back! So, Ruby Hooping has invited hoop dance instructor and speaker Missy Cooke to write a guest blog post for this topic! So can you hula hoop with a back injury? The answer is YES!
Short answer: YES. Yes gurl, you can hula hoop if you are fat, skinny, tall, short, young, or old!
When I started Ruby Hooping five years ago, I was a, shall we say, curvy woman who had been writing about plus-size fitness for a few years. I had made it my mission in life to show the world that we curvy ladies can do anything we set our minds to, and that we should not allow our physical size to be an excuse not to live life to its fullest.
Last year we wrote an article about hula hooping during pregnancy, and we wanted to follow up with some more information on hula hooping after giving birth.
We collected stories and photos from several hooping mamas about their experiences getting into hula hooping after bringing life into this world.
If you are an expecting mom wondering if it’s okay for you to hula hoop while you are pregnant, you are not alone. In the nearly six years I have been doing this, I have met many mothers who hula hooped throughout their pregnancy. I decided to interview them. Read on to hear their stories and see their amazing photos.
It can sometimes feel like the hula hoop community forgets about us bigger folks. It’s like going to the mall and all the stores only have clothing up to size large. Yo, can I get some XXL up in here?
If you’ve ever seen a hula hooping video go viral on Facebook, it might remind you of back when you were 10 years old and could hula hoop forever, and then you wonder, “Well why can’t I hula hoop anymore?”
And then you feel really old.
Because you mistakenly assume that you either have to be a 10 year old kid or in extremely good physical shape to learn how to hula hoop.
Honestly, I’ve heard it all. All the reasons why people think they can’t hula hoop.
The truth is, none of these are valid reasons for not hula hooping.
I’m 35. I never could hoop in my life until I was almost 30 years old.
Whether you are interested in making hula hoops or buying them, figuring out what type of hula hoop tubing you want can be pretty confusing, especially to beginners! There are quite a few types of hula hoop tubing available today, and each kind of tubing generally comes in different sizes.
Here is our easy to understand guide to all the types of tubing used for making hula hoops.
Updated for 2020!
I really enjoy making hula hoops because:
If you’re worried about not being able to hula hoop, knowing what size hula hoop to get is the best way to ensure you will be successful.
Trust me, I know how confusing it is to figure out what size hula hoop you need to start. When I first started hooping, I did exactly what most people do: I bought a hoop on a whim in the toy section at Walmart, rushed home, tried it out and couldn’t get the hang of it at all.
If you’re interested in how to lose weight hula hooping, the size and weight of your hoop are very important factors to consider.
This list has been updated for 2020!
Okay, I realize the line between need and want is a fine line. So the word “need” is being used loosely here. There are just certain things we need as hoopers!
If you’re new to hooping but already know it will be a life long obsession, this list is for you.
Or, if you’re looking for some great gift ideas for the hula hooper in your life, this article should help you out as well.
When you think of hula hooping, what comes to mind? I think for most people, it’s the image of swaying hips! So it makes perfect sense to feel some concern about taking on hula hooping after having a hip replacement.
Hula hooping seems like such a fun, colorful way to get your daily workout in, doesn’t it? Besides the fact that hula hooping burns mega calories, tones muscle and improves your cardiovascular health, I’ve also never seen anyone spin a hula hoop without smiling at the same time. It’s impossible, trust me!
Pictured: Briana of the #RubyFam
But, if you get into hula hooping without the proper information, you definitely put yourself at risk of injury.
If you’re like most people new to hula hooping for exercise, you probably bought one of those big, clunky hula hoops from Target or Amazon. They’re colorful, usually fairly large compared to the hoops in the toy section, and marketed by big corporations as “weighted fitness hula hoops”.
So after your first day of using it, you wake up the next morning and gasp at the pain you feel around your middle! Soreness and bruising, maybe even skin irritation. It hurts to get out of bed. What in the world did you get yourself into??
But before you give up on hula hooping forever, let me explain to you WHY your first time hula hooping hurt your waist, and what you can do differently to keep hula hooping without getting hurt again!
Before you read any further, throw that bumpy hula hoop in the trash. Seriously – now.
I’ll wait.
That hoop is way too heavy, it’s clunky as hell, and it has weird ridges. Why do weighted hula hoops have ridges, anyway?
I Googled that to find out, but all I could find was some mumbo-jumbo about how they help massage and stimulate your muscles…or something.
Of course, they forgot to mention that they also cause bruising and internal injuries.
So what kind of hula hoop should you use, then?
The best hula hoop for burning calories, toning your body, and improving your overall health is one that weighs about 1-2 pounds, does NOT have ridges on it, and is custom-sized to your specific body type.
As you can see below, this hoop, which is perfect for learning how to hoop around your waist, does not have any ridges and it is not super thick, heavy tubing.
Pictured: Me, Mama Ruby!
Excessively heavy hula hoops serve literally no purpose. You can get a much better, and SAFER workout using a hula hoop that weighs considerably less and doesn’t hurt your waist.
Like any popular trend, hula hooping, due to its rise in popularity in recent years, has fallen victim to big corporations and their endless resources for marketing. These companies have done a great disservice to the hula hoop community by confusing the public on what kind of hula hoop is best for exercising.
They feed off of our urgency to lose weight and our insecurities and anxieties about our bodies – offering the proposition that the heavier your hula hoop is, the faster you will spin your way to looking like a runway model.
But it’s just not true. To learn to hula hoop around your waist, you do need a LITTLE bit of weight–remember I said about a pound or two at the most–but never more than that, no matter what body type you have.
The most important factor about your hula hoop is how big around it is – the diameter. For our best-selling beginner hoop, we use a size chart based on your waist measurement to ensure we get you in the perfectly sized hoop for your unique body.
After all, everyone is different! I am a tall, naturally large woman, so I needed a bigger hula hoop than my friend Jean did, pictured below.
Pictured: Jean at the Ruby Retreat 2017
Once you get the correctly sized and weighted hoop, you will never have to worry about hula hooping hurting your waist ever again.
To start your journey off right, take my Six Week Beginner Hula Hoop Challenge for All Bodies, an online course you can take at your own pace, where I personally teach you all the foundational moves of modern hula hoop dance.
You may have tried to learn how to hula hoop as a child and, if you were anything like me, you failed miserably. But if you think you can never be a hooper, think again! If I can learn, anyone can.
Note: This information is still current for 2020.
Hey everyone! Here at Ruby Hooping, we make all of our hula hoops collapsible so they are easy and convenient to ship and carry!
Today we answer the number one hula hoop question of all time:
Why does my hula hoop keep falling down?
It usually goes something like this: You see a video of a grown person hula hooping on Instagram and you go grab your kid’s 3 dollar hoop from Walmart and give it a try. The hoop falls immediately and you chuckle to yourself, thinking you probably won’t be a hula hoop star anytime soon.
Then, next time you’re at Target, you spring for one of those ultra-clunky hoops in the exercise section of the store.
You rush home, eager to become the hoop goddess you know you were born to be.
When you first start hula hooping, there is a lot to learn. You start researching what kind of hula hoop to get and before you know it, you’ve gone down a rabbit hole reading about hula hoop sizes, weights, and…grip.
If you’ve ever had trouble with a hula hoop falling down, you need it.
Since hula hoops are made of sleek plastic, they are quite slippery in their unaltered state. It’s nearly impossible to learn how to hula hoop with a hoop that has no grip whatsoever. Hoopers have come up with a variety of ways to deal with this over the years.
I am going to list all hula hoop grip options next, in the order of how commonly used they are based on my experience making and selling hula hoops for the past 6 years.
Gaffers tape, which we often refer to as “grip tape”, is a durable, cotton-based cloth adhesive tape. It is manufactured for use in the theater, movie and television production industries, to tape cords down and mark spots on the stage floor.
As with most materials used to make hula hoops, gaffers tape has been brilliantly repurposed as grip tape by hula hoopers.
It’s perfect because it creates a serious amount of grip while adding a colorful pinstripe to your hula hoop. There are many ways you can choose to apply grip tape. At Ruby Hooping we generally do it two ways:
Both are suitable for beginners and advanced hoopers. The style in which you choose to apply the grip tape to your hula hoop is personal preference. As long as your hoop has grip tape of some kind, you will be fine as a beginner.
In our Go Getter Starter Pack, which includes a beginner hoop, a dance practice hoop and a set of minis, here’s how we apply the grip tape: on the beginner hoop it is generously spiraled around; on the dance practice hoop is it spiraled but spaced out more, and on the minis, it is lined along the inner rim of the hoops.
Gaffers tape comes in a wide variety of widths but 1/2″ is most common. You can get a whole roll of the tape, which will last you several months or more, for cheap. It comes in tons of bright colors, many of which are neon / UV reactive.
The reason you should keep a roll of it on hand is because grip tape does need to be replaced every so often. It will get dirty over time and also peel away from the hoop after months of use.
Generally you can just peel it off of your hoop, clean your hoop with alcohol (and possibly some coconut oil if there is residue that won’t come off easily), and then replace with a brand new strip of grip tape.
Grip tape will add a little bit of weight to your hoop, which is a good thing when you’re just starting out.
Gaffers tape is not the only kind of grip tape hula hoopers use. We also use an even more specialized, grippier tape called 3M Grip Tape. This tape is manufactured for industrial non-slip situations.
It’s clear, so it works great on any hula hoop, and I would say MEGA is the word that describes how grippy this stuff is. It is definitely more grippy than gaffers tape.
It adds more weight than gaffers tape also, which can be nice as a beginner. It kind of sucks once you become more advanced though and don’t really necessarily want the extra weight all the time.
Even so, this tape is a great choice for at least two scenarios:
My personal favorite kind of hula hoop grip is hoop wax. It’s SO grippy! And it does not add extra weight to your hula hoop which is another huge plus for me.
Our hula hoop wax is made with natural ingredients like coconut oil and beeswax. It also has essential oils added for a delicious aroma and glitter because..glitter 🙂
For the small price tag, it’s completely 100% worth trying at the very least.
If you’re a DIY kind of person, try looking up recipes for surf wax – very similar and will totally get the job done!!
Keep in mind, hoop wax will get on your hands, so if you’re the kind of person that can’t stand that, then hoop wax is not for you. Also, it can get a little bit gross in the summertime in extremely hot temperatures!
It does need to be reapplied about once a week if you are a daily hooper. It’s also easy to clean off using coconut oil and a damp rag or you can scrape it off using the scrapers we provide with our wax.
Here’s our video on how to apply hula hoop wax (or you can click thru to watch it on Facebook).
https://www.facebook.com/rubyhooping/videos/1194380950683505/
There are various kinds of grip stick out there manufactured specifically for hula hoopers, and it’s fun to try them all!
We’ve even seen people rub hot glue sticks onto their hula hoop and amazingly, it works pretty great!
And finally, sanding your hoop is a great way to get long-lasting grip without adding weight. We recommend 60 grit sandpaper swiped lightly across the hoop in any direction you prefer. For less grip, use a higher grit sandpaper! You can also sand your hoop and then apply wax to the sanded portion for extreme grip action!
I really hope this cleared up the very confusing subject of hula hoop grip! Good luck on all your hooping adventures!
If you are a new hooper, don’t worry! All of our beginner products (the Go Getter set, beginner hoop and weighted exercise hoop) come ready-made with the grip you will need!
Don’t forget to join us in our Facebook group to share your favorite hoop grip ideas with us!
Still having trouble getting your hula hoop to stay up? Try our Six Week Beginner Hula Hoop Challenge to get the best hoop training for your unique body, taught by our founder Mama Ruby.
Now get out there and get your hoop on!
Pictured: the beautiful Rinney from #TeamRuby
The inside out whip is a totally flowy super cool illusion you can create with your hoop where it looks like you are rolling a hoop across a table in front of you and weaving it in and out around your body. I sort of think of this trick as a cross between a weave and a linear isolation. Check it out!
For this trick a medium sized, lightweight hdpe hoop would be a great choice. Use the same size hoop you used to learn basic isolations. If you have our Go Getter Starter Pack, use the dance practice hoop included in your set!
For more free tutorials, subscribe to our Youtube.
Become a hula hoop superstar with my Six Week Beginner Hula Hoop Challenge for All Bodies online course!
This is a fun and different way of getting the hoop back on your body after you have done some off-body tricks. You simply pass the hoop around your body from hand to hand and then duck right into it and keep hooping! This one will feel awkward at first but keep trying and I guarantee you’ll get the hang of it!
A big hoop is best to learn how to do a hula hoop duck in. If you have our Go Getter Starter Pack, definitely use the beginner hoop from your set!
For more free tutorials, subscribe to our Youtube.
Become a hula hoop superstar with my Six Week Beginner Hula Hoop Challenge for All Bodies online course!
An extremely fun trick that makes me feel like I’m blasting off into outer space!
I do consider this a beginner hula hoop trick, although every hooper is different and some may not learn this until they are further into their hoop journey.
It seems as though knee hooping is very easy for some hoopers and a difficult challenge for others. We all learn each trick at our own pace! This is one I struggled with for a few months.
Don’t give up just because it seems hard at first! When you finally nail it, the satisfaction will feel so good!
There are actually at least two ways to transition out of knee hooping. The one I am teaching you today involves using your hand to lift the hoop. The other method would be to wiggle the hoop back up to your waist, chest, or wherever you’d like to move it.
For this trick, as with most beginner hula hoop tricks, I definitely recommend using a beginner hoop or any hoop that has a large diameter. Since large hoops move slower, it will give your body more time to react and learn the necessary movement. Once you have it down, you can translate it to a smaller hoop if you want.
For more free tutorials, subscribe to our Youtube.
Become a hula hoop superstar with my Six Week Beginner Hula Hoop Challenge for All Bodies online course!
