Why Am I Hula Hooping?

It's an odd question cause I really don't know why. I've been trying to lose weight for 5 or so years. That's probably when I first got the itch. I always heard that adult sized hoops were the way to go.

I think my first hoop was from a white elephant gift. Someone brought a hoop wrapped up. I mean how could you not know it was a hoop? Everyone made jokes about it. The gift I opened was Starbucks. Yeah, I totally don't go to Starbucks. So the very moment it was my turn to steal, I took the hoop. People were glad to give it to me. Everyone joked about it and asked me what I was doing with it. I shrugged. "I'll hoop of course." I was so proud to walk home with my new treasure. Until I got home and tried it. SUPERFAST SPINNING AND BAM! The hoop it the ground. I tried again and again. Nope. Man, that thing was like lightening. It was red and black vinyl tape.

Gaiam is quick to jump the peace-love exercise if they can. They came out with a hoop kit 5 years ago with Betty Hoops. Cardio Dance Hoop is where you can look at it. I tried with that hoop. Nope. It was a collaspable but with a covering over the hoop pieces. It won't kill your hands either but if you put it all together it will just wobbly. I think even Gaiam is ashamed of that product since I sent the a message regarding their new hoop kit vs. this one. The DVD was pointless cause I still couldn't hoop.

Break for a few years. When I moved in with my husband, I'd get them out again and try. It never worked. So why am I hula hooping now? I knew about it. My friend made hula hoops but I just felt like it was useless. Randomly, probably during a late night, I decided that I was going to hula hoop and nothing was going to stop me. Googling I found youtube videos and dug out the gaiam hoop. I tried and tried and tried. No luck. I contacted my friend to make me a hoop. I had 50 dollars left in my bank account and went to CVS to get the hoopnotica kit. The hoop was a plus. I mainly got it for the DVDs. I tried some more. Nope. But I learned halos. Whenever I got frustrated, I would do some hand hooping.

One night I wanted to see what I was doing wrong and this is the video I wound up taping:


Yeah, that was a scary, I'm-going-to-get-murdered moment.

When my friend gave me my hoop, I tried it at work the next day. When she first handed it to me, it felt like I was holding it up longer but I realized I wasn't. I was holding it up just as long as I was doing with the hoopnotica hoop. I was growing despondent.

I bought some 100 psi, 3/4" piping at ACE and made a large one (I first tried to put water in it but it was useless). I taped it and it revolved a bit slower but it was too light. I couldn't feel it. I'd start practicing with three hoops at my feet. Yet I'd storm off and cry about it sometimes.

I taped videos and asked the fine people of the internet to help me. I eventually found a instructor in Lexington that was teaching a class. The night before the class, I almost had it. I started to do a weird movement that was akin to me doing the hula hoop on the wii. Yet I was able to keep the hoop up for seven seconds with one hoop.

I went and she handed me this huge, heavy hoop. I started to do the same forward stance motion that I had been practicing for weeks and bam! I'm hooping. I was able to spin around, walk a few steps, and did the corkscrew up for the first time successfully.

I asked my friend to make me a big one. Although she was leery at making one so heavy. I understood a few days later when I couldn't wait and bought the piping I needed. After I tried it at the park, I dropped it on my foot and could have swore for five minutes that I broke my toe. By now after a few weeks of hard knocks, that hoop's tape is starting to come off. Most the hockey tape is gone. When they tell you it doesn't last, they are right.

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