Fighting childhood obesity in America with a hula hoop
Remember how fun it was to play hula hoops when you were a kid. It didn’t matter if you were a boy or a girl, it was fun. I bet you never thought about how beneficial it was to your health at the time while you were doing it. You were just playing. Try it now and see how well it does or how long it lasts. This was the challenge that one of my daughters gave me a while ago. I had no idea what awaited me. Even as a healthy adult he reeked of it… And he used to be good. I can bench 320lbs but I can’t hula hoop more than 2 or 3 rotations. My tale was shouted. It’s because I kept trying over and over and over again. And then it hit me, a hula hoop provides an explosive core workout.
My challenge to all of you is to have your kids put down the remote or game controller for 30 minutes every day and challenge them with a hula hoop. Make it fun and exciting. Children love a challenge and so do you. Jumping hoops regularly is a great way to tighten your waist lines and strengthen your core muscles that all of your body movement focuses on. The most dangerous fat in the body is the fat around the waist called visceral fat which is linked to heart health. It’s also the hardest fat to get rid of as you age.
The hula hoop incorporates a lot of muscles, more than 30, and burns huge amounts of calories the longer you do it. The more muscles worked and the longer the duration, the more calories will be burned. One of the most important muscles you will use is your heart. Within seconds of starting your heart rate increases and that’s what burns calories. Not to mention that it helps with endurance and muscle tone. And it’s all in the name of fun. Children have no idea that they are exercising. It’s almost like cheating.
The hoop not only helps the heart, but also the entire cardiovascular system, spine, hand-eye coordination, joints and much more. It even helps strengthen your facial muscles due to the huge smiles that stay on your face for extended periods of time.
Try this for fun. Basic hopping, takes a bit of practice to get it, but kids seem to get the hang of it very easily. Once they get used to it, make it a challenge. We like to race the clock between the two older girls. If there is only one child, then that is the perfect opportunity for you to be the opponent. Simply keep the time from when they start to when the hoop hits the ground and record that time. Then the next opponent calls. The person with the longest time wins!! You can even incorporate prizes for them to win to up the ante. Whether it’s a HEALTHY snack, extended TV time, or whatever comes to mind. Just be creative and make it fun for them and for you.
You can also have them try some tricks like walking while jumping. It sounds easy, but it is very difficult and will provide hours of laughter watching them do it. hilarious!! You can even try to get him to move the hoop up and down his body. Crazy skills required. Ask them to start with their droppings and then move the hoop as high as they can, preferably up to their necks, without hands. We parents get a great abdominal workout just by laughing so much watching. Which, as a side note, is great for our hearts, laughing.
You can even have them spin a hoop on one arm while still spinning one on their scraps. Or maybe one in each arm. Or have them stand on one leg and jump. The possibilities are truly limitless. Just don’t make it impossible. You will surely have a lot of fun and the children will get a great exercise… And maybe you will go to bed a few minutes earlier.
