"Of all of the things that TikTok made me buy, one of my most unpredictable purchases was a weighted hula hoop. As soon as I heard a Gen Z-er claim it was her main form of exercise and it helped her get more toned, I was all ears. Could the childhood pastime I used to do just for the fun of it be a solid workout? As a health and fitness writer with a passion for product testing, I was especially eager to find out and explore the potential benefits of weighted hula hooping.
Besides the fact that it looked super fun, there were two reasons why I was interested in trying a weighted hula hoop. When I was first introduced to it, I was recovering from a minor hip injury I got from treadmill sprinting and weight lifting. Secondly, in just a few days, I was scheduled to have a nasal septum surgery that was going to keep me out of my workout routine for at least a month. The weighted hula hoop seemed like a perfect, low-impact way to get my heart rate up during recovery. So, I immediately went to Amazon and hit “add to cart.”
Introduction to Weighted Hula Hooping
I took my newfound TikTok fascination to the internet to figure out A) if weighted hula hooping was legit and B) what the actual benefits of hula hooping were. And I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was a lot of information on the topic.
For a lot of us, the hula hooping we grew up with was already a bit of a challenge, but weighted hula hooping can take things to the next level in terms of boosting aerobic health. Unlike a traditional hula hoop, a weighted hula hoop can vary in weight from 1 to 5 pounds (more to come on how to choose the right hula hoop for you) and provides added resistance for an effective workout. Or, it can be a fun way to add an all-in-one cardio and strength training element to switch up your existing fitness routine.
TL;DR: Weighted hula hooping is a low-impact aerobic exercise that can help you burn calories, strengthen your core muscles, and improve your cardiovascular fitness. Whether you’re a fitness enthusiast bored with your current regimen or a beginner looking for an activity that has serious physical and mental gains, weighted hula hooping is suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels.
What is Weighted Hula Hooping?
So, what exactly is weighted hula hooping? It’s a modern twist on the classic hula hooping we engaged in as kids. The key difference is the addition of weight, which is either built into the hoop itself or comes in the form of a weighted ball attached to the hoop. This added resistance turns the nostalgic games we once played into a challenging and effective workout, boosting motivation. As you spin the hoop around your body, the added resistance not only engages your core muscles, but research shows it also works the rest of your body, making it a well-rounded, full-body workout.
Benefits of Using a Weighted Hula Hoop
Using a weighted hula hoop comes with a host of benefits that make it a worthwhile addition to your fitness arsenal. Here are some of the top perks:
- Improves cardiovascular fitness: The continuous motion of hula hooping gets your heart rate up, making it an effective aerobic exercise critical for heart and lung health, weight management, and improving the flow of oxygen through the body. Bonus points that hula hooping burns an average of 210 calories during a 30-minute workout. But whether losing weight is your goal or not, hula hooping is proven to be an efficient method to burn calories.
- Strengthens core muscles: Every time you swivel your hoop around, the added weight engages your abdominal and back muscles, helping to build a stronger core. In a randomized controlled study from 2019 that compared a group of individuals who walked approximately 10,000 steps a day to a group that did around 12 minutes of weighted hula hooping per day, the hula hooping group had better results in increased core strength.
- Enhances balance and coordination: Since keeping the weighted hula hoop spinning requires continual balance and hand-eye coordination, you’re actively improving your balance and challenging your motor skills, which are necessary for all functional movements and preventing injury.
- Fun, motivating, and low-impact: Hooping is a playful way to exercise where you often may not even realize you’re getting a workout, let alone releasing endorphins and reducing stress. Not to mention, it doesn’t put too much strain on your joints. What’s more, a study in Psychology & Health found that women who completed 30 minutes of hula hooping versus 30 minutes of walking reported stronger intentions for future exercise.
Getting Started with Hula Hooping
Ready to give weighted hula hooping a try? Here are some tips to help you get started:
Choosing the Right Hula Hoop
Selecting the best weighted hula hoop for you is crucial for a successful workout. Here are some factors to consider:
- Weight of the hoop: Weighted hula hoops range from 1 to 5 pounds. Choose a weight that feels comfortable, yet challenging.
- Size of the hoop: Hoops come in various sizes. A larger hoop is easier to control, so it’s best for beginners.
- Comfortable grip: Look for a hoop with a grip that feels good in your hands to prevent slipping.
- Material: Weighted hula hoops can be made from plastic, metal, or foam. Pick a material that is durable and comfortable for you.
- Adjustability: Some hoops allow you to adjust the size and weight, offering more flexibility as you progress.
Arrival and Assembly
When it arrived, I had to put it together, which was a bit of a spectacle. Assembly took probably five minutes and, besides the near-tragic mishap that occurred when I didn’t fully lock one of the bendable poles into its adjacent piece (it slingshot back at my face before I could even blink), I’d consider it fairly effortless to put together. After weeks of waiting, I finally had my weighted hula hoop in hand, and I was eager to take it for a spin (literally).
READ: This Viral $95 Pilates Board Gave Me the Best Ab Workout of My Life
Though I would consider myself a prodigy hula hooper (I won a contest at a backyard barbecue in third grade, no big deal), I definitely had to reorient myself on how to use it, especially with the added two pounds that were likely going to throw me for a bit of a loop (pun intended). After six weeks of turning to my weighted hula hoop again and again, here are my unfiltered thoughts.
The Pros of Weighted Hula Hoops
First, this thing will get your heart rate up pretty quickly. My typical weighted hula hooping routine consists of swiveling for six minutes clockwise and six minutes counterclockwise. Within three minutes, my heart is typically pumping at a speed walk or jog rate (for me, around 130 bpm), and I am sweating.
And, as I anticipated, weighted hula hooping was the ideal low-impact workout to get in some cardio without leaving the house. And since I could do it from the comfort of my living room in pretty much whatever attire I wanted, it was really easy to just grab and start working out without much effort or planning.
The Cons of Weighted Hula Hoops
As with all things, there are a few downsides to it that have kept me from abandoning my past workout methods completely. If you’re doing it for long enough, it can be boring AF. Sure, it’s fun for the first few minutes, but if you’re going to do it long enough to see any sort of results, you’ll have to commit more than 12 minutes to it. And for me, that’s just about as much as my brain could take before I was ready to jump to the next activity. Picking a playlist I love, watching TV, or listening to a podcast definitely helped pass the time.
Another big downside to hula hooping is that while you’re getting your heart rate up and activating your core, you’re missing out on opportunities to practice other functional movements. It’s good as a supplemental activity for some cardio, but for the most part, your feet are staying in one place. I do use hula hooping as an additional way to get some cardio in, but I don’t use it in place of other full-body movements like stretching, yoga, or HIIT workouts.
Do Weighted Hula Hoops Work?
All in all, I love my weighted hula hoop the way that I use it. For 12 minutes a day, it gives me an excuse to have a bit of a dance party, helps me to tap into some aerobic activity for better heart health, immunity, and stress reduction, and is an easy way for me to incorporate activity into an otherwise stagnant day. While I was in recovery, it was the perfect, low-impact solution to make me feel less like a couch potato and motivate me to be more active. Now that I’m recovered, I use it as a tool to help me get moving on days when I’m feeling particularly unmotivated, to make TV time more productive, or to warm up before other forms of exercise like yoga, lifting, or running.
Can I live without my weighted hula hoop? Sure. But do I want to? Not particularly. I’ve bought plenty of less useful items under the influence of TikTok, so this solid addition to my workout routine is a 10/10 in my book.
Ashley Selleke, Branded Content Managing Editor
Ashley’s first love in life is writing and, since working at The Everygirl, her passion has grown to encompass all forms of content creation. Since joining our company, Ashley has grown her creative instincts and merged them with metrics-driven strategy, bringing a fresh perspective to our team.
Katherine Chang, Wellness Staff Writer
Katherine Chang is The Everygirl’s Wellness Staff Writer with over five years of experience in the health and wellness space. She navigates the latest wellness topics and trends through expert interviews and studies, and she’s always first in line to try them firsthand.