The Self Help Hipster Goes Hooping!

There are a lot of reasons to go hooping. I certainly started hearing more and more people rave about it over the last couple of months. Apparently, it’s a great work-out, it’s super-fun, and some people say it makes you feel more connected to your body and the Universe — like a 95cm diameter three-way call app.

Lin and I decided to give it a shot and did a two-hour workshop by Circe Lubbers in a cute flamingo dance studio. Spoiler alert: The bruised hips are worth it, it’s mega-fun&addictive and Lin & I both got ourselves a hoop.

There were five of us, all dressed in comfy work-out clothes while hooping to a nice loud remix of all sorts of dance hits. Circe taught us the basic techniques as well as some little steps like walking and spinning while hooping (which I can’t do without either getting dizzy or losing my hoop in the process) and spinning the hoop over our heads.

I was absolutely dreadful at first. You just gotta call shit what it’s called: I sucked. I was the worst one of the group. While everyone around me was keeping their hoops up on their waist I was repeatedly watching mine circle down to my ankles after a few seconds. Not good for the Frustration Factor of it all, but I knew I had to push through the ‘ARGH!’s I kept hearing in my head and just go with it. So, deep breaths and hoop it away.

Sure enough, I started to suck a little less with every time I tried. Circe was awesome, giving exactly the right tips and encouragement a newbie-suckie hooper like myself could have hoped for. By the end of class I actually managed to keep the damn thing up. I could also vary a tiny bit with up and down, slow and fast and it was so fun! I couldn’t stop!

 See that? That’s me at the end of class, with my own hoop. I immediately knew I wanted to take a hoop with me on vacation so I can hoop in front of our tent (and thoroughly entertain my boyfriend, probably). Since I’m leaving this Friday, no time to order or go to Amsterdam to buy one. Not that I really wanted that: It was love at first sight for me and the Silver-Blue hoop I got to use during the workshop. I don’t mean to sound slutty, but I took him home.

And even though my hips are a little bruised and my abs are killing me, I’m taking my hoop out for a quick spin  in the park before my yoga class. What can I say? It’s just fun, especially with a few good songs.

So: If you ever want to do anything new and fun in terms of exercise…go hooping. The Self Help Hooping Hipster highly recommends.

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24 comments

  1. I HAVE to try this. I remember being pretty good at hoola hoopin’ when I was a kid, but I’m pretty sure that innate talent has left me, haha.
    Where did you go hooping? And also, very practical, was it expensive?

    1. If you click the link, you can see how & what and it was 25 euros for two hours. The hoop was 27,50 !

  2. Yay, ik ben sinds vrijdag ook hooked. En bf ook! Mooie is dat het op dat moment niet als een workout voelt, vooral niet met een gezellig muziekje of een toffe serie, maar achteraf voelt het weldegelijk als een workout. Lekkor!

    1. Ik vind het ZO leuk om op muziek te hoopen! Current favorites zijn Robyn (zoals je had aangeraden), Britney (lol) & Rihanna!

  3. I want I want! There is no course close to where i live….
    I should buy a real one though, instead of doing it on the Wii 😉

  4. *yaay* Ive been going at it for the last month or so and its sooo goood and Fun fun fun =D we sometimes even do Hoop – Battles in our studio now ^^ enjoy!

    1. I am so excited to start hooping at like, festivals when I get a little less sucky! Hope to see you there!

  5. Ik heb het vorig jaar even gedaan omdat mijn moeder het helemaal te gek vond ( en ook nog eens goed kon ) maar op een of ander manier heb ik het geduld er niet voor en ben ik het zat om elke sec de hoepel weer op te rapen. Luiheid? Ja..

    Misschien toch even mijn doorzettingsvermogen weer oppakken en weer gaan proberen!

  6. I LOVE hooping and I’m so happy you liked it! Keep with it and look on YouTube for fun tutorials 🙂 I really love hooping because it forces me to bliss out!