In April of 2017 I picked up a hula hoop with intention of learning how to hoop dance! I bought myself a hoop and started feverishly watching videos online of how to do things. On top of it all I joined an Instagram challenge that required doing different styles of tricks every day.
I had spun fire poi Years before so flow was not something completely foreign to me, and this wasn’t the first time I had picked up a hoop. So by the end of the Instagram challenge I had a pretty good set of skills that made playing with my hoop so much more fun!
More than anything I’ve ever done with my body I love circus arts. What kid doesn’t wish they could run away and join the circus right? But for me that dream is so real that my goal by the end of 2020 is to have toured because of my hooping/circus acts! But anyway this is more about how my body has changed since I started hooping.
This photo was taken during day 4 of my hoop challenge. Before you say anything! I have always loved my body. But I have not always been as healthy as I am right now. I was not as healthy in this photo. I know I wasn’t fat. But the shape of my body has changed. Here I can see my stomach was bloated because I wasn’t eating right, love handles and my booty was made to appear much larger because it swallowed my love handles! Lol hooping my little heart out for an hour a day, which can be pretty intense cardio leads me to my most recent body picture.
Now hooping is not the only thing I changed! The cardio from hooping definitely helped my lose water weight and a significant amount of mass. However I also started treating my body with more respect. I wanted to improve my hoop skills and I needed to be more agile to do so. So about 6 months in stretching every day became so important. Eating correctly, this is a big one. How can you maintain a performance vehicle if you treat it like a beater? You have to fuel your body correctly. Another significant change that came from the people I connected with was my family eats vegan at least 3 nights a week. It saves your grocery bill, as well as gets rid of crazy amounts of cholesterol and can change your body chemistry.
There is so much more to it than what I can describe in a blog post. Yes the cardio helped me get more fit, yes my passion for hooping has pushed me to work my body in several other ways to be a better hooper. But it also made me part of a community. If you have a hoop in hand and another hooper sees you you are friends. Automatically. The least judge mental most open people I’ve ever met are the ones in the hooping/circus/fire community.
Lots has changed since I began my hoop journey. I actually think I’m gonna create a hoop workout video for those that are interested? I’ll post it here with an edit once it’s done. If there has been an activity you’ve always wanted to try but never thought you had the time? Just do it! It might even change your life.
Lyfe of Laci 