Fitness
I swung my hips every day for a month with a hula hoop and these are the results
I tested the hula hoop fitness trend and was surprised by the results. When I think of a hula hoop, I immediately have lots of funny moments in my head, from when I was ten years old. It’s been a long time since I’ve held one in my hand, let alone circled one around my hips. But whether it’s on Instagram, YouTube, or other digital platforms, I keep running into people my age who have discovered hula hoop fitness for themselves and swear by it. So it was time for me to finally try it out myself—so I bought a hula hoop, watched all the “Hula Hoop Fitness for Beginners” videos, and started training.
Fitness with the hula hoop—expectation
From my one-month hula hoop fitness test, I expect on the one hand a better body feeling and more stability, which will hopefully benefit me in other sports, such as swimming, for example. But more importantly, I want to find out if training with the hula hoop could be something that can be integrated into everyday life in a sustainable way. In my imagination, I’m standing on the balcony swinging the hoop in the morning while enjoying the first rays of sunshine, or I’m doing my workout in the evening after work while looking for the new season of my favorite series. In other words, I hope to find a workout for which I have no more excuses.
How can you learn to hula hoop?
The bitter realization right at the beginning: I am an absolute beginner. So my first goal, before I start a real fitness program, is to learn how to hula-hoop. But what is the best way to do that?
Learning to hula hoop for beginners seems to be a popular video topic on YouTube, luckily for me, so I watch all the content explaining which hoop is best to use as a beginner and which direction to move the hips to keep the hoop up. Here we most important facts at a glance that are essential to learn hula hoop:
Choosing the right hoop
A beginner hoop is best between 1.2 and 1.5 kilograms. It should not be too light, then it is easier. If you are sensitive to pain, you should not choose a hula hoop with massage nubs at the beginning. However, these are beneficial to build muscle. Also, it is important to consider the body size for the hoop size: The length from the floor to the belly button is approximately the diameter of the hoop.
The right stance
The starting position is the be-all and end-all for a fluent hula hoop workout. When trying hula hoop fitness for the first time, it is important to find the right stance for you. For some, placing their legs parallel and hip-width apart works better; for some, placing one foot forward works better.
Don’t get discouraged
Even if the first attempts don’t work at all, keep at it. First successes come faster than you think – I am the best proof for it (but more about that in a moment).
What are the advantages of hula hoop fitness?
I have already mentioned above what I personally hope to gain from my sports test. But of course, there are other benefits to hula hoop fitness, which is why it’s so popular with the masses. Contrary to what you might think, it’s an effective full-body workout that can do much more than just burn calories. For one, it mobilizes the spine, which helps prevent back pain, and it also works the abdominal and back muscles, as well as the core. And that’s exactly what’s super important to me, because my goal is to optimize my posture and especially to train my lower back, since I tend to have a hollow back and am often plagued by back pain.
But hula hoop fitness also makes you sweat, because it gets your cardiovascular system going. So if you’re hoping for a relaxed workout, you’re wrong. Conversely, you also burn a lot of calories. One of the reasons for this is that the abdominal muscles are constantly at work during the hula hoop.
Fitness
Avoid doing these gym exercises now! Orthopaedic doctor reveals exercises that do more harm; the answers may shock you
Did you know that some popular exercises that we all do at the gym to stay fit and healthy may be doing more harm than good? Dr Venkatesh Movva, an orthopaedic doctor trained in Sports Medicine, sat down with Ranveer Allahbadia for The Ranveer Podcast, where he talked about the exercise one should avoid at the gym. The answers will surprise you.
(Also Read | Ranbir Kapoor ‘decides to clap’ in between his pullups. Guess how Alia Bhatt reacted?)
Avoid doing these gym exercises now!
In the clip shared on The Ranveer Show Podcast Instagram page, with the caption, “Dr Venkatesh on Which Exercises you should Avoid in Gym?”, Ranveer asks Dr Movva which exercises he would recommend gymgoers to avoid as an orthopaedic doctor. He suggested three exercises which are quite popular among gymgoers aiming to get fit, lose weight or stay healthy. According to him, one should not do overhead exercises, deadlifts, and crunches.
Dr Movva stated in the clip, “Overhead, heavy [exercise]. I mean, you can go stretch, but no military press, number one. Number two crunches; avoid them. Number three, deadlifts. (sic)” To this, Ranveer replied, “So, I’d replace the military press because it’s for the anterior delts with just front raises.” As an alternative, Dr Movva suggested people to ‘bend down’ during such exercises. “You can go bend down, raise it [weights], rather than overhead (sic),” he said.
While Ranveer, a fitness enthusiast himself, said that he would replace crunches with planks, Dr Movva suggested ‘planks and bridges’.
Lastly, for why one should avoid deadlifts, an exercise you must have seen many celebrities doing at the gym and fitness influencers pushing their followers to include in their routine, the orthopaedic doctor said, “I see more injuries than benefits with the deadlifts. If you are really well-trained and have a good muscle balance, do it. But if you are trying to get better, that’s one thing you may want to avoid. Because the risk of injury is very high. There are so many other exercises that you can compensate without doing these things.”
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
Fitness
Woman who shed 54 kg shares 7 back and bicep exercises that helped transform her body
Carrying excess fat in your back and arms can cause health concerns for many. Sorting out this issue is important, not just for how you look, but also for your general health and ability to move around easily. If you are on a weight loss journey and looking for exercises to help you target these areas, worry not. We have found seven exercises to help you develop and tone your back and bicep muscles. The routine was shared on Instagram by Meredith Hutson, who shed 120 lbs (approximately 54 kg) naturally. Check out the exercise that helped her transform her body.
(Also Read | Avoid doing these gym exercises now! Orthopaedic doctor reveals exercises that do more harm; the answers may shock you)
Back and bicep workouts to try
In the video, Meredith suggested exercises like the Smith machine or barbell mid-grip rows, outer curl into Zottman curl, cable rear delt fly, straight arm pulldowns, reverse seated rows, cable hammer curls, and cable lat pulldowns. She also demonstrated how to do each exercise in the clip and showcased modifications she added to make the routine effective.
The fitness influencer also had an inspiring message for those trying to lose weight or tone their muscles. She said, “Nobody saw my potential the way that I did…” Check out the exercises.
According to Meredith’s video, each exercise targets different areas in your back and biceps. Talking about the Smith machine or barbell mid-grip rows, she said that the exercise targets your ‘middle back for a balanced development’. For the Zottman curl, she modified the exercise by adding an outer curl, which helped her target the long head of her biceps and forearms.
While the cable rear delt fly exercise (a personal favourite of the fitness coach) targets the real delts, upper back muscles, traps and rhomboid, the straight arm pulldown helps work out the rhomboid and ‘big muscles’ on the back, thus helping create the V shape.
As per Meredith, the reverse seated rows also target the rhomboid along with the traps, biceps, rear delts, and the ‘main muscle in our backs that helps us in doing pulling movements’. Lastly, the cable hammer curls work the entire upper arms ‘focusing on the front of the arms and the outside of the forearm’, while the cable lat pulldowns target ‘lats, rhomboid, traps, and biceps’.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.
Fitness
Manayunk gym aims to provide source of physical and mental wellness
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — GoalsFit, nestled in Philadelphia’s Manayunk neighborhood, has been a community staple for 16 years.
Kasey Manwaring-Loos, who is at the helm, has created an environment that gets people coming back for their fitness fix.
“Kasey has a superpower, she has a lot of them,” said Dan Leinhauser, who’s been a client at Goals for eight years. “But one of them is she can take old guys like me, and young, very fit people, and somehow everybody gets an incredible workout out of it. No one is made to feel less than the other person.”
When COVID-19 hit in 2020, Manwaring-Loos realized the impact her gym had on her clients. It was an outlet for their physical and mental wellness. So, she felt the push. She decided to enroll in a master’s program at her alma mater, Saint Joseph’s University, to pursue a degree in mental health counseling. Her hope was to provide her clients with more tools in the future.
“I happen to have a client who was in eighth grade, and after six sessions I just saw how good she was feeling,” Manwaring-Loos reflected. “I remember one session saying, ‘You look so strong.’ And she was like, ‘I just feel so good.’ So, I thought it was the perfect spot to start with because I think it will be so impactful.”
So “Generation Move” was born. It’s a program launching in the New Year for 7th and 8th graders who may experience anxiety surrounding sports, exercise, and movement.
Manwaring-Loos said it will be a combination of exercise and “chit-chat.”
“One week will be called ‘Lifting to Feel Empowered,’ one week will be ‘Moving for a Clearer Mind,’ one week will be ‘Teamwork Makes Dreamwork.’”
At a time when professional athletes like Eagles tackle Lane Johnson have spoken out about the intersection between sports and mental health, people like Manwaring-Loos are doing the work in our communities.
“When it comes down to it, I want to do this because at least they will leave feeling in a good mood,” Manwaring-Loos shared. “Sure, there will always be struggles, sadness, problems, but at least they will find a tool that will put them in a better mood.”
Generation Move is set to begin its six-week program on January 15. You can learn more about the various offerings at GoalsFit at goalsfit.com.
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