Hula Hoop Workout: Burn Calories While Having Fun

Discover the transformative power of hula hoop workouts for weight loss. This fun form of low-impact cardio exercise will enhance your overall health while slimming your waistline.

If you’re sick of doing the same old exercise routine day in and day out, it’s time to shake things with a hula hoop workout!

My first encounter with a weighted hula hoop was a decade ago with the ladies from Hoopnotica. I did a hula hoop workout for 30 minutes straight, and my abs were so sore the next day….I was hooked!

Hula hoop workouts provide a similar heart rate and calorie burn as boot camp classes, step aerobics, and cardio kickboxing. And these workouts pack a serious punch! You’ll burn approximately 210 calories per 30 minute session.

Ready to give it a try? Here’s my calorie burning hula hoop workout that will keep you smiling as you exercise!

My Hula Hoop Workout

Follow the instructions below for my heart pumping hula hoop workout that will burn calories just as effectively as other types of cardio exercise!

This workout includes a short warm up followed by 3 sets of hula hoop exercises. Keep scrolling to see my recommendations for choosing your hula hoop.

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Hula Hoop Warm Up (4 Minutes)

Always remember to warm up your body as needed. Complete the following exercises to get warmed up and ready for your hula workout:

• 1 Minute Jumping Jacks
• 1 Minute Walking Lunges
• 1 Minute Squats
• 1 Minute Hula Hoop around your waist

Take a 30 seconds rest before starting the bulk of the workout.

If you need to take a longer warm-up feel free to do the above circuit again or add on any other movements.

Hula Hoop Workout SET 1:

Follow this set of exercises for the first set of this hula hoop workout:

• 1 Minute – Hula Hoop around your waist
• 1 Minute – Jump Through the Hoop (like a jump rope)
• 1 Minute – 2 Feet Hops Forward and Back*
• Repeat Circuit x 2 Sets
• Take a 30 second rest

*To Perform 2 Feet Hops Forward and Back:

• Step 1: Place the Hula Hoop down on the ground
• Step 2: Start by standing behind the Hula Hoop
• Step 3: Hop with 2 feet into the center of the Hula Hoop
• Step 4: Hop with 2 feet forward over the top of the Hula Hoop
• Step 5: Then repeat with 2 feet hopping back into the center of the Hula Hoop
• Step 6: Finally, jump with 2 feet back again, back to the starting position of behind the Hula Hoop
• Continue this pattern, hopping with 2 feet forward and back for the full minute.

Hula Hoop Workout SET 2: 

Follow this set of exercises for the second set of this hula hoop workout:

• 1 Minute – Hula Hoop around your waist
• 1 Minute – 2 Feet Hops Side to Side*
• 1 Minute – Hula Hoop around your waist
• Repeat Circuit x 2 Sets
• 30 Second Rest

*To Perform 2 Feet Hops Side to Side:

• Step 1: Place the Hula Hoop down on the ground
• Step 2: Start by standing on one side of the Hula Hoop (right or left side; it does not matter)
• Step 3: Hop with 2 feet into the center of the Hula Hoop
• Step 4: Hop with 2 feet forward over the opposite side of the Hula Hoop
• Step 5: Then repeat with 2 feet hopping back into the center of the Hula Hoop
• Step 6: Finally, jump with 2 feet back again, back to the starting position of the side of the Hula Hoop
• Continue this pattern, hopping with 2 feet from side to side for the full minute

Hula Hoop Workout SET 3: 

Follow this set of exercises for the third set of this hula hoop workout:

• 1 Minute – Hula Hoop around your waist
• 1 Minute – Hula Hoop Squats*
• 1 Minute – Line Jumping**
• 1 Minute – Hula Hoop around your waist
• Repeat Circuit x 2 Sets

*To Perform Hula Hoop Squats:

• Step 1: Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart (squat position)
• Step 2: Hold the Hula Hoop overhead with straight arms (in an overhead press position)
  • Tip/ Modification: If the overhead press position is too much with the squat, bring the arms slightly forward at an angled position. Or you can bring the Hula Hoop straight out in front of you. By bringing the Hula Hoop overhead, you are forced to use more core in your squat position.
• Step 3: Continuously perform squats for 1 straight minute, keeping the arms extended overhead

**To Perform Hula Hoop Line Jumping:

• Step 1: Place the Hula Hoop on the ground
• Step 2: Start behind the Hula Hoop
• Step 3: Place the right foot into the center of the Hula Hoop, then bring the left foot into the center next to the right foot.
• Step 4: Return the right foot back to the back of the Hula Hoop, allowing the left leg to follow along.
• Step 5; Continue this pattern in and out of the Hula Hoop for 1 straight minute.
• Line Jumping Pattern = Right Foot, Left Foot (into the center of the Hula Hoop), Right Foot, Left Foot (to the back of the Hula Hoop)

What Muscles Do Hula Hoop Workouts Target?

The hula hoop workout will primarily target your core muscles!

Along with your abs, your thighs and glutes are getting toned. Your lower back muscles are getting put to work as well by supporting and stabilizing your posture while you spin your hoop.

The best part is that you are also secretly sculpting your waistline while you are simultaneously laughing and doing aerobic exercise. It’s a little bit like riding a bike, the movement comes back to you in the first 10 minutes, and the weighted hoop is entirely different than the $5 hula hoop from the toy store.

The hula hoop workout is a rhythmic, low-impact way to exercise your core.

Can Hula Hooping Slim Your Waist?

While most people think of the hula hoop as a children’s toy that was all the rage back in the 1950s, modern hooping started primarily as a form of dance expression using a larger, weighted hula hoop. In recent years it has found its way back into the fitness world for a good reason. A hula hoop workout is an excellent solution to slim your waistline, but you must use a weighted hula hoop!

Hula hoop workouts use hoops that are 37 to 45 inches in diameter and weigh 1 to 4 pounds. These weighted hula hoops rotate around the body more slowly, actually making it easier to hoop while helping slim your waist by burning more calories and eliciting improved fitness benefits.

How to Choose A Weighted Hula Hoop 

There’s nothing wrong with using your kid’s hula hoop for this workout but if you get into the hula hooping workouts, you might want to give a weighted hula hoop a try. 

TIP for choosing the right weighted hula hoop:

1. The hoop should reach at least to your waist but can go as high as mid-chest when it’s sitting vertically at your feet.
2. A light, small weighted hula hoop takes more effort to keep the hoop going.
3. A big, heavy-weighted hula hoop, is easier to keep moving.

Weighted hula hoops are available at many stores but here are a few of my favorites:

• Exercise Fitness Hoop for Adults – Easy to Spin and Soft Padding Weighted Hoop
• Fat Burning Weighted Hula Hoop – Adjustable Soft Fitness Hoola Ring for Weight Loss

Pick up a weighted hula hoop today, and you’ll be surprised how quickly you pick the movement back up—and how much more fun it can make your weight loss journey.

Remember, switching up your workout routine can be one of the best ways to break through weight-loss plateaus, and a hula hoop workout is an easy way to do that.

And if you’ve seen my thoughts on the workout war happening between middle aged women and TikTok trolls, you’ll know that I think the best workouts are the ones you like doing!

More Fun Workouts to Explore

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• A Full-Body Playground Workout For Moms