“I can’t hula hoop”, we hear it a lot when we are out and about sharing the hoop love.  Some people don’t even try because they think they can’t.  Some people have tried with their child’s hula hoop and couldn’t do it, so they think they can’t hula hoop.  Other people think they can’t hoop because they are too old or too large.  However, most of the ‘reasons’ people think they can’t hula hoop actually stem more from fear of failure and trying something new and can be overcome.  Here are 5 reasons why you can’t hula hoop, and 5 reasons why you can.

I can’t hula hoop.  I tried doing it with my daughter’s hoop and couldn’t do it

This is one of the most common things we hear.  If you tried riding a child’s bike and had difficulty would you think you could not ride?  No.  You just need an adult size bike and likewise to hula hoop as an adult you need an adult size hoop.  In2Hula’s large and extra large fitness hoops are ideally sized for adults to learn to hoop with.

I can’t hula hoop, I couldn’t even do it when I was a child

Just because you could not do something before, does not mean you cannot learn to do it now.   Think about how many other things you can do now that you could not do when you were a child.

I can’t hula hoop I’m too old

Contrary to popular belief age is not a barrier to hooping.  Bernadette was 49 when she first started hooping.  Older bodies may not be quite as agile, and it may take you a little longer to learn tricks than a younger person, but there is no reason that you can’t.   In her article Flowing in My Fifties, 59 year old Laurel Fleming Richie noted that “Hooping at any age is an ideal form of cardio-vascular exercise with no stress on joints. .  . Hooping improves balance and coordination – two important skills that can diminish with age.  And the light weight-bearing use of a hoop can help fortify bone density. Hooping is also known for the emotional benefits it provides – a sense of meditation and mastery, stress relief and a feeling of well-being. Getting involved with your local hooping community promises a new set of friends, an essential component of emotional and physical health for all of us.  So, can “older” people hoop? Um, yeah. Older people ARE hooping. ”

(image: Laurel Fleming Richie)

I can’t hula hoop because I don’t have a waist

Some people think that they cannot hoop because they are overweight or a bit too squidgy round the middle.  The key to learning to hula hoop if you have a larger body girth is to use an extra large hoop with a large pipe diameter like the In2Hula extra large fitness hoops.  If you haven’t exercised your core muscles for a while (or a long while) then it may take a lot of practice to learn to activate and work these, however this is also true for people with smaller builds.   There is actually a Plus Size Hooping movement.  Plus size hooper Shannon Herrington wrote a very informative and honest blog post entitled Can you be fat and hoop?  There is also a Curvy Hoopers Forum on Hoopers.org

I can’t hula hoop.  I’ve tried to learn but it’s too hard.  I can’t hula hoop like you do.

I remember my first hoop class with Bernadette three years ago.  I couldn’t hoop and hadn’t been able to hoop as a child.  I watched her at the classes and wondered if I would ever be able to hoop as confidently as she did and do the tricks she did.  I felt clumsy and unco-ordinated (and old – I was 42).  It has taken me three years of fairly regular hoop practice to begin to get to a point where I am starting to have some confident flow to my hooping.  Remember that everyone starts knowing nothing and has to learn and practice.  Some people will be ahead of you on the learning journey, and in time, a growing number will be behind.  Different people learn and progress at different speeds, but everyone is able to improve.  Be inspired by others, but only compare yourself to who you were before.

Hula hooping is a circus trick – it does take practice and skill to master.  However, this is actually one of the benefits of it.  It is a challenge, and something special, and learning to hoop is so good for growing and strengthening your brain as well as your body.  We like to change the phrase “I can’t” to “I can’t yet”.  Focus on what you can do now: “I can try”, “I can learn”, “I can get better with practice”.  Enjoy the journey and celebrate the thrill when you get to the point of saying “I can hula hoop”.