When I was small there was one toy that everyone had to have a turn with. That was the hula hoop. The big round plastic

playthings were a hit back in the day. We'd spend hours twirling our hips trying to master the movement of the hoop. We even

had contests to see who could keep their hula hoop off the ground the longest. It's ironic that now that I'm an adult I'm

finding it fun again, but this time it's in my exercise hula hoop class.

I first heard about this class from a friend. She was a regular at the gym and had gotten tired of all the routine classes.

Then she noticed a posting for an exercise hula hoop class. She went and had a blast and invited me along.

Before I arrived I had a vision of a group of overweight adults trying to squeeze a plastic circle around their mid-sections.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that there was more to the exercise hula hoop class than trying to keep the ring off

the floor. The hoop itself was slightly different than the ones we usually see. A hula hoop designed for exercise actually

has weights inside of it.

The weights are designed to provide resistance during the work-out. It does make it a bit more challenging trying to keep the

hoop moving around your middle. The instructor explained the premise behind the weights to us and also what we could expect

in the class.

Warm-ups came first in the form of some stretches. We did that for several moments before getting into the exercise hula hoop

routines. The class was fun and I have to admit that when I left I could feel that I'd had a great work-out.

I decided that I enjoyed the experience so much that I wanted to continue at home. I'm not that much of a gym person, but the

exercise hula hoop class was fun and I knew that if I had a weighted hoop at

home I could continue with the exercises I was shown.

It was easy to find one. I first did a quick online search and was amazed at home many websites had the exercise hula hoop

for sale as well as instructional books and DVDs. I decided to visit a local exercise store to see if they had the hoop as I

knew shipping something that large would probably cost more than I wanted to spend.

Several stores in my area had them so I bought one along with a mat that I could use while doing the routines. I started out

slowly but now have worked my way up to longer periods, several times a week. I can really see the difference not only in the

tone of my stomach but also in my hips and buttocks as well. It's a fun exercise that I know I can stick with.