How to Hula Hoop Your Way to a Tighter Core (Video)

Hula hooping has changed my stomach.  It's like a corset for your core.

I blogged about how to get started with your hula hoop but you have emailed and told me that you still can't quite get the hang of it.   Hopefully this "tutorial" Tracy Kornet & I have produced will help.

I use a weighted hula hoop at home.  Any hoop will do.  Tracy & I broke out the sparkle pink, non-weighted version for this video.

How to exercise with a hula hoop.

Can find a weighted hoop?  Buy one here: 

How to Get Started With Your Hula Hoop

Hula hooping is great exercise.  Really.  The folks in the 50's were on to something.

Hula hooping is not just a retro 50's phenomenon.  It can change your ab game.  It strengthens your abdominal muscles, particularly your obliques, creating a natural corset effect that can create your slimmest stomach ever.  It also works your legs and can be a decent cardiovascular workout if you do it a high intensity for an extended period of time.

I came out of the hula hoop closet last month with my Empower Cardio Core Fitness Hoop but some of you are still struggling to get the hang of it.  Admittedly trying to learn how to hoop isn't automatically easy.  It takes practice.

Here's how to start hooping using a weighted hula hoop:

• Don't gyrate your hips in the direction of the hoop.  That is mistake #1. 
• Stand with one foot in front of the other, maybe your "dominant" foot when beginning. 
• Once you give the hoop that first "turn" around your waist, start rocking your weight from one foot to the other.  No jumping, just think of a pumping & rocking motion.
• Keep it going.  That's it! 
• Still need help?  Here's a video. 

Again, practice.  One direction will be easier than the other.  Clockwise was initially easier for me but I focused on getting stronger going counter clockwise and now I'm pretty good both directions.

The great thing about hooping is that you can do it any time of day.  I do it while brushing my teeth for two minutes with my electronic toothbrush (kinda weird but whatever).  Or if I can't get to the gym, I hoop for 30 minutes for a cardio/core workout.  I probably do it for at least five minutes six days a week.

I'm obsessed. 

*Remember: flat abs start in the kitchen.  No amount of hooping, cardio, ab work or spinning will give you a flat stomach if you're eating too much crap every day.  A quality, balanced diet is key.  I'm a huge fan of the Mediterranean diet approach to eating.

Get Your Weighted Hoop Here: 

Coming Out of the Fitness Closet: Yes, I am a Hula Hooper

I love this hoop!

I posted this picture of me hula hooping with a weighted hula hoop to my Facebook page and Instagram feed.

You laughed, you snarked and, as a dear friend from high school, said "You really want the guys at The Ticket to see this?"
 
I don't care.  

Why?  

Because I am convinced hula hooping is a fun, low impact way to tone your core and legs. 

Tuesday morning, I was pressed for time but still wanted to get my blood pumping before an 11:30am meeting.  The babysitter didn't come until 10am.  I didn't want to pack up everything and run to the gym, blah blah blah.  So I decided to break out the weighted hoop that had been collecting dust underneath my bed. 

Using a weighted hula hoop, think two pounds, I worked the green monster for about 35 minutes.  It was an outstanding, low-impact option that had me sweating.  I wasn't able to do it nonstop, as I kept messing up.  I also performed the gyrations both clockwise and counterclockwise and found out I am much more adept at doing it clockwise than "to the left." 

This was a great "do what you can" exercise option.  I was able to squeeze in a solid workout while watching TV at the house.  I didn't even have to brush my teeth.  My 21-month old daughter, Jordan, got a kick out of watching me gyrate like a crazy lady.  I like that she sees exercise as a fun, playful thing.  She's already into doing downward dog with me when I practice yoga.

Beyond that, it was a WORKOUT.  Twenty-four hours later, my obliques and quads are sore.  The good sore which is a testament to a workout done well.

Don't believe me about the benefits of hula hooping?  Check out this recent review of it in Health Magazine: 

Start with the basic moves until you feel comfortable, then step up to more advanced ones, mixing and matching for your own personal head-to-toe tone-up. Do any combination of moves for 30 minutes (you’ll burn 150 to 250 calories per workout) three times a week for four weeks and you’ll lose 3 to 6 inches all over your body.

Here are the specifics: 

• I used the Empower Cardio Core Fitness Hoop.  It's a two-pound weighted hoop that I bought at Target for $29.99. 
• There is some super-easy assembly required and it also comes with workout suggestions.  
• Learn how to get started with your weighted hoop here.  
• Still struggling?  Watch this video. 
• I did a few of the suggested "toning exercises" such as the "Windshield Wiper" and "Cross Chop with Lunge". 

If you're looking for a fun, alternative workout, this is a great one to incorporate into your overall routine.  

And just because I'm all for self-deprecating humor....here's another pic: 

 
There are some different versions of weighted hoops.  Here are three that I have tried, including the one I own:

Putting The 7-Minute Workout Into Action

So Monday was all about getting caught up in the buzz of the"7-minute workout".

Guilty.

But I did more than blog about this new fitness discovery.  I actually did my own version at the gym. 

Here was my Monday plan:

• Thirty minutes on the stepmill.  I love it because I can read and work up a good sweat.  I have to do so much homework for my "day job" that if I can multitask and do my Rangers/Cowboys/Mavs/Colonial/Nelson/Whatever homework while exercising, I am a step ahead. 

• Following that, I did (most of) the exercises suggested by the American College of Sports Medicine in their sample workout: 

Photo: American College of Sports Medicine

1. Jumping jacks Total body

2. Wall sit Lower body

3. Push-up Upper body

4. Abdominal crunch Core

5. Step-up onto chair Total body

6. Squat Lower body

7. Triceps dip on chair Upper body

8. Plank Core

9. High knees/running in place Total body

10. Lunge Lower body

11. Push-up and rotation Upper body

12. Side plank Core

• I followed their practice of performing each exercise for 30 seconds followed by a 10 second transition time to the next exercise.  It totaled, yes, about seven minutes per circuit.
• I did not have a chair, so in place of Step Ups (#5), I did reverse side angle lunges.  In place of the Triceps Dips on a Chair (#7), I did simple floor dips with bent legs.
• I performed this routine twice. 

You know what, I feel like I got a workout.  As I write this at 9am Tuesday morning, I'm a little sore, especially in my upper body.  I attribute that to the push-ups (#3) and push-ups with a twist (#11). 

The thing is, those 12 exercises are not the end-all/be-all.  You can do a variety of exercises for a quality full body workout.  Any health and fitness magazine can suggest some great exercises for you to do. 

The key was the intensity and the speed at which I did the work.  There was no dawdling.  The workout was quick, intense and challenging.   It's a good option but, like I reiterated Monday, not the only way to go when it comes to getting in shape.

The 7-Minute Workout. Really?

Is this the workout of your dreams?  In your own home?  No gym required?

Perhaps.

 
The latest research from the American College of Sports Medicine's Health and Fitness Journal indicates all you need is a high intensity, seven-minute workout for fitness.  Again, we're not talking about professional athletes or people who need to look a certain way for their jobs.  This is about the average person.  The key is you have to WORK for those seven minutes.  Don't donkeyjack. 

The study is pretty intensive in its scientific jargon.  Sunday's New York Times Magazine does a good job putting the results in layman's terms.

How to Stay in Shape While Pregnant

At 34 weeks

For this Workout Wednesday, we'll revisit something I chat about with friends almost daily: staying fit and healthy while pregnant.  I posted this on another blog in 2011 right after Jordan was born.  

DISCLAIMER TIME: check with a doctor before you being an exercise program, especially if you're expecting. 

From December 2011: 
Staying in shape while I was going through my first pregnancy wasn’t easy but it was certainly worth it with the payoff being a relatively easy delivery. The lessons I learned while pregnant can certainly carry over to life without a bowling ball in your stomach.

I experienced only two solid months of morning sickness, so bad at one point I had to stop an interview with a Texas Rangers outfielder and run to the restroom thinking I was going to hurl. The final seven to eight months were relatively pain-free. I worked and exercised up until October 23rd, the day before I gave birth to Jordan.

Motivation Monday: The Best Way to Ensure You'll Hit the Gym Consistently

Two weeks into the new year, how are those 2013 resolutions going?

Mine?  Eh.  I'm still not getting up consistently at 7am on workdays.  It's a challenge.  But I am consistently hitting the gym and exercising.  I've said it time and again, that's the one thing I won't sacrifice.  I don't go to a therapist.  I exercise.

I've been a gym goer for more than 20 years and I've learned what works and what doesn't.  The number one secret to getting to the gym consistently?  It's not the hot trainer which can be motivation on certain days, let's be honest.  It's a matter of picking one that is close to you. 

It's as simple as that. 

I belong to a gym that is pricey by Dallas standards.  Sure, it has the most cutting edge classes I've ever experienced, is super clean and has a wonderful, caring daycare staff but it's expensive.   I've even resigned my membership because I felt it cost too much only to return.  Why?  Because it is literally three minutes from my house.  I pay almost $150 a month but I go at least five times a week because I have no excuse not to do so.

The Best Fitness Apps & Gadgets for 2013 From the CES & More

With all sorts of wonderful fitness-related products debuting at the Consumer Electronic Show this week in Las Vegas, the marriage of technology with health and fitness is a relevant one.  I'm kind of digging the iBitz fitness tracker for kids.

I blogged about the "Cell Phone Diet" last year which basically advocates using your smartphone to  motivate you to lose weight by using inspirational photos, ringtones and reminders.   It's not a totally ridiculous concept. 

TechCrunch provides an exhaustive list of apps, websites and gadgets that can help you reach your health, fitness and weight loss goals.  It is an outstanding reference guide.

Some of the highlights include:

• The Nike+ Fuel Band - a friend of mine who works for the Cowboys uses this and loves it because it helps him keep track of his activity level during the day. 

Fitness Friday: 30 Minutes of Exercise Will Change Your Life

"I don't have enough time."

"It just takes too long."

"It will mess up my makeup."

All of the above are excuses I, myself, have said in the past and have heard from others for not exercising.

BullS!$&.

You DO have the time.  You can NOT afford not to exercise and focus on yourself for just a bit every day.  All it takes is 30 minutes and it will change your life.  I promise.  Look at some of the activities that count as exercise:

• A brisk walk
• 30 minutes on the elliptical, stepmill or treadmill - I use this to catch up on my reading 
• A half an hour of yoga or pilates
• A run 
• A bike ride 
• Dancing with your kids 
• A cardio/weight training workout from the Nike Training Club app - I love this, they don't pay me to promote it, it's a genius workout class on your IPad.  I blogged about it here.
• Vigorous forms of housework and yardwork

I recently did a story for CBS11 on fitness trends in 2013 and the cool thing is that getting in great shape doesn't require hours at the gym.  If you combine cardiovascular exercise with weight training, you get a ton of bang for your fitness buck and can get in and out of the gym in half an hour to 45 minutes.  You will have to work hard, at a higher perceived level of exertion (about a 6-9) but it's time efficient and effective.   Check out the story and accompanying blog post for specific classes and trends.

The Center for Disease control recommends, at the bare minimum, 2 hours and 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity every week and muscle strengthening activities on 2 or more days a week to work all major muscle groups.  The CDC offers a great infographic that explains all of this wonderfully.

More than anything, getting active for 30 minutes a day works wonders for your brain, as well as your body.  It clears your head, gets the blood flowing and actually energizes you.  Make that commitment.  If you're just starting out, try the following exercise regime for 5 days:

• A brisk 30, minute walk
• 30 minutes of yoga 
• 10 squats, 10 pushups (on knees or feet), 10 situps, 10 tricep dips, 10 jumping jacks.  Repeat this sequence 10 times
• 30 minutes on an exercise machine: elliptical, stepmill, treadmill, stationary bike 
• 30 minutes of pilates

You can download pilates and yoga programs on ITunes.  I like Exercise TV pilates and Pocket Yoga. 

Get moving.  It will change your life.  It doesn't take a ton of time and it will help you rock your weight loss resolution in 2013.

Sitting at Your Job All Day Will Kill You. Tips to Fight Back

There are few things I hate more than sitting at a desk all day.  Report after report after report reinforces that it will kill you.

Sitting stops the electrical activity in your muscles the moment you put your booty in the chair.  If you sit six or more hours, you're at a greater risk of dying 15 years earlier than someone who sits less.  The decreased muscle activity results in a drop in your metabolism, resulting in smaller caloric burn.  In turn, enzymes that break down fat decrease as does the body's ability to control blood sugar levels.

Say you exercise.  Sorry.  That doesn't make much of a difference.  

When I'm anchoring shows for my day job, I spend a solid 7-8 hours in a chair, in front of a computer working on scripts and researching stories.  I feel the effects: sore hips, tight back, ankles and feet that fall asleep.  So I've developed a few tactics to combat the terrible effects:

-Squat while surfing the web. It might sound and look silly but squat for a minute or two at various intervals throughout the day and you will feel a burn, the good kind.
-Stand while you are on the phone.  Again: standing better than sitting.
-Take a walk break by getting some water, walking to the restroom on a different floor, talk to someone in person versus phone or email.  You get the idea.
-Stretch: just a simple cat/cow pose or pike stretch can do wonders.
-Stand, take a deep breath and arch your back, almost a full back bend with your arms raised over your head.  This is a truly invigorating move that gets blood flowing.

How To Squeeze In Exercise With A Newborn

It was almost fitting that I found this Wall Street Journal article Thursday morning while stretching after a killer Tabata class at Equinox.  Titled "Don't Hate Her for Being Fit" the piece touches on the sentiment I've been preaching for years: exercise will change your life, save your sanity and make your body better.  Simple as that.

"Fit moms spend nearly every free minute working out, cross-training for triathlons and scheduling regular boot camps and yoga," writes author Elizabeth Holmes.

Want to Take Weight Off & Keep it Off? Start Logging.

You know you should do it but, let's be honest, it's a little tedious and sometimes time-consuming.  IT is logging your daily food intake.  Study after study shows that individuals who log their daily caloric intake are more successful at losing weight and subsequently maintaining it.  A study by the National Weight Control Registry indicated that people who are successful at keeping weight off for an extended period of time, an average of 66 pounds for five years, monitored their weight and food intake by keeping track of it.

I can personally attest to its effectiveness.  After a tour of small-market tv duty in Guam, followed by working ridiculous hours in Knoxville, I added more than 50 pounds to my once-slender frame.  Logging my daily caloric intake helped me drop 55 pounds in the late 90's and early Naughties and I've kept it off ever since.  (Any of you remember some of my early Cowboys TV days?)

There are a hundred ways to log your food intake.  I've done it off and on for years.  During my size 2 college years, I would write down my food and corresponding calorie intake in my DayRunner.   Currently, I log my daily workouts on my laptop and log my caloric intake online or via an app on my Ipad.

The Wall Street Journal tackles the monotonous task of doing just that and examines four calorie counting websites, 3 paid, 1 free.  It does a good job of looking into the variables of portion sizes and the thoroughness of each site's database.

My Fit Foods Atlantic Salmon: 430 cals

I haven't used any of the sites they recommend but I do have a personal favorite.  I use TheDailyPlate.com, which has been swallowed up by the Livestrong.com network.  I prefer the Daily Plate because it has an excellent database of foods, ranging from prepared food and fast foods to simple, homemade recipes.  I eat a lot of meals from My Fit Foods and it has a ton of those meals in there.  The cool thing is that if a recipe is not in its database, you can add it by building the ingredients list.

The Daily Plate also offers values for individual food products from apples and kale to Clif Bars and smoothies.  It has a "frequently used" meal function that allows you to add meals or foods that you eat a lot without searching for them.  Sometimes you simply have to estimate what you're eating, say the spice cake a colleague brings to work, but there are generally equivalents of anything you might eat.

Trust LeBron: If You Want to Meet the Hotties, You Gotta Take Pilates

LeBron James has sent half a dozen emails and twitter questions to me.  Okay, not him, but his tweet has you got you, dear peeps, asking me a few things.

On July 15th @KingJames (self-esteem is NOT an issue w/ him) tweeted: "just got done putting in work at my high school. Great workout! Headed to pilates class now". 

A few folks recalled that I have blogged about and done a story on CBS11 about pilates.  Many more just asked how to pronounce it.  Pih-lah-tees.  You're welcome. 

Tons of professional athletes practice pilates: LeBron James and DeMarcus Ware just to name a few.  It gives them an incredibly strong core, which is essential for everything they do.  But it doesn't matter if you play football, crunch numbers at a desk or cart kids around all day, pilates can help you move better in every aspect of your life.  I always get the "How tall are you?" question.  I respond by saying  my height depends on how much pilates I do in a given week.  Men take note: pilates improves your posture in ways you can't believe, giving you an extra inch or even two.

I could rave on and on about it.  Instead, I am reposting a blog entry I did on the practice in April:

April 6, 2010 
If You Want to Meet the Hotties, You Gotta Take Pilates
An NBA player, I am 90% certain you know, told me that.  I had heard he was taking classes at a popular gym.  I asked him about it and he simply responded with "If you want to meet the hotties, you gotta take pilates!"  Then he proceeded to form a wide sh!t-eating grin which led me to believe that he did, in fact, meet some hotties.  

Tread Fitness Class Review

From sprints and hills to squats and flutter kicks, high intensity interval training is guaranteed to make you work as hard as you can but shed some serious fat in the process.

“This is, like, the hardest workout of my life,” Victoria Snee of Mix 102.9 FM told me after taking a class at Tread Fitness in Dallas.

High intensity interval training, or HIIT for short, is a method of working out that uses short bursts of aerobic activity paired with a short recovery period. It’s so effective at increasing the body’s endurance as well as burning calories and fat that it produces rapid, dramatic changes to your shape and fitness level.

Tony Hauser has dropped ten pounds in just seven classes.

“That’s one of the most amazing things is that it’s so quick,” Hauser told me.

If You Want to Meet the Hotties, You Gotta Take Pilates

An NBA player, I am 90% certain you know, told me that.  I had heard he was taking classes at a popular gym.  I asked him about it and he simply responded with "If you want to meet the hotties, you gotta take pilates!"  Then he proceeded to form a wide sh!t-eating grin which led me to believe that he did, in fact, meet some hotties.  

Player A wasn't alone.  He took pilates with another more famous, more successful NBA player I know you know.  Joining them were the expected soccer moms and MILF's along with a member or two of Dallas' SWAT team.  I'm talking serious, athletic guys participating in a workout that many out-of-shape guys I know think is a bit girly.

Pilates is a method of exercising that builds flexibility, endurance, coordination and strength without adding bulky muscles.  The primary focus is core strength: stomach and lower back.  A solid workout will also hit hips, legs, buttocks and upper back as well as focus on controlled breathing techniques.  This can help produce a fabulous physique.  Think long, lean and sinewy muscles vs stocky, thick ones. 

I have to admit, my first couple of pilates classes were awful.  They were taught by instructors who either a) didn't know what they were doing or b) too fearful of challenging the class.  Recently, I have been taking group classes at my personal gym and we are blessed with a phenomenal instructor.  A well-taught one hour class hits almost every major muscle.  You definitely "feel the burn" but it's a sensation different from that "pump" you get when lifting weights.  It's a true burn, a good one, that will stick with you for 12-24 hours.  I consider myself to be in pretty good shape but after a good class, I feel it.

There are a two primary ways to practice pilates.  Many people (like me) take classes on mat using their own body weight for resistance along with a few tools.  This pilates ring looks painfully simple but can be painfully challenging when properly used.  Exercise bands are also helpful for adding resistance.

Another method of training involves using what's called a reformer.  This adds additional resistance and allows a person to focus perhaps a little better on developing proper alignment, core strength and flexibility.

Here is a link to a Pilates-based workout I profiled in 2009 for CBS11/TXA21's Get Healthy Texas segments.  The story was targeted to get women bikini ready in a six-weeks.  Trust me, you can get there with these moves.

Pilates isn't for wimps.  It's a phenomenal way to get in shape regrardless of your fitness level and gender. With practice and dedication, it will improve your strength, flexibility and physique.  And if the latter is true, Player A's line appropriate for both men and women.

Have any clue who my pilates-practicing NBA guys are?