Those who swing their hips during hula hoop training do something good for their trunk muscles.
Build: AP
The hula hoop has been around for a long time. It’s great fun for children. But the ring can do more. A professor explains how he can help at any age – and who should rather give up training.
VTwo weeks ago my aunt showed me her hula hoop ring in the living room. She stood with her legs apart and rotated her hips. The ring whirled across the room. “Would you like to?” she asked. She revealed to me that the seller had advised her to get a larger ring. I hesitated, thinking back to the scene in a department store the other day. I had wanted to try a glitter ring. In my head, images of hours of hula hoop training in the children’s room. Make phone calls with a hula hoop, drink Capri sun with a hula hoop, no problem. But: After a few seconds, the ring hit the ground. What? How could that be?
Things went much better with my aunt’s ring. Big rings are easier to handle. But is this fun worth it? My aunt says: good for the back, good for the abdominal muscles. Urs Granacher, Professor of Training and Movement Science at the University of Potsdam, says yes. A study would have shown that abdominal fat could be reduced and the trunk gain muscle. “You shouldn’t underestimate the endurance component either,” says Granacher. The most important thing is that the middle of the body is trained, the torso, in English “power house” or “core”.
