so a woman at work was telling me about this weighted hula hoop that she uses at curves and how she says she really thinks she is getting results from using it ("tighter" ab feeling, feels thinner, stuff like that).
i questioned whether the weighted part of the hula hoop made any difference.
in other words, the question i have is, what difference would added weight to a hula hoop have?
we make fun on this board of products such as these as nothing more than a scam and really doesn't do what the product says it does.
what i'm trying to do it determine the WHY so i can explain to others that what they are purchasing is a scam rather than just saying "just because."
so i thought it would interesting to post this question here so that we can all:
A. determine the legitimacy of the claims of the product.
B. learn a little bit about the actual mechanics of motions involved in the exercises that we do everyday.
I really should stay away from this since I am not a trainer in any way. This is not my knowledge at all.
I kinda know hula hoops though. I would think the extra weight would help. I don't know physics but it just seems like it would get more momentem and therefore be easier to maintain.
The traditional hula hoop motion proably isn't bad exercise for someone who doesn't exercise. It seems though, since so much of hula hooping is based on momentum, that adding weight wouldn't add much more benefit over the cheap hula hoop you could buy at a toy store.
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Originally posted by wingsfan: we make fun on this board of products such as these as nothing more than a scam and really doesn't do what the product says it does.
what i'm trying to do it determine the WHY so i can explain to others that what they are purchasing is a scam rather than just saying "just because."
so i thought it would interesting to post this question here so that we can all:
A. determine the legitimacy of the claims of the product.
B. learn a little bit about the actual mechanics of motions involved in the exercises that we do everyday.
If you sit on your ass all day and then take up the hula hoop, of course youre going to feel sore, tighter, etc. I used to not feel jack when I squatted, even maximally, but I had to take a month off and now Im sore for a week. With almost any physical extertion, you are going to lose water by sweating. Combine these two together and youre going to feel "thinner".
It is fun to hula hoop *shrug* and is easier than lifting or sifting through a lot misinformation on fitness. Put that together with the "thinner" feeling and youve got a product.
Like many things, after a few weeks, theyll get bored, stop feeling "gains", and the hoop will gain dust in the garage with the treadmill, elastic bands, ab chair, and bottle of relacor.
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I don't know jack about a hoola hoop...but having tried a hoola hoop a few times in my life...it seems to me that it takes effort to produce the momentum to keep it going. You have to generate the movement. Maybe weight would make keeping the hoop going a bit more difficult thus adding to ones effort. Probably a pretty good cardio workout...kinda like jump rope. HEY - draw off a few hop scotch squares and we got us a play ground!
I think just about any gimmick will sell if it's promoted properly...but more importantly, sometimes people will work at something simply because of the novelty of it. It doesn't necessarily make it a great idea or an optimal thing to do for weight loss...etc. But I guss one could say - at least they are moving.
I remember my mother had a "twister" when I was a kid. It was a round disk you stood on that swiveled. So you did the twist on it. (that's an old dance for those of you who are young uns)
Looking back...that was a pretty funny little device. But at least she was movin.
Originally posted by GqArtguy: If you sit on your ass all day and then take up the hula hoop, of course youre going to feel sore, tighter, etc. I used to not feel jack when I squatted, even maximally, but I had to take a month off and now Im sore for a week. With almost any physical extertion, you are going to lose water by sweating. Combine these two together and youre going to feel "thinner".
It is fun to hula hoop *shrug* and is easier than lifting or sifting through a lot misinformation on fitness. Put that together with the "thinner" feeling and youve got a product.
Like many things, after a few weeks, theyll get bored, stop feeling "gains", and the hoop will gain dust in the garage with the treadmill, elastic bands, ab chair, and bottle of relacor.
What he said [img]smile.gif[/img]
Has she been using it long? She probably notices some initial difference that a regular hoop would probably offer as well.
Not sure about the biomechanics, but here are some physics.
Essentially, when hula-hooping, your using the rotational inertia of the hula hoop to overcome the force due to gravity.
Force = mass x acceleration
acceleration due to gravity is constant (9.8 m/s^2)
Since the mass of the Curves hoop is greater, the gravity force that needs to be overcome is greater. Therefore, the Curves hoop needs to maintain a higher rate of rotation, which requires a greater force applied to it, which means the user has to exert more energy.
Originally posted by TrainingGirl:
Has she been using it long? She probably notices some initial difference that a regular hoop would probably offer as well.
she says she's been using it about a year, but, i'm not sure how consistently she uses it.
my thought is though that maybe with the added weight, you have to rotate your hips more than you would if it was a non-weighted hoop in order to keep from falling (someone may have mentioned this in a different way in an above post)? that's really the only thing that i can think of that the added weight could possibily benefit the motion.
in other words, different parts of the hip are connected at different times to a side of the hoop. by their being added weight on those sides forces your hips (thus muscles in your core) to make more exagerrated and stronger contractions to push the weight away from the body.
at this point, i'm not really concerned about the effects on fat loss, cardio, etc. just more on how the muscles in the core would work differently with a weighted hoop that is not isotonic on all the muscles involved at the same time.
Originally posted by Axis: Not sure about the biomechanics, but here are some physics.
Essentially, when hula-hooping, your using the rotational inertia of the hula hoop to overcome the force due to gravity.
Force = mass x acceleration
acceleration due to gravity is constant (9.8 m/s^2)
Since the mass of the Curves hoop is greater, the gravity force that needs to be overcome is greater. Therefore, the Curves hoop needs to maintain a higher rate of rotation, which requires a greater force applied to it, which means the user has to exert more energy.
thanks axis. this makes complete sense now and i think was kind of what i was thinking on this part.
as for the part about "losing inches/weight/whatever" i think is more than likely suspect. [img]smile.gif[/img]
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My kids have weighted and non-weighted hula hoops. Granted, the kid's hoops are weighted only at one side.
The heavier they are, the easier they are for me to do (I'm not good). The momentum keeps them going around, like a fly-wheel. It takes more "muscle" to keep them going, but it keeps them going.
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