New spin on fit fun

EDWARDSVILLE – As Megan Kwiatek, of Kingston, enters the aerobics studio at STAR Fitness inside the Thomas P. Saxton Medical Pavilion, she scans the room for a familiar face.

Her mother, Peggy Kondrak, of Larksville, waves to her and gestures to a spot where a large, multi-colored hula hoop is waiting for her.

And even though it’s her mother’s hula hoop, you can say the exercise is not your mother’s type of hula-hooping.

As a matter of fact, there’s a whole lot of hoopla going on at STAR Fitness, which is affiliated with Wyoming Valley Health Care System. Look inside the exercise studio windows and you’ll see plenty of twisting and hip gyrating and lots of colorful large hula hoops spinning around. It’s a new twist on aerobic exercise for this group of fitness buffs.

The exercise gym has added hula-hooping to its schedule of aerobic classes, and if early attendance indicates, this fitness trend is the shape of things to come. STAR Fitness may be the only area fitness facility to incorporate hoop classes on its exercise schedule, according to Joan Grossman, manager.

“Our members are really excited,” she said. “We weren’t sure how it would go, but it really blossomed since we first offered the classes a couple of weeks ago.”

The hula hoop dates back to the 1950s with a product from the toy company Wham-O. Hoops used in class are large and customized, making hooping different than hula-hooping — although both involve the manipulation of a circular piece of tubing around the body in a rhythmic motion, using centrifugal force to keep the hoop up.

And hula-hooping is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, thanks to first lady Michelle Obama and actress Marisa Tomei.

Play with purpose

Hooping provides a full-body workout and it’s a lot of fun, said STAR Fitness instructor Connie Materna. “Hooping is a great non-impact exercise, which over an extended period of time can burn calories and provide a great cardiovascular workout,” she said.

She said benefits include strength, cardiovascular and core work, muscle endurance, coordination and balance. But one of the hoop’s main draws may be enjoyment. “It’s a great de-stressor,” said Materna.

While nostalgia motivates some to think about picking up a hoop again, this isn’t the hula hoop that you may have used or tried to use while growing up. These exercise hoops are vastly different and the differences make hooping that much easier and a lot more fun.

Materna explains that the homemade hoops used in class are bigger and heavier, which slows their rotation. This means that if you couldn’t hoop with the small children’s toy, don’t despair, you can learn to spin with the adult hoops.

Colorful gaffer tape helps the hoops grip the waist so they stay up. “With a larger hoop, the rotation is slower,” she said. “The smaller hoop sold in stores that you used as a child is difficult to keep up and keep going. Even if you don’t think you can hoop, you can. And if you couldn’t hoop as a kid, it doesn’t matter.”

On a Wednesday afternoon, 23 would-be hoopers eagerly crowded the aerobics studio holding onto their hoops.

Materna stands on a raised platform and cues the class on movements, such as taking the direction of the hoop from the right side to the left side as music plays in the background. Some hips shimmy in unison (and some exercisers are not quite in sync with each other, but that doesn’t matter) as the colorful tubes spin. She offers foot position suggestions to exercisers to them spin the hoops better and keep them up longer.

“If your arms get tired, put them in a resting pose on your shoulders,” she advises.

Occasionally, a hoop will drop, but its owner will quickly pick it up and start again.

“The class goes by fast,” said Linda Horwitz, of Shavertown. “It doesn’t feel like exercise.”

Mary Beth Frye, of Kingston, said her mother taught her how to hoop as a child. “This really brings back a lot of memories for me,” she said, noting that she will pick up her hoop at night and practice while watching TV.

Materna said she plans on keeping with a basic hoop routine for a while, but eventually hopes to add other moves like hip hooping, spinning and hoop dancing. The instructor also incorporates a halo routine, which builds upper-body strength by using the hoop overhead to work the arms.

While regular members enjoy the diversity of the new class added to the schedule — which features step aerobics, strength training and move and groove dance classes — some new members have shown up just to learn to hoop.

Since she has been attending several classes, Andrea Horton, of Exeter, has noticed an improvement in her hooping skills. “I’m finding that I can keep the hoop up a lot longer now,” she said.

Materna, a mental health counselor at Community Counseling in Wilkes-Barre, got the idea for adding a hoop class from her fellow co-worker Bette Baptist, who attended a seminar on the West Coast, where hooping is the latest fitness trend.

Baptist helped fitness members make their own customized hoops at a recent session in which about 50 hoops were completed. The classes, which started in mid-October, have averaged 18 to 20 participants, according to Grossman.

There are two hoop classes currently on the schedule: 4:15 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m. Saturdays. While those classes are an hour in length, they are flexible — someone can come in and just hoop for about 15 minutes at any time during the hour or stay for the duration of the class. A third class at 5 p.m. Thursdays has been added this week.

STAR Fitness will offer a special introductory hooping class for beginners 4:15 p.m. Monday. Those planning to attend should call 552-4550 to register. Hoops will be provided.

Anyone interested in continuing with classes will be able to order an exercise hoop through the staff, who will also help determine the size needed.

And then she adds, “But, what’s more important is that we’re all having fun.”

How to hoop

if you go:

Make sure you have the right size hula hoop. Don’t use a kid-sized hoop sold in retail stores. This won’t work, especially if you are a beginner. Generally, the bigger you are, the bigger the hoop should be.

Before you begin, it’s best to find out if you are a left hooper or a right hooper so you know which direction to spin the hoop , according to STAR Fitness instructor Connie Materna. Take the hoop and spin it around your waist and see which side it naturally gravitates to. It doesn’t necessarily matter if you are right-handed or left-handed. You’ll know right away which one is right for you. Usually right-handed people hoop counter-clockwise, while lefties go clockwise, but many people are exceptions to this rule.

Put one foot in front of the other, suggests Materna, and shift your weight back and forth from foot to foot. It’s less of a circular hip motion and more of just a rocking or pumping motion. Hold the hoop against your back. You can start it a little above your waist. Then, push the hoop around your waist, and shift your weight back and forth on your feet to keep the hoop moving.

Hoop classes are held 4:15 p.m. Wednesdays and 10 a.m. Saturdays. A third class, 5 p.m. Thursdays, will start this week.

An introductory session for beginners will be held at 4:15 p.m. Monday. Hoops will be provided for newcomers. Interested persons should register by calling 552-4550.

More hoop classes may be added or hooping may be incorporated at the end of other exercise classes if there is a demand.

STAR Fitness is located at the Thomas P. Saxton Medical Pavilion, 468 Northampton St., Edwardsville. For information, call STAR Fitness at 552-4550.