Now this should take you back to childhood.
Hula hooping seems too easy but it engages more muscles than a simple plank. Hula hooping is a perfect low intensity exercise to introduce at any stage in life, especially postpartum. It engages your hips, core and even your pelvic floor!
In this post I am going to discuss 7 reasons why you should start hula hooping. It is cheap, easy and you can use it while watching TV!
7 pelvic health benefits of Hula Hooping
1. Hula hoop can help assist in diastasis healing! The hula hoop engages all of our abdominal muscles. I find the best way to heal a diastasis is by getting all of our abdominal muscles working equally. The movement of our hips and waist in a circular rhythm activates the top and bottom and side to side abdominal muscles. This low activation is just the perfect activation (like goldilocks and the three bears) as it isn’t too much to make the diastasis worse and it isn’t too little where nothing happens. The only thing to keep in mind is to never hold your breath or bear down while doing any exercise.
Now don’t expect a nice tight 6 pack of abs. Hula hooping is actually a mild endurance exercise that activates our spine and pelvic stabilizers including our abdominal muscles. Although no studies have shown a significant increase in endurance of the core muscles, the stimulation and gentle activation is a good start to your postpartum rehab program. (1)
2. It engages the pelvic floor. The pelvic floor muscles are pelvic stabilizer and you can imagine how much stabilizing you need to do with hula hooping (2). The pelvic floor muscles activate to keep us stable as we rotate our trunk. If you suffer from pelvic floor dysfunctions, this is a perfect reason to incorporate a hoop into your exercise routine. Just be mindful of any pressure or leakage you experience while hula hooping. If symptoms get worse STOP. Read my blog post 5 causes of pelvic floor dysfunctions to troubleshoot and start addressing those issues first before you move on to hula hooping or something advanced.
3. It helps with good posture. It is an amazing way to get our mid back rotating. This helps free up any stiff and compressed joints. A good moving spine makes for a good posture.
Now posture isn’t just restricted to the neck and upper body. Pelvic posture plays a huge role in pelvic floor dysfunctions and diastasis healing. Hula hooping can help move your pelvis into anterior and posterior positions which can help get your pelvis out of a stuck position and increase awareness of your posture.
4. Helps stabilize the spine. Hula hooping also engages the low back muscles that help stabilize and protect the spine (2). Of course working the core in general helps stabilize the spine. And hula hooping is all about the core. (Note: the core includes the abdominal muscles and pelvic floor muscles).
5. Helps hydrate the discs. Mobility is good for the spine. Especially the lower lumbar curve where the discs are more at risk of degeneration (wear and tear). The mobility of the waist in different directions helps move the disc which helps pump nutrients in and out of the disc(3). This helps preserve disc height overtime and increase spinal flexibility.
6. Studies have shown a decrease in waist and hip circumference with hula hooping (1). That’s a plus! Especially after having babies.
7. Digestion. Ok this is an odd one and no real linked studies. But in Ayurveda practice, rotating your hips around is yoga for the gut. It helps improve circulation and gut mobility. Helps support digestion, reduce bloating and gas.
When it comes to prevention and treating pelvic floor dysfunctions we want to avoid constipation. That is why gut health is really important.
Things to keep in mind
Make sure your feet are flat on the ground. Do not lift your toes or heels.
Don’t rotate from the ankles. Movement should come from waist to hips.
Do not clench your gluts. Untuck your bottom.
Do not over arch your low back.
Do not hold your breath. Do not bear down.
Keep your feet shoulder width apart.
Do not clench your stomach.
Chin tucked.
Neck nice and tall. Do not hunch forward.
Don’t forget to stretch before you start.
Practice in both directions. Clock wise and counter clock wise.
Enjoy! Have fun!
So hula hoops can be a great full body workout. It definitely targets the pelvic floor and abdominal muscles. It shouldn’t be the only workout as it is not a high intensity exercise. However its gentle rhythmic motion is perfect for someone recovering from diastasis or pelvic floor dysfunctions especially after a baby. It would be great to see more studies that look at pelvic floor muscle activation levels while hula hopping.
Weighted hoops
Weighted hoops are sure exciting but can also cause a world of hurt. If your body is not ready to progress to a weighted hoop you can make your pelvic floor symptoms worse! This is because if our body can’t handle the demand it starts to recruit the wrong muscles
If you suffer from pelvic floor dysfunctions or diastasis I would definitely start with a non-weight hula hoop. Practice that for at least a month and then progress to a weighted hoop. Monitor your symptoms. Be mindful of what your body is indicating. Regress back if you experience leakage or pressure in the pelvic floor while hula hooping.
References
McGill SM, Cambridge ED, Andersen JT. A six-week trial of hula hooping using a weighted hoop: effects on skinfold, girths, weight, and torso muscle endurance.J Strength Cond Res. 2015;29(5):1279‐1284. doi:10.1519/JSC.0000000000000653
Chen, W.-H., Yang, W.-W., Liu, Y.-C., Pan, W.-H., & Liu, C. (2019). Effects of hula hooping and mini hooping on core muscle activation and hip movement. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology, 233(1), 110–115. https://doi.org/10.1177/1754337118807821
Raorane, N. S. et. al. Effect of hula hoop on core muscle strength. International Journal of Applied Research 2017; 3(1): 578-581.
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