Tag: process

Feeling Iso-lated (heh)

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hoopprogressreport

I’ve kind of slowed down my hooping this month. You know, sometimes life & stuff just happens…nothing particularly interesting, really. I just got out of my routine a little bit, and I would LOVE to blame THE RAIN. If you are in Texas, you know what I mean. This weather is seriously bumming me out! But, this week I am determined to get back on track, crappy weather be damned.

Since I have been stuck indoors a lot, I have been working on my isolations.

Getting better at these one-handed isos! #hooper #hooping #hoopernewbie #hoopingintexas #hoopersofig @aroundjoy

A video posted by aprildesigns (@aprildesigns) on May 24, 2015 at 5:17pm PDT

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Not bad, not bad.

Last week I also successfully wiggled the hoop up from my legs to my waist. I have been using the big hoop for the leg hooping. My smaller hoop is great for the mandalas and weaves and what-not, but I still can’t quite keep up with it when it is around my waist. It moves FAST! One of my goals for the upcoming weeks is to get used to my smaller hoop, because I want to take it with me when we go Up Nort’, as we say in the North Country (aka Wisconsin/Minnesota.)

Check back later! I’m going to try and post once a week or so to keep me on the ball! Your comments here and on Instagram keep me motivated!

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Lesson Recap.

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hoopprogressreport

My hoop goddess Geri says my chest hooping looks GREAT but I don’t believe her! I think I doubt her because I can’t do it for very long. I get tired. It’s really exhausting. Like, REALLY exhausting. If you are out of shape. Like I am.

She’s the expert so I will take her word for it. She has challenged me to turn while I am doing it, which I don’t feel coordinated enough to do, but I’ll do it…and she wants me to try to put an arm in. And then the other arm. And I’m thinking, lady, you are cray if you think I am good enough to do that…but I just do what she says. I am actually not as negative about it as I seem. I like hooping because it is a challenge, and therefore I don’t think about anything else except what I am doing. Feeling the hoop go around me, adjusting my body here and there to try to make it work better. I don’t listen to music very often because I work in short bursts, and it is too much to get the right hoop music going for such a small amount of time. So it is a very focused exercise each time.  Anyway. I digress.

Other things we went over:

  • Isolations. Love how these look, so I want to get good at them. Also, they hurt my arms so I am expecting to acquire some SICK MUSCLES.
  • Turning while spinning the hoop. I don’t know what to call this. Moving my hand from inside the hoop to outside and back again.
  • Mandalas behind the back. These are fun too, but a little tricky.
  • Leg hooping. We briefly touched on this. This is another area that I fully expect to be tricky for me (like the chest hooping is). I haven’t really tried it yet.

https://instagram.com/p/2UEo5TOFWC/?taken-by=aprildesigns

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Oh! And I almost forgot! I bought a new hoop. She’s a beauty, in my favorite colors (pink and black). She’s a lot smaller and lighter and I have quite a crush on her. I haven’t tried waist/hip/leg hooping with her yet because I have not been feeling so hot this week, but as soon as I am feeling better I will take her out for more of a spin.

Chest Hooping: The Saga Continues

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Look. I know it’s only been a week since Geri showed me how to chest hoop. But in my head, I’m all “IT’S BEEN A WEEK!! HOW CAN I STILL BE STRUGGLING WITH THIS??”

I’ve taken to the YouTubes. I wanted to share a few videos that have been encouraging.

Deanne Love has a ton of tutorials that you can’t help but trip over when you are searching for some hoop help. I love the advice she gives at the end, where she talks about how it clicked for her when she changed her music and slowed the tempo down a bit. I think that works for a lot of things…try it a slightly different way, and suddenly you GOT IT.

I love, love, LOVE Jess’s tutorials. I found her YouTube channel when I stumbled upon her fangirl hoops on Etsy. She is a Texas girl, so obviously she gets bonus points. But residency aside, she has the funnest, most hilarious, brilliantly edited tutorials I have seen. She is so real and funny and awesome. I think she is especially helpful because she tells you it’s okay to look a little weird at first…once you figure out the motion, then work on your finesse.

So, after some more unsuccessful attempts today, I’ll sleep on it (call back) and keep you posted.

Chest Ouch.

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https://instagram.com/p/1S_XDeuFQK/

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Between a lot of frustrating chest hoop attempts and an intense hour of Zumba yesterday, I am feeling the hurt today. I decided I had better take a rest day today, and I feel like I am being lazy. It has been so long since I have felt that way about exercise. Actually, I don’t know if I’ve ever felt that way. I used to be in pretty good shape. Through college and even after I was pretty active, lifting weights at my best and at the very least, walking a ton as my mode of transportation.

Then life and desk jobs happen, and you get older and you can’t eat just anything anymore without it affecting your body and your mood. And then you can’t even believe that you would be in pain over something as simple as…hula hooping!

Chest Hooping For Nerds.

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hoopprogressreport

Oh, so ill-equipped for the chest hooping. Geri was teaching me how to chest hoop with my hands in the air like I just don’t care. She even had me try it while sitting down. Guys, that is shit is no joke. Holy crap! I cannot believe what a workout it is to get a circular tube to roll around your chest. Or even just your body. But especially your chest. Dang. I’ve got some work to do.

She has challenged me to be good at it in time for our next session (which I sneakily have not scheduled yet) so we can build on it by throwing an arm in. Or two. Or I don’t know. We’ll see how good I can get before then. I’m anticipating the appearance of some bulging back muscles within the next few weeks….

I’ll throw some videos up over the course of the next few weeks so you can see how it goes.

Whoa Dude.

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https://instagram.com/p/1JFsvUuFeQ/

 

Guys. I am totally down 5 lbs! This is definitely due to integrating hooping into my routine (and taming my sweet tooth a bit). Between that and Zumba, I am trying to do something active every day. And it is paying off! The cool thing is that with the hooping, it doesn’t feel like work and I don’t even do it very much…like I mentioned previously, I practice here and there throughout the day when I want a break from the computer screen or need to let the dogs outside.

Rock hard abs, I’m coming for ya!

Progress Report

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hoopprogressreport

Today I had another lesson with Geri over at The Hoop Shack. I think she was happy with my progression since last time. I haven’t been putting in hours of practice every night…really, I just practice whenever I let the dogs outside or want to take a break from the computer. It helps that I work from home, but you could easily take your hoop to work and accomplish the same thing in the parking lot or a conference room. In fact, I’ve done that before too! So I end up working in a few 10-15 minute bursts of hooping throughout the day. It adds up! It’s enough for a song or two, or just skip the music and enjoy the fresh air.

I walked away with some homework. A lot. Sometimes I worry I am going to forget something that we talked about, so I make a few notes when I get home. Two big things I will be working on the next couple weeks:

1. Hip Hooping – Geri explained that this is a good foundation to build on for leg hooping. Plus, it works your abs! A lot!

2. Working on the motions for eventual chest hooping. Chest hooping frightens me a little, because right now I do not feel loose enough or graceful enough to get there. Some of our dances in Zumba involve some chest rolls, and I feel like such a nerdy girl trying to be hip. I can’t do it. Hopefully, with some practice, I’ll get there in Zumba AND in hooping.

We also did some vertical work. I was a flag in junior high through high school, so I feel like some of the motions here are similar and familiar. Still, circle vs stick. A little different.

Here’s a little flag throwback. Ah, parades….

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