For many of us, cycling is more than just getting on a bike and pedaling. Cycling is a lifestyle. It is a culture. It was through a cycling event that I came to Zik’s Bar, in Copper Harbor, and experienced the art of hula hooping. I was quite amused that night. Near the end of the night, after everyone had their fill of tasty beverages, the hula hoops broke out.

Let’s get one thing straight before we move on: my friend, Amanda, is a contagious person. For someone her age, she has a lot figured out. She knows how to live well. This can encompass anything from eating right to finding the good in everyone and everything. She has even realized the joy that hula hooping can bring. It was Amanda who introduced drunken hula hooping to Zik’s. I’m not sure whether drunken hula hooping was really her intention, but she did intend for everyone to have a good time doing a simple deed.

I considered getting a hula hoop, at that point, because I remembered that my cousin had told me that she lost her belly hula hooping. I can understand why. Keeping the hula hoop in an easily accessible place makes it the goto item when sudden, directionless boredom sets in. Instead of heading to the refrigerator to open the door and not see anything you want to eat, you head for the hula hoop and partake in a little hip rotation for a few minutes. It is no wonder I was thrilled to find that Amanda and Rachel had bought me a hula hoop! They brought it to our girls’ night dinner, Thursday, and I’ve been hula hooping ever since.

The greatest benefit I am experiencing, so far, is the stretching of my abdominal, lower back, and hip muscles. Hula hooping seems to alleviate much of the back pain I have been experiencing, lately. As an added bonus, it keeps my metabolism revved up since I pick up the hula hoop several times per hour.

Some Cool Hooping Sites

MayoClinic.com – Weighted hula hoops: Exercise gimmick or good idea?

Hooping.org Magazine – not “hula” hooping, but pretty related.