What is it?

A way to keep fit that doesn’t feel like exercise.

How does it work?

Keeping a hoop up works muscles in your stomach, bottom and thighs.

Is it really for adults?

We’re bigger and heavier than kids and so are the hoops. The largest weighs 1.4kg, which helps to sculpt and tone.

What is it like?

Hula hoops hate me. As a child I would look on with envy at other kids joyously twirling multicoloured rings around their waists. Whenever I had a go, the hoop would clatter noisily to the ground, battering my shins on the way down. What was I doing wrong?

“Put one foot forward and thrust into it,” advises Anna Byrne, the founder of HulaFit® – a fitness class that uses hula hoops to give you a full-body workout. I try this half-lunge but the hoop still finds its way to the floor. I look around the class full of women successfully keeping these childhood toys airborne – it’s like a flashback to the school playground.

This hula class is open to all, aged between 16 and 70, although there’s a noticeable lack of testosterone in the room. In this evening session, Anna starts us off with a workout.

We do push-ups, followed by the plank and some squat jumps. I frequently run and cycle, yet this feels like a huge challenge.

Anna reassures us that it’s OK to be a step behind as the group ranges from complete beginners to hooping veterans.

One regular tells me she hadn’t exercised for five years before doing the hula class and enjoyed it so much she now comes twice a week. It shows, too, as she deftly rotates the ring around her chest – something that I still haven’t mastered.

Nor can I hoop and “limbo”, which involves bending back while leaping forwards with a level of coordination I have yet to acquire.

The class takes an hour, but by the end, I am able to keep the hoop up. I can also spin 360 degrees while doing so. At last I can bury my failed hula memories, while making new ones.

Where can I try it?

HulaFit® classes are held weekly in Kennington, Camberwell, King’s Cross and Hackney. hulafit.com.

Live Love Hoop runs six-week courses at Brighton Natural Health Centre. livelovehoop.com.

All Hooped Up has drop-in classes in Sheffield, taking place every Tuesday at Ponds Forge Sports Centre. allhoopedup.co.uk

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