How Many Calories does Hula Hooping Burn

Historical evidence shows that hula hooping was enjoyed in the ancient Egyptian and Greek civilizations. Hula hoops made from grapevines, bamboos and stiff grass were perhaps the first toys designed by our ancestors. In the late 1950s, commercial production of plastic and wooden hula hoops was started in Australia and England. English doctors have mentioned 'hula hooping' as the cause of dislocated backs and even of heart attacks, in the medical records! But everyone accepts the fact that if you enjoy hula hooping regularly, you can lose calories and can enjoy a perfectly shaped body. How many calories can you burn by performing hula hooping activities? The following section provides the answer.

Calories Burnt During Hula Hooping

The American Council on Exercise has stated that half an hour of hula hooping can burn around 200 calories per session. Calories lost during hula hooping activities may vary from person to person, depending upon the intensity of the exercise and the height and weight of the person. Overweight people will burn more calories. It requires more effort to move around with excess weight. Moreover, you need to choose a hula hoop of the perfect size (diameter). Various games can be arranged with the help of a hula hoop. You can participate in these games alone or with your partner. If you want, you can simply enjoy hula hooping at home. These days, people use heavier hula hoops to burn more calories. So, it is difficult to find a single definite answer to how many calories hula hooping burns.

If you use heavy hula hoops, you can burn more calories in the same amount of time (half an hour). You can burn 400 calories in a half an hour workout. Young adults with less fat deposits around the abdomen can perform intensive exercises but adults above 40 or 50 may not be able to perform such exercises due to increased fat and decreased flexibility. Intensity of the exercise plays an important role in burning calories. With practice, one can increase the intensity gradually and can lose more number of calories in the same period of time.

The overall health of a person determines how many calories he / she will burn during an exercise. People following low-calorie and low-fat diets, people suffering from nervousness, excessive tiredness and depression cannot generate sufficient energy for exercising. So they won't succeed in burning 200 or 400 calories through half an hour workout of hula hooping.

How to Calculate Calories Burnt During an Exercise

Hula hoop facts inform us that hula hooping is a great fun activity which helps lose fat around the arms, abdomen, buttocks, legs and waist. Swinging the hula hoop around the waist, legs or arms will give you a decent shape. Hula hooping definitely helps get rid of unwanted fat, especially around the abdomen, arms and legs. You can calculate the calories burnt during hula hooping with the help of a heart rate monitor. Here are some formulas for calculating the calories burnt during physical exercises.

• For males: C = (0.6309 x H + 0.09036 x W + 0.2017 x A - 55.0969) x T / 4.184
• For females: C = (0.4472 x H - 0.05741 x W + 0.074 x A - 20.4022) x T / 4.184

Here, W stands for weight in pounds, A stands for the age of the person (years), H is the average heart rate during exercise (beats per minute), T denotes the duration of the hula hooping (or any exercise session) in minutes and of course, C is the total number of calories burnt during the exercise.

Now that you know how many calories does hula hooping burn, I am sure, you will take it seriously. Not only small children but adults too can enjoy hula hooping every day. You don't have to join a gym for this. Hula hoops are easily available everywhere and are cheaper than all other exercise equipment. In fact, I would suggest that adults should start with hula hooping, as it will make them feel younger. It will remind them of their childhood and they will enjoy hula hooping like a kid again.