Hula-Hooping Comes Around as Workout Craze

The hula-hoop is seeing a revival as a fitness tool, with out-of-shape Americans finding twirling a plastic tube a more enjoyable way to burn calories than running or weight-lifting. Companies like HoopGirl and Hoopnotica have seen sales of weighted hula-hoops and enrollment in hoop fitness classes surge. "I finally found an exercise that I could do every day because I felt like I wasn't exercising at all," one enthusiast tells Time. "I was just having fun."

It’s more than fun: An hour of sustained hooping burns as many calories as the same amount of time on a treadmill, and different exercises can target every part of the body. "Anything that gets people off the couch and burning calories is a good thing," said a exercise expert. "Hooping can be a good way to mix up your routine and keep it from being boring."
(More fitness stories.)