Choosing Your First Hula Hoop – Beginner Hula Hoop Guide!

Picking Your First Hula Hoop

When it comes to choosing your first hula hoop, there are many aspects to consider. If you ask any experienced hula hooper, they would likely give you similar tips, for these aspects flow across the board in the vast world of hula hoops.

Different weights and sizes will influence your capacity to master specific tricks. Here are some tips for specific tricks and deciding which hoop to pick for your practice.

Best Hula Hoop Size?

Smaller, lighter weight hoops are excellent for learning isolations and the many variations branching fourth, like flowers and mandalas. Light weight hula hoops also give your arms the opportunity to get the muscle memory down without getting too tired. However, these hoops will not be ideal for on body hooping. Light weight hoops (and small hoops) in general are more challenging to keep in motion around the waist, legs, chest, etc. It simply takes more muscle and speed, which is not ideal for learning and mastering something new.

For on body hooping, larger, heavier hoops will assist in your progress. They make it easier to isolate movements because it takes longer for the hoop to go around full circle, giving you more time to master the muscle memory. This is a phenomenal characteristic for mastering leg hooping, and for moving the hoop up your body without hands. (PRO TIP: If you’re struggling, even with a large hoop, turn your body continuously in the same direction as the hoop.

Pro Hooper Tips!

When it comes to buying your first hoop, if you are on a budget – try a Celestial Polypro Hoop! Don’t hold yourself back when your hoop journey could begin now. Eventually you will upgrade and have many hoops of varying sizes, which is really nice down the road. You’ll find, in time, that your favorite hoop will be somewhere in the middle of super light and heavier/larger.

What tricks do you want to master first? Different hula hoops will bring their own challenges to different tricks! With this new awareness, you can now make more educated decisions on what hoops will be best for specific tricks.

I personally recommend starting with a larger, heavier hoop for mastering the basics of on-body hooping, ESPECIALLY if you’re gravitating towards fire spinning. I typically use my fire hoop to learn new on body tricks, and my polypro for all other hooping tricks.

Happy Hooping,

Liora Cat of Infinite Comings
A Sacred Flow Art Community Blogger