The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
In the loop with the lady of the rings
Hula-hooping isn’t just for little girls. It’s a fantastic workout for adults too, as Gayle discovers when she meets Chloe Leuchars
Chloe Leuchars is an expert at swinging hoops round her body – sometimes multiple hoops at once – without letting them fall to the ground. Effortlessly graceful, she smiles throughout her impressive routine, which once saw her hula-hoop for two hours non-stop during a charity “hoopathon”.
“That would probably have been over 1,000 spins,” she beams, deftly pulling off a few dance moves with the colourful plastic hoops.
Watching Chloe in action is utterly hypnotic. When I meet the 22-year-old in a park in Forfar, she’s keen to teach me some of her skills. As someone who hasn’t been anywhere near a hoop for decades, I’m a tad nervous.
Starting with one hoop, Chloe quickly progresses to two, then three, then four, which she twirls round her waist.
I’m blown away when she then spins hoops from four different body parts – hands, waist, knees and shoulders – at the same time.
“Your turn now,” she says, handing me a hoop. “Put the hoop at your back and have one leg in front of the other, and then go for it,” she instructs.
I find myself making a rather undignified thrusting movement and unsurprisingly, the hoop clatters to the ground.
After a few shots, I manage to get the hoop “in flight” but keeping it spinning for more than a few rotations is going to take a lot of practice.
“Try standing with your legs apart and spin it that way,” suggests Chloe.
I find this a lot easier and whoop with joy when I manage to keep the weighted ring airborne for a good 20 seconds. Pathetic compared to Chloe’s two hours, but hey.
When the sun disappears, we head to Forfar Dance Studio, which was set up by Chloe and her mum six years ago.
Inside, Chloe dims the lights and brings out her special fluorescent hoop and performs a spectacular bunch of moves.
I hang back in the corner, desperately trying to get the hang of this.
What I find is that the slower and steadier the movement you make, the less chance there is of the hoop dropping.
Go too fast and you panic, and that’s when it all goes wrong.
By default, I find I’m spinning clockwise; I’m unable to even think about going anti-clockwise.
As you improve, it’s a good idea to try doing it in both directions, toning muscles on both sides of your body.
Chloe got into hooping after trying it during a holiday camp six years ago.
“I’ve always been into dance and fitness and I enjoyed hooping so much that I put myself through some training courses and got teaching qualifications,” she says.
“There’s so much you can do with a hoop – hand, waist, chest, knee, foot, shoulder and neck hooping, as well as bringing in multiple hoops.”
If you need an incentive to take up hooping, then what about the fact it’s brilliant for toning and cardio?
It exercises your core, improves balance, dexterity, flexibility and shapes abs, buttocks and legs.
Chloe reckons you can burn up to 600 calories in an hour’s class and says everyone can learn to hula-hoop, even those lacking coordination.
“It’s mostly women in classes but there are some guys,” she says. “Men are very welcome.
“We start off warming up to music and then do some waist hooping. It usually takes a first-timer about 20 minutes to really get the hang of it, although some people take to it really quickly.
“We add in moves and tricks and then do some workout routines with the hoop, and finish off with freestyle and a stretching cool down,” she says.
Chloe teaches hula-hooping classes at Forfar Dance Studio and at Dundee’s Boomerang Centre. She also runs “hoopie” hen nights, workshops and birthday parties.