Hula-Hooping Becomes New Workout Trend

The hula-hoop made a big splash in the '50s, but now it's making a comeback as the new workout trend. For those looking for a shakeup to their routines, it's proving to be a great calorie-burner.

Dawn-Samantha Cahill, 25, told Time.com that she first got into hooping as an exercise after discovering a video on YouTube. "The woman in the video was so sexy, and the moves she was making with a hula hoop were so cool," Cahill said. "Normally, watching a gorgeous woman like this would make me feel bad. Instead, I wanted to imitate her."

The video she found was by Christabel Zamor, founder of HoopGirl Inc ., which offers hooping videos and classes. Instead of the lightweight, plastic hoops, HoopGirl began selling weighted, adult-sized hoops in 2001.

Hooping classes are now gaining popularity all over the country -- HoopGirl offers classes in the San Francisco Bay Area, as does the Crunch gym in Los Angeles, which has a Hula Hoop Pilates class. The Bay Area Hoopers also gather at different locations around San Francisco and hoop together.

Diana Defries, who runs Hoopswhirled in London, said that hooping is more than just a physical activity. "Hooping makes you feel more positive and calmer, with a great sense of being grounded and connected to your body,'' Defries told the Telegraph . ''The rhythmic motion of hooping also brings about beneficial changes in brainwave activity.''

It also happens to be a comprehensive workout -- Defries said it works out 30 core muscles, improves balance and coordination, and helps increase strength and stamina.

Cahill said in five months, she lost 46 pounds and dropped from a size 20 to a size 12. "I finally found an exercise that I could do every day because I felt like I wasn't exercising at all," she said. "I was just having fun."

But at a basic level, Philo Hagen, co-founder of the Bay Area Hoopers told ABC News, "It's hard to get caught up in anything too seriously when you're hooping, and it's pretty guaranteed to put a smile on your face."