I’m a bit addicted to the hula hooping activity on our Wii Fit. I totally rock it now. I usually hoop in the morning (after closing all the curtains, ’cause what would the neighbors think?) but I found myself hooping last night instead of slipping into a coma on the couch (which I just saved for later).
I’ve made it up to the 10-minute hula, five minutes rotating to the right, five to the left. I’ve achieved calorie incinerator status! I rock it, but I tell ya, there is burrrrrrrn.
(This photo was taken a few days ago. I’m up to 3441 spins now!) See that red line? That’s my average spin shape. I am a little weirded out about that glitch near the top of the arc and secretly wonder if it’s some kind of hip deformity I don’t know about yet.
And here’s my avatar (a.k.a my Mii); also slightly out of date since I got my haircut. I am much shapelier in real life. Trust me on that. Notice how everyone else is sleeping? It’s because I’ve been the only one using the Wii lately.
That’s Emma on the far right, yawning. Mark’s glasses really aren’t that big either.
Amazingly enough, I am getting better at the hula every day.
The Wii is all about improving core strength. If you have a solid core you’ll walk taller, be stronger, and have a greater sense of balance. All important things to think about as we get older and our bodies deteriorate. :(
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There’s a bulletin board near the entrance to the gym where someone posts various health and fitness related articles. Somtimes I read them when trying to catch my breath. :) Some of them are interesting. I read the first paragraph of one of them almost every time I leave. My eyes fall on the words almost automatically. I’m paraphrasing here, but for some reason this really gets me.
Don’t make a habit of using the handicap door opener buttons when you need to open the door, it says. Otherwise you’ll actually need to use it some day.
When the girls were smaller (but old enough to open doors) I always prompted them to open doors the normal way. I couldn’t stand them pounding on the handicapped button (usually a large silver panel) just because they could. We have healthy arms and healthy legs, I’d say, we can open our own doors.
I have a couple girlfriends who used to take a fitness class with an instructor who encouraged the students to ALWAYS use their non-dominant hand wherever possible. i.e. opening doors, reaching for the coffee mug, picking up toys off the floor, carrying groceries etc. in order to keep muscles balanced. I like that idea. It’s something I try to remember to do.
This all relates back to my Wii hooping. I used to be very bad at hooping to the left (you may have noticed my left score is still lower than my right) but the more I do it the easier it becomes. I tried a different experiment too, to see how quickly my body can learn something new. You have to try it. GO ON TRY IT. It will only take a minute.
- Stand up.
- Put your hands on your hips.
- Raise one leg to the side, away from your body, as high as you can.
- Make nice round small circles going forward, say 12. Now do 12 backwards.
- Focus on your posture. Try to keep nice and tall. Keep your balance the best you can.
- Done? Switch legs; 12 circles forward and 12 backwards. Remember to keep that leg raised as high as you can.
How did you do?
When I first started doing this I could barely do 12 circles with my left leg and stay upright at the same time. And my upper leg KILLED by the end of it. I’ve been doing this for nightly about two weeks and I can do it effortlessly on both sides.
Conclusion: the body is an amazing thing. If I can do 12 (and now 25) rotations on each side and each direction, well heck, I think I could teach my body to do just about anything.
