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StudentPermalink Reply by kelly on June 3, 2011 at 7:49am

Hi Isabella welcome to hoopcity! 
I know what you mean, I've been hooping for only about 3 months, and the hoop I started with was a freaky 44 inches and probably weighed 2 pounds! I know its tough to do any off body spinning with the heavier bigger hoops, but try anyway, at least to get used to the feeling of doing a spinning isolation (I don't recommend rolling those biggo hoops over the top of your hand though) 

Really try to get your moneys worth out of that hoop. I know it sucks when you want to progress to off body tricks and it feels like the hoop is holding you back (the one I started on was a freaky-big 44 inch!) If thats the hoop you have, and you can't really justify buying another one after a month, then I suggest really trying to perfect the tricks and the flow that you -can- accomplish with the hoop that you have. Really practice the tricks that don't come easy, and once you feel you've totally exhausted all you can do with that hoop, move on down! 

The thing about lighter hoops and smaller tubing is that while its easier to do off body tricks, its harder to keep momentum without the weight. build up that muscle memory while you can and all the rest will be easier!

My progression went like this: 
44", 1" diameter, 2lb hoop    
41", 3/4" diameter, 1.5lb hoop 
40", 3/4" diameter, 1lb hoop  
38", 7/8" diameter, 20oz hoop  

Don't let yourself get peeved. Love the process!

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Permalink Reply by Sairz ward on June 3, 2011 at 7:56am

For my slow hoop I use 100psi black irrigation tubing which comes in 100ft rolls at Lowes. It's soft and light, iI'm partial to the 3/4inch tube. It's slow, so learning tricks is a lot easier, and it's light so youre not doing as much work. The only down fall is the hotter it gets outside three softer your hoop will get, so it becomes harder to do reversals and stuff.

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StudentPermalink Reply by Shannon "HoopLove" on June 3, 2011 at 7:57am

My first hoop was 1 inch 160 psi hoop that comes to above my chest.  I used it when learning all my onbody stuff.  It's great for really training my body.  I still would do figure 8, halo, and other moves with it.  When I made my own a few months later, I moved down officially.  I still need to practice some moves with my big hoop because I am absolutely incapable of doing it with a smaller hoop.  Basically you have to listen to your body with this hoop.  Some tricks I can't even do with my 3/4 cause it's too large.  I'd even do isolations with my big hoop to strengthen my arms/wrists. :p

 

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StudentPermalink Reply by Tilly Whirls on June 3, 2011 at 8:49am

My first hoops were 40-42" and between 1.75-2 pounds. Those are what I used to learn any on body movements and the easy off body ones. Waist, hips, chest, shoulder, knee hooping, halos, lifting up, passing, and I even learned the helicopter with the large hoops.

I eventually moved down to a 37.5" hoop that's a bit lighter but still pretty rigid. It took me a while to get used to it but I can do off body moves a bit easier and my vortexes (though I can do them with a 42" hoop) look a lot cleaner and are faster since I'm not swinging my arms in such a big circle.

My newest hoop is a 36" LED and I'm actually pretty awkward with it, but that's how it was when I started with the 37" too. I'm hoping after a couple weeks it feels normal.

Anyway, even if you get smaller hoops, you'll still go back to the big one for some stuff. When I really want to focus on working on shoulder and knee hooping I go to my big hoops because it's easiest with those. Then I work my way smaller. Eventually you'll probably end up with quite a few in different sizes. I think I have about 16 hoops at this point.

 

Oh, one more thing. Even if you're using a lighter smaller hoop, they can still hurt. I was practicing with my 32" twins the other day and they're 1/2" pex hoops. They're pretty light. Anyway, they still bruised the tops of my hands.

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Permalink Reply by Runemist34 on June 3, 2011 at 12:59pm

Hey darlin! I'm new here, too!

I have a pretty big hoop, it's around the same size as yours...I find that I'm having issues with it hurting when I waist-hoop, but I know I'll get used to it.

I'm probably going to be getting another, smaller hoop, so that I can have a little fun with it, and perhaps learn more off-the-body stuff, but I don't think I'll be getting rid of my huge hoop. Just retaping it! I like it because it spins slow, and because I can really feel it, and I can get used to the movement of hooping. I've heard it's helpful for a few people that way!

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Permalink Reply by Isabella on June 4, 2011 at 6:10am

Thanks guys...i kept trying today,and ended up throwing my hoop to the floor in frustration more than once.I have been practicing the vortex for a week,and it always fails when i try to lift up the hoop  again,it gets all wonky and someties hits me since gravity pulls it down,too much weight for one wrist to lift up...I recorded some of my practise with my webcam,i honestly look -and feel- like a big clumsy sloppy blob while hooping.wow,i'm such a complainer,lol.

 

A correction-my hoop actually weighs a pound,not half a pound..i meant half a kilo.So yeah.Unless i find some really affordable smaller hoops,i'll try to make one.

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StudentPermalink Reply by Shannon "HoopLove" on June 4, 2011 at 3:04pm

I think in the beginning everyone looks clumsy when first trying vortex or lifts.  You got to build the strength and muscle memory.

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StudentPermalink Reply by The CircularPhile on June 4, 2011 at 2:28pm

One pound is a very light hoop. The only way to go lighter is with polypro and no tape. Is your hoop taped up completely? About half of the weight comes from the tape, not the tubing. You can strip off all of the tape, but save some of the grip tape and run a single strip around the inside circumference of the hoop for grip. That is all you need. If you want to go even lighter, you can sand the inside for grip instead of taping, but I personally don't think it works as well. The hoop won't be pretty without tape, but you can learn on it until you are ready for another. You can also go to the store and buy a kids hoop to work on off-body.

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