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Permalink Reply by Joan Warburton on April 21, 2010 at 3:05pm

You could make the hoop large, add a lot of tape (gaff tape is heavy) and your 1" should be close to 4-5 lbs. You can take your hoop (3/4 or 1", 160 psi) and add water. That adds quite a bit of weight too. Be careful of the off the body stuff though. Might be too much for your wrist and forearm.

Forget the 1/2 inch if you're looking for weight. A large hoop (46" or so) of 3/4, 160psi, filled with water is going to be pretty heavy.

You'll move slower with a large heavy hoop and faster with a small one so it almost works itself even. It will depend on how fast you can move with the small hoop.

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Permalink Reply by Tara V. Hoops on April 21, 2010 at 3:19pm

Definitely put water in it. About two cups. Put a little glue around the connection point and you are good to go.

Joan - I don't think that the hoop will be 4 - 5 lbs. I bought a little fish scale recently and have been weighing all my hoops. I don't have a large 1" 160 psi at the moment to weigh but my guess is it would be 3 lbs at the most.

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Permalink Reply by Joan Warburton on April 21, 2010 at 3:31pm

I put some of my 3/4" 160 psi, large size, heavily taped hoops on the doctor's scale when I first made them. Depending on size (I did make a few smaller) they weighed in at 3 - 3 1/2 lbs. That's why I figured with water they might go up to 5. The doctor's scale could have been off, too. That thought depresses me, however.

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Permalink Reply by Tara V. Hoops on April 21, 2010 at 3:54pm

I actually bought the scale for two reasons - and of course my scale could be off - one, people keep asking me how much my hoops weigh and two, I wanted to debunk the myth that tape adds that much weight. My 3/4" 160psi 38" inner diameter weighs 1.56 naked and 1.73 with full on layers of tape. That's it. It added .2 lbs. I am not saying that it is no change in weight but I believe what hoopers are feeling with a heavily taped hoop is a lot of friction on the body and with the air and not strictly weight. I don't know why i care but i enjoy nerding out on the hoops. :-)

I do agree with Adriene that heavier does not necessarily equal weight loss. It depends what you are going for.

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Permalink Reply by Joan Warburton on April 21, 2010 at 5:20pm

Tara my beginners heavy hoops are 46 ", 48 for a very tall person. I think there lies the difference. It's a fitness class rather than dance and the hoop gets used for a lot of different things like holding it above your head and doing jacks. It's a prop as well as something to spin around the body.

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Permalink Reply by Tara V. Hoops on April 21, 2010 at 7:14pm

48 - woah. that's a lot of hoop man! That would be the diff. I don't know that I have ever used a hoop that big. Probably really slow and fun I would guess.

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Permalink Reply by Adriene on April 21, 2010 at 3:25pm

I am sure that would be a super heavy hoop.

I am a proponent of no matter what size hoop you have, you will be moving and gaining health benefits! Also, the heavier you go, the more limited your movement will be. I started out with a 160psi 3/4 inch, and worked down to a 125psi 1/2 inch.. i have lost atleast 20 lbs, with the assistance of even the smallest of hoops.

You can add more tape to the 3/4 160psi you already have. Also, you can mix up your workout routine and get better results. Remember, weight loss comes from burning fat, so if you are moving, dancing, or doing anything actively with a hoop you will see results (considering calorie intake is monitored). Just get your heart rate up for a sustained amount of time. Having a heavier hoop spin around your waste, per se, won't necessarily afford you any more weight loss. A heavier hoop can be good for light resistance (which will help you strengthen muscle) if you are doing passes or other hand hooping, etc. Heavier/larger hoops are usually perfect for people just starting, and some will always enjoy these more.. Just saying you may not need anything heavier because you already use a smaller tubing :)

I hope this helps! You are free to use any hoop you like, but it is totally worthwhile to use what you have instead of making/buying another!

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Permalink Reply by Charley on April 21, 2010 at 5:02pm

Thank you all so much for the input. I have made water hoops before for clients but I don't really like the feel of the water I was looking for something that would be more solid.

Adrienne, thank you so muchfor the input about the weight. I like my lighter hoops for tricking but I am looking for something to build muscle too, especially abs. My pole workouts just don't seem to be cutting it anymore.

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Permalink Reply by Charley on April 21, 2010 at 7:23pm

I guess I should add that I was also looking at 1'' 100 and was wondering how much heavier that is than the 3/4 160. The 1'' 160 was about $60 whichis just too much money for hoops that barely get sold.

I like my 1/2 hoops for learning tricks, I like my 3/4 hoops for dance/tricks and working out but I really want to up the ante and at the same time be able to provide a quality exercise product to myself and clients.

*I will be teaching a sensual dance class using the hoop as a prop so we aren't super tricks focused, the other class is a straight up cardio class with little tricks focus.

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Permalink Reply by Siren of the Circle* on April 22, 2010 at 8:29am

1" 100 psi is actually lighter than 3/4" 160. My first hoop I purchased before I started making my own and I still use most of the time, is 1" 100. After reading about how so many people like 3/4" 160 I bought some, thinking it would be lighter. It isn't - 3/4" 160 is slightly heavier, and a lot firmer, than 1" 100 (I finally just got some 3/4" 100 for myself and have yet to tape my new hoop). But if you're going to put water or sand in them, the 1" will hold more, making it heavier in the end.

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Permalink Reply by Kelly Jean on April 21, 2010 at 9:47pm

I don't know about all that water. 2 cups seems like a lot.

The first time I made water hoops, I had no idea how much water to use. I guessed maybe one cup would work.
I made three hoops like that, one cup of water each, 160 PSI 3/4 inch tubing.

When I arrived at my hooping class and asked my teacher if these were right, if I had gotten close to the right weight, she reacted pretty strongly to the negative. She told me that only a small amount of water makes a HUGE difference.

I like the way my hoops with one cup of water feel, like getting a massage, but they are plenty heavy. And I have never made any more with that much water. I use 2 ounces. My teacher was right; it makes a HUGE difference.

I am just not a big fan of heavy hoops.
I think your body works LESS to keep them going: The water does the work for you.
I think of water hoops as "training wheels" for hoopers.

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Permalink Reply by Joan Warburton on April 22, 2010 at 3:11am

That's great advice about the water. Thanks, and I love that term "training wheels" for hoopers, LOL!
I think the larger hoops are easier and are generally around 42-44", but the large (46") heavier ones, 3-4 lbs, require a lot of core counter force to the momentum that the hoop is building up as it spins. The workout is in this "bracing" or counter force you have to maintain. Arm hooping can be a huge challenge and is great if it's introduced with slower movement (slower music) and a little at a time.

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