Haha, I was offering. I am so happy to share the hoop love.

Its helped me and when I am happier so are the people around me. By sending you a hoop I not only make you feel awesome but everyone around you.
It is my pleasure.

Shoot me over you're address and I'll have it shipped to you

It took me a while to get chest hooping, and it's far from smooth. I can only do it with my arms out of the hoop and it looks/feels awkward, but I'm making progress. I just kept trying and going back to the tutorial videos for tips.

That's pretty much how I got everything beyond waist hooping - I looked at lots of videos, tried what I saw, then watched some more to see what I was missing and tried again. A lot of it has to do with building muscle memory, just like when we learned to walk.

I do find that sometimes after drilling on something for several practice sessions, if I just focus on something else for a while, when I come back to the other thing it works without too much effort. Other times, I can try a move a few times and get it. Of course, that's usually with simpler moves like the escalator.

I hope it works for you. I know what you mean about the neck hooping - I only do that with my lighter hoops, and not much of it. I'm concentrating more on smoothing out my chest hooping and trying other off-core moves.

I may take SaFire's online classes at some point so I can learn things in a more systematic way, but for the moment I'm just watching videos here and on YouTube, picking up moves and trying them. It's a kind of hit-or-miss approach, but I'm enjoying it.

Personally, I don't like the water in the hoop because it throws the balance off. If you water and put a good layer or two of tape on all the way around, you'll have a more balanced hoop and the tape will make up for the water weight. If it's working okay for you, though, maybe you should leave it as is. I just know I got rid of my wave hoop at the first opportunity and moved on to the Hoopnotica travel hoop (which I still use a bit) and other smaller, lighter hoops.

I've found that good music more than makes up for hoop weight because when you get into a song and start really moving, your heart rate naturally goes up. I will say that it's taken me some time to get used to the lighter hoops, but it's worth it because there's less bruising.

Yeah, it seems like we all go on the same journey regardless of which type of hoop and what style of hooping we end up preferring. :)

Until you can get some tubing and start making your own hoop, you might want to drain the water out of your hoop and add a stripe of grip tape (if you can find any; Duck tape works in a pinch, but don't hoop in nice clothes if you use it). Taking the water out will help with balance, and adding the tape will add back the weight you removed and help cut down on the hoop's slickness.

Thanks! You'll see changes quickly if you practice regularly. I'd probably be even further along than I am if I had access to an indoor space every day. It's just too dang hot to hoop outdoors right now: temps in the mid to upper 90s, heat index over 110, and high humidity - a potentially lethal combo for an overweight girl trying to work out! ;)

If you want to see a real transformation story, check out this video: http://www.hoopcity.ca/video/hooping-over-50-timeline. It's what finally decided me to start hooping.

If you're seeing it, it's real. I started hooping for the exercise too, and I'm noticing some toning all over. I have a long way to go, and I'll never be skinny - God didn't build me that way - but I am seeing improvement since I started in January. Someone even commented on a recent video that they could see the physical change. That made my day! :)

You're welcome! It's always good to have a new friend.

I have been enjoying the journey. Making friends, learning new moves, seeing increased muscle definition in my arms, getting more comfortable in my skin, being able to eat carbs without gaining weight for a change... ;) It's been good. In the past, when something physical became difficult or hurt, I got discouraged and quit. This time even a torn leg muscle didn't put me off hooping. That's saying something.

Hey! It's sooo exciting to meet another hooper on the island! My husband is in the Air Force, we live up on Andersen. I've been hooping since April of '09 but have taken a long vacation from it as we are expecting our second child and I was unable to obtain a hoopnotica preg-o hoop. I ordered my hoops from http://firegroove.com/ and had no problem with them shipping to Guam. I've ordered from them twice so far. The prices are decent and the wait isn't too long! I hope that helps and good luck as you start your hooping journey! I can't wait until this baby is born and I can jump back in my hoop!