Mommy Post Partum Workout - Tailspin Hula Hoops!

One of my horsie friends introduced me to the idea of hooping for exercise and seeing as I have very little time to myself between my three blogs, two kids, going to school full time, taking care of a family, and well making sure the horse is fed. I've really been wanting to loose weight, no, more like I NEED to loose weight. Though I have to admit the last thing I really want to do when I'm exhausted is do some sort of boring exercise. The other problem is if I do find time to work out I usually have a three year old who wants to do everything that mommy does... and I've done one too many yoga tapes where halfway through a pose I end up with a three year old standing on the top of my back attempting to ride me like I'm a pony. Yep, welcome to my household. That's where our new Tailspin Hula Hoop comes in.

I've actually been sitting on this review for a little longer than I would like. Partially because it was one of those reviews I actually had to spend some real time testing and partially because the last few months have been a total whirl of hospitals for Dylan, doctor appointments and some news on my dad that sent me for a total loop.  I really wanted to save this one till I could show you guys my super hero hooping skills. I've yet not mastered the hoop as fast as I thought I would but I did go out and buy Connor a tiny toy hoop of his own and this is the one exercise he actually begs me to go outside and do. "Lets go do our hoops mommy!" I'm sure my neighbors think I'm just a hoot.. me and my three year old outside giggling and trying our best to actually keep our hoops up more than three minutes at a time.

Check out a video of Jennifer the creator of the Tailspin Hula Hoop, its inspiring!






I can tell you that hula hooping will provide you with an excellent work out. Usually I'm sweating within just a few minutes of hooping even when I'm doing poorly. It's also an excellent play activity that you can do with your kids and still get some much needed exercise in for yourself. I picked up Connor's hoop at the Dollar Store and he couldn't be more thrilled though unlike Connor's hula hoop my Tailspin Hula Hoop is much larger and heavier than his hoop which makes it not only great for a workout but more appropriately sized for an adult body. My hoops is a custom made hoop which is sort of a hybrid between my two favorite hoops on the Tailspin site, the signature Tailspin hoop and the Moondance. I really loved the Tailspin's pink glitter hearts tape as well as the glow in the dark, but I really didn't want to spend more to get the glow in the dark tape, my second choice was the Moondance with its purple sparkles and bright silver tape. In the end the owner and designer Jennifer made me a custom hoop that combined my two favorite hoops into one super cute and ridiculously gorgeous hula hoop. It's so pretty that I proudly display it against the wall in my living room. I'm really actually quite pleased I went with the silver over the glow in the dark as I rarely hoop after dark and the silver against the pink sparkle hearts really catches the sunlight.

Hooping itself isn't super difficult it's really just a matter of getting a rhythm going and sticking with it. When I practice daily I improve really fast but if I take a few days off in between or worst when Dylan got sick and I took a whole month off all together it takes me a few days to start getting back in the rhythm. I'll have to update you guys later with a video once I can do my first trick! The best part is it's not uncommon for me to go outside and hoop with Connor a whole hour before I realize its even been that long. Usually the only thing that stops us is the fact that Dylan wakes up from his nap or we just start getting too hot standing out in the sun. Connor absolutely loves it as well which is a huge plus as I get some exercise and we get to have some one on one time.

Most hooping experts recommend you start out with a larger hula hoop when you first get started, the standard size, and move down to a professional hoop once your ready to start doing "tricks" or just need more of a workout. Though it would seem to be the opposite, the larger the hoop the slower it rotates and the easier it is to manage. I'm quite short (4'10 with shoes on) and my hoop is Tailspin's standard sized hoop which is 41inches tall and it hits me right in the middle of the chest if not a little above.

If your looking for a workout routine that is a little out of the ordinary and tons of fun to do I highly recommend hula hooping! Tailspin has a great selection of hoops but if you don't see what you want, Jennifer would be happy to work with you on making the hoop of your dreams. Her turnaround is amazingly fast as well. I told her what I wanted and I ended up with a finished hoop in just a few days, far far faster than I expected.

Visit the Tailspin Hoops website and check out their awesome selection of hula hoops as well as their new travel hoops which break down for easy storage and travel!

Disclosure: We were given a custom Tailspin Sparkle Hula Hoop free of charge, we were not compensated for this post in any other way. My opinions and comments on items we review are always my own and are never influenced by sponsors.