Adams Fitness Center Welcomes New Hula Hoop Program
 Aimee Sinopoli and Charlene Candiloro pose with hula hoops at Sinopoli's Hot Spot gym. Candiloro's hooping classes are one of the new offerings at the fitness center. |
ADAMS, Mass. — Hot Spot Fitness & More has expanded its programs to include a new hula hoop fitness course.
Aimee Sinopoli opened her gym on Summer Street last July and has been slowly adding new programs such as boxing, the open gym, circuit training, kickboxing, and classes by certified hula hoop instructor Charlene Candiloro.
Candiloro, who owns Serenity Hoops, said she teaches both hoop fitness, which combines traditional exercises with hula hooping and hoop flow, which is dancing with a hula hoop.
"There are three levels making it assessable to everyone," Candiloro said. "First level we use the hoop as a ballet bar, the second level we use the hoop for intensity building, and the third level we exercise with the hoop on."
Candiloro said the health benefits of hula hooping often surprise people. Candiloro said she started "hooping" 20 months ago and in the process lost 136 pounds. She said she never expected that hooping would lead to better fitness.
"The benefits of hooping and adding it to the traditional workouts are great. You can be 5 or you can be 95 hooping," she said. "Hooping increases your flexibility, coordination, it elevates your mood, it relieves stress, and you lose weight. The benefits keep going."
Candiloro said her certification makes her equivalent to a personal trainer. She said she is certified through the American Council on Exercise and Aerobics and Fitness Association of America.
"I can describe to each person how your torso needs to be and how your pelvis needs to be," she said. "Then when you add the hoop in, the hoop doesn't just propel itself around your body. I have to show them where to push the hoop to keep it going through the lunge."
Sinopoli said she was not expecting the hooping to be so involved.
"I was in shock because I thought it was just going to be hooping for that hour and it wasn't," Sinopoli said. "It was hooping with lunges and then hooping moving around ... it was a fitness class."
She said Candiloro gave two free classes and everyone who took it ordered their own hoop that day.
Candiloro said it is important to have the proper hoop and that you cannot just buy a hoop from Walmart.
"I don't usually have people use them because they can hurt people," she said. "Those really big heavy hoops, because of the centrifugal force, put a lot of pressure on your spine. Anything over three pounds is like a sledge hammer on your spine."
She makes her own hoops out of irrigation pipe.
Candiloro said "flow" is an incredibly important part of hooping that adds to the workout and the meditative nature of it.
"You do get to add the flow because you put the tricks together and you have this beautiful dance so you kind of lose yourself in it," she said. "It gives you this meditative mindset that just relieves everything and it's fun."
Sinopoli said they will also be implementing a parent and child hula hoop class.
Candiloro said the hula hoop is a great tool for children.
"It gives the child so much creativity, and there are endless things you can do with the hoop," she said. "There is storytelling ... the amount of activity you can do is so healthy for them. It gets them away from video games and TV ... and it gives parents something they can do with the child."
Sinopoli said the hula hooping course is part of the push to expand the gym. She said patrons can be expecting the gym to offer Weight Watchers and a new high intensity workout called "Fight Fit."
Anyone interested in any Hot Spot Fitness & More programs or the hula hooping program can sign up on the Facebook page.
Tags: exercise, fitness center, hooping,
