Altus Athletic 1211 044 Fitness Hoop with Easy Assembly and Exercise Guide, 5-Pound

I've wanted to try hooping as a means of fitness for quite some time. I shouldn't have waited so long to try the activity. It adds some diversity to my exercise routine and is a great way to strengthen core muscles. I recommend this activity and this product but would note the following:

Selecting your hoop: Altus sells three pound and five pound hoops. The five pound hoop is intended for users that weigh between 160 pounds and 220 pounds. I am about 140 pounds and I was initially regretful that I had ordered the five pound hoop. However, after two weeks of practice, I no longer feel I should have ordered a smaller weight -- the three pound hoop would not have been enough of a challenge. I've used the hoop for a couple of weeks and hoop for five minute segments fairly easily. On the first day, I could not keep the hoop up for longer than twenty seconds. If you are going to hoop, you need to be able to move your hips and move in ways that other exercises may not require. With all of this noted, I think it is more important to assess your individual fitness level in order to pick the right hoop. If you are under 160 pounds but work out fairly consistently and are flexible, I wouldn't hold back on getting the five pound hoop. What you might invest in is a cheap, light hoop just to get the motions down. Also, be patient. It takes a bit of time to keep the hoop from falling on your feet time after time.

Putting your hoop together: It is an effort to put this product together. The product reaches the user in multiple pieces that need to be snapped together but the pieces don't snap together easily and once they appear to be snapped together you may be surprised to find your hoop flying in four different directions, as you start moving. While I haven't done this yet, I fully anticipate that one day I will just pull out some gorilla tape and forever prevent the individual pieces from separating.

Exercising with your hoop: The hoop comes with a simple black and white poster that shows an individual engaging in various hoop exercises. I consider myself flexible and fairly fit but I have yet to progress to many of the moves presented on the sheet. I am still content with traditional hooping -- move your hips and body and don't let the hoop fall. According to the poster included with the product: a beginner is suggested to use the hoop for one to three minutes, three times a week; an intermediate user should work with the hoop for four to seven minutes, three times a week; an advanced user is suggested to use the hoop eight to ten minutes, three times a week. I know there are DVDs dedicated to hooping, however, and I may eventually purchase one. As an aside, when hooping, give yourself plenty of room and don't exercise near fragile items lest your hoop's segments come undone, boomerang through the air and break that unique vase or prized antique.

Dealing with the pain: Five pounds slamming into your body is painful. As noted above, I hoop for five minutes segments. While I could probably handle longer segments, my abdomen hurts so badly after five minutes that I have to stop and engage in a different activity. What I've done with the hoop is make it part of a circuit. I will spin for fives minutes, hoop for five minutes, step for five minutes and do some weights and then repeat. This workout provides some diversity and gives my abdomen a chance to recover.

Storing your hoop: This hoop is huge -- approximately three feet in diameter. I don't recommend disassembling your hoop for storage. Once you get the hoop snapped together, keep it snapped together because it is a pain to get the pieces securely fitted and I think that assembling and disassembling would weaken the snapping mechanisms on the pieces. So just don't disassemble it. Also, keep the hoop away from sharp or pointed edges. The hoop's individual pieces are covered in a very soft material that is easily dented/scratched/peeled away. A good place to store the hoop might be under a bed or on a hook that is fastened to a wall.

This product is made in China.

This fitness hoop fell apart and broke right away. I was able to assemble it but it did not lock into place like it was suppose to. Then when I used it it fell apart and broke after I had tried it three times. Now it won't lock into place correctly. I am not very good at hula hooping so it did fall on the ground alot but I think even if you were good at it it would fall to the ground and it would break. I did like the colors it was really fun. I just wish I was able to use it more.

I just can't hoop with a regular toy hoop like my kids have, but I was able to get this heavy hoop up for a few spins the first time, and after a little practice, I "got in the groove" and can now hoop continuously, yay! You do need some strength and stamina due to the hoop's weight (not sure why they have that bodyweight range, though I do fall in that range) and there can be a little hip bruising if you let the hoop fall too low. Hoop was very easy to snap together, stays together when I'm using it and comes apart easily too.

So I would have given this five stars, except that after less than a week of use, the padding is already peeling off in several places. Also, the spots where the assembly buttons are located on each segment, are wearing off. I haven't been rough with the hoop, and this shouldn't be happening after only a few days. Perhaps there is too much tension on the padding stretched around the segments, or they need tougher padding material.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 17 reviews  2.6 out of 5 stars