Huntington Beach!

We are here and having fun! Connor misses his daddy, but was SUCH a great little boy on the plane yesterday (like so good it was scary!) and is pretty much back on his schedule already! We are so lucky and have such an amazing little boy!

A few quick pictures for now!

Also, DON'T FORGET!!! Click HERE to enter my giveaway! You only have until Friday to enter!

Hoopnotica Giveaway: Enter For Your Chance to Win!!

GREEN YOUR WORKOUT BY DITCHING THE TREADMILL
AND JUMPING INTO A HOOP THIS SUMMER!

There is a new “Green” workout movement sweeping
across the nation that’s fun and beneficial to your
health: using a Hoop as a form of exercise and as a
way to wiggle away those extra pounds to get in
shape for bikini season!

Celebrities such as Marissa Tomei, Liv Tyler, and Beyonce are finding a slimmer, sexier,
and more toned version of themselves in the hoop. Ryan Seacrest of E! News describes
Hoopnotica as “Part dance, part exercise and ALL fun”.

Hooping is as simple as spinning a weighted adult sized hoop rhythmically around the
waist. Hoopnotica provides an energizing, effective, and low impact workout that
tones muscles, increases flexibility, improves coordination, and strengthens the
cardiovascular system. Simply hooping around the waist burns an average of 300
calories an hour, where more vigorous hooping can burn up to 600 calories an hour!

Hoopnotica would like to offer the awesome readers of this blog the opportunity to win an intro to Hoopnotica kit, which includes a choice of travel hoop and an introductory DVD!!

Alright ladies, here's your chance to win your very own Hoopnotica Hoop and Level 1 DVD... just like the one I reviewed in this post last week! The contest will run today through the 31st!! It's easy!! Here's how to enter:

1.) Simply leave a comment on this post talking about your health and fitness goals, and

2.) What you find most appealing/ exciting about trying Hoopnotica!

3.) Don't forget to leave an email address in your comment if you do not have a blogspot account where I can access your contact info!

At the end of the month, one winner will be randomly chosen! They will receive a brand new hoop and DVD straight from Hoopnotica!

ENTER NOW!!

Weekly Weigh-In: Week 6

This week started off really well... but I've had some mild to moderate stomach issues since about Thursday that have yet to subside (NO IDEA what's going on.... I'll keep you posted if I ever find out!) BUT, I had an awesome workout on Saturday, attending 2 of the best classes at my gym that morning! I burned 850 calories in that workout alone! I've also been trying to incorporate more of the Hoopnotica workout into my home routines ... I am so over crunches right now!

So here are the stats:

Accomplishments

Calories Burned: 2538

Total Workouts: 8

Total Workout Time: 7:28

One more week until we leave for Huntington Beach for 2 weeks... which basically means living in a bathing suit! Ahh!

"Hoopnotica: Find Youself in The Hoop": Review

As many of you know, I have been on an attempted health-kick lately. I read in a magazine recently that a lot of celebs have been using the "Hoopnotica" workout to slim and trim their waistlines. When I read this, I had to go check it out myself. As an avid "hooper" in the 80's and early 90's, I figured this might be a workout for me. Here's my take so far...

General Info:

Where to purchase: Hoopnotica.com (I really wasn't able to find any used ones on eBay or anything, or I would have done that! Although, it's easy to find additional DVD's for Hoopnotica on eBay, Amazon, etc...)

Price: about $50 for the starter set (plus shipping - bummer!) You can buy just a hoop or instructional DVD (but what's the point?) for less, but a starter set is the best deal. I purchased the "NEW & IMPROVED Hoopnotica Fitness Travel Hoop" and added a Level 1 DVD for about $67 with shipping.

What is it? You get a hoop (choose between travel hoop that breaks apart, and regular) and an instructional DVD. The point is to learn how to "Hoop Dance". The DVD breaks down the basics of "Hoop Dancing" and then show combinations at the end. There is also a stretch / warm up section at the beginning, as well. (of course I skip that ... but that's just how I am!)

My Review:

The hoop arrived in about a week (but July 4th was in there, so it should have been less!) via UPS. The packaging for the hoop was very pretty (the box that is .... it doesn't really matter ... but it's pretty!)

The travel hoop is super easy to snap together and apart. I choose the travel hoop because I could travel with it (duh!) and so it would fit in a smaller sized box when I decided to hock it on eBay after getting frustrated and sick of it (honestly, that did factor into the equation!) The hoop is larger and heavier than the one you had in your garage middle school, and the website claims that using a toy hoop would not result in the same benefits as this 'special' hoop.

I was excited to get started, so I chose the "getting started" menu selection. There is a warm up {skip} and then they start into the basics of hooping. It gets harder as you progress from 'waist hooping', to 'hip hooping', 'passing and floating', 'halos', etc...

Moment of Truth:

This is hard!! Not so much hard in the sense of cardio strengthening, but difficult in general. IF I had not already been pretty decent at waist hooping, I would have given up on this immediately and pawned it on eBay. HOWEVER, since I had already mastered that first skill, it gave me the patience to go further. Each skill has taken me about 20-30 minutes to even get, and I still haven't mastered them yet.

I think if I keep working at it 3-4 times per week for about 20 minutes, I'll eventually be able to do all the moves on the "Beginner's" DVD that I bought with the hoop. For some reason, I am truly motivated to get this thing down. Not only does it work the waist , but it looks pretty and impressive when you're doing it!

Bottom Line:

If you do not know how to hula-hoop at all, I would not buy this. If you have a dance background and can hula-hoop, this is a fun addition to your regular, boring workout. Are you going to shed like 10 pounds a week? NO. Maybe once you are a super expert... so if I ever get to that point, maybe I'll come back and re-review.

I'm going to keep working at it. Right now, I use the Hoopnotica routine and practice time as a warm-up before I do my cardio dance DVD or the elliptical. There is a huge sense of accomplishment when you are finally able to complete a difficult move... so it can be fun and rewarding .... but also frustrating!