Beginners Hoop Strength and Conditioning

It is important to remember the difference between strength and conditioning. Strength involves building muscle mass whereas conditioning is the focus upon specific joints of the body to get used to holding and working on the hoop. Examples include armpit holds, hip holds, elbow and knee grips. Conditioning comes with repeatedly practising those specific moves on the hoop; it would be very difficult to achieve conditioning without this.

The more you can encourage your students to develop their strength and conditioning the better as it will allow them to become faster learners and, crucially, safer dancers. Hoop strength is very specific and few sports require a similar strength and stabilisation. Consider having a specific strength or conditioning section of each session that you teach and varying the exercises to cover different areas of the body each week to ensure no muscle group is overloaded. It can help to show students exercises that can be completed on the hoop and also exercises that can be completed off the hoop so they can be practised at home.