Intermediate Hoop Classes

I can't tell me how happy this class at Warwick Avenue made me last night. It was meant to be a normal HoopFit class but then these three turned up. Heather, Nicole and Sammi have all been hoping with me for... Um I'm not sure how long but they rock and we had so much fun that the class ran over an extra 20 mins mainly because I kept saying 'one more time, lets just do it one more time.'

Intermediate Hula Hoop Class London from Bree Kirk-Burnnand on Vimeo.

We came up with new really random tricks and as Nicole said 'it was everything I love about hooping'  Playful, fun but also seriously challenging! Expect to see some of our random tricks in your next class. 

I am NOT a Fitness Junkie

I have been writing this post in my head for months because I feel like people have got me all wrong. My job means that I meet a lot of fitness fanatics… they think I am one of them but I am not. Maybe I should keep this a secret but honestly if exercise isn't fun and interesting I am NOT doing it. 

Before I discovered hooping I’d water skied, tried pole dancing, power plates and the odd dance class here and there. I generally exercised for three months of the year and did nothing for the other nine months. I do not run and I do not do sit ups. 

I remember going for induction sessions at gyms and telling them my aim was to ‘feel good’ which fell on deaf ears every time. Some how it always translated in their minds to ‘loose weight’ or ‘tone up’ but I really just wanted to feel good and have fun. And this to me is one of the major problems with the fitness industry, most people just want to feel amazing and fell alive! 

I know, so shedding a few kilos is great too but when did we decide that it had to be all work and no play. What do kids do to keep fit? They play right? We don't stick them on a tread mill or make them lift weights. Please stop making exercise so awful, lets just go outside and play… please. 

That is what I love about hula hooping. Whether you're working on keeping the hoop spinning for more than a minute at a time or splitting hoops you are always learning and playing. I’m not a fitness junkie, I am a fun junkie!

London Hoop Fest

I don't even want to write anything this week, I just want you to watch the video! Seriously I am so proud of these guys. This was pretty daunting task for me, having gone to my first London Hoop Fest in 2012 I'd have never have expected to be teaching at it so soon.

When I looked out at the sea of faces knowing over the next 90minutes I would have to turn them all into show girls, I was a little taken a back. Lucky for me they all had a little show girl inside them and that was the easy bit. The hard bit was that I felt like a bit of a drill sergeant, 'again, again, again' I even had a whistle. But everyone worked so hard at it and finally at the end it felt like we were little kids calling our parents (Anna Rowan and the other teachers) up to watch our show!

It was beautiful watching the routine and I even felt a little emotional at the end. Especially hearing comments like 'I hadn't smiled so much in ages, thanks Bree' and 'that was the most fun, EVER!'

London Hoop Fest 2014 Workshop from Bree Kirk-Burnnand on Vimeo.

Hello, World!

5 Things That Have Inspired Me This Week

Taking our company name Happy Healthy Hoops literally, I've decided to write about five things that have inspired me this week. 

1. Yesterday my friend won the Peoples Book Prize!!! His book You're Gone to Far This Time Sir won best non-fiction.

Years ago when waiting in the lobby to be interviewed for an accounting job at a property firm, Danny Bent, a stranger at the time, wandered past warmly welcoming me to the office and wishing me luck. It instantly made me want the job more. The staff were so friendly, I got the job and loved working there. 

Since then I've enjoyed seeing Danny's adventures on FB. He always seems to be up to something but I seemed to have missed the fact that he wrote a book!!! Watching his acceptance speck yesterday I learnt that Danny had dyslexia and his journey to becoming a writer had been just as windy as my journey from Accountant to Hula Hooper. 

I can't wait to read it! 

2. Gemma Smailes one of our Kentish Town HoopFit Students is going to jump out of a plane this weekend to raise money for Canine Partners  for Independence. Best of luck Gemma! 

3. This Photo from Morning Gloryville London just makes me happy. 

4. I spoke to my Dad yesterday, he is in hospital for a few days having some check ups. His health is complicated having suffered from Parkinson's Disease for 17 years and breaking his knee in every way possible. But the first thing he says to me is 'Bree, being in this hospital makes me realise how lucky I am'.  

5. Anna Lisa one of my students from Bannatynes has been hooping for a couple of months. It's been a slow process for Anna Lisa but this week something clicked and we managed 3 hoops yesterday! Perseverance, patience and practice.  

Britain's Got Talent

Britain's Got Talent

Did you spot me?? I was only on for a split second but I was there in the opening sequence. If you want to watch it go to ITV Player. In February on Tube Strike Day guess who was up early hauling her hoops all the way down to the ITV studios in Wimbledon.

It was one of those days...I had a cold, due to the tube strike it took me 3 hours to get there, the filming was out doors and it rained all day BUT the atmosphere when I got there was spectacular! In typical british style the rain put no one off, we soldiered on. I met some fabulous people including this chap, you might recognise him?? He announced the birth of Prince George!

Britain's Got Talent

I didn't manage to get a photo with Ant and Dec (because I had to run off to teach HoopFit at Warwick Avenue) but I did catch them having a little chuckle at me as I was bouncing up and down hoops in hand trying to keep warm. In my head we are now BFF.

If you watch very carefully I'm in a couple of shots but it's a bit like playing Where's Wally. It was at the very end to the day, that someone said can you just jump in this window for a quick shot and voila! This is the one that was used. I feel very privileged that I was asked to be on the show even for a second and I think perhaps next year I should actually audition??!!!

xX Bree Kirk-Burnnand (AKA Miss B B Hoops)

Britain's Got Talent

Britain's Got Talent