Feed Box Market Top 5

We had such an amazing time at Feed Box Market this week, breaking hoops, teaching our neighbours tricks and generally causing all sorts of chaos. 

Straight after HoopFit, I did a bit of a Superman/Clark Kent move and transformed myself into Miss B B Hoops!! 

We had glitter hoops and performances. It was so much fun teaching everyone to hoop and we got a chance to check out some of the stalls. 

Our Top 5 Stalls

1. Higher Ground
Number one because let's be honest if there isn't good coffee, what's the point? 

2. No Toast
We've already demolished a couple of packets of this amazing granola at our place. Mum started putting it on salad too!!

3. Sally's Lane
At first I wasn't sure why I would want non alcoholic grape juice, and then I tried it! I've stocked up every week since the markets started. 

4. Guinea Grove Farm
Try the chilli oil. 

5. Maggie's Treats 
Because one time I had a little too much 'grape juice' the night before and their bacon and egg roll saved my life. Enough said!

Come visit us next week! We'll have hoops for sale and performances by Miss B B Hoops!! 

Xx Me

Lets Own Our Hoop Injuries

Someone said to me once 'If you are not dropping the hoop or hitting yourself in the face you are not trying hard enough'. Now ordinarily I avoid pain at all costs but when it comes to hooping I don't even seem to notice until I stop. 

The thing with hooping is, it's addictive but should you really be hooping on bruised limbs. Of course not! I've watched people take socks off and put them over bruised hands, so they could keep hooping. I've had clients turn up to class after using those awful weighted hoops with huge HUGE bruises. Please stop!

This is my test, if a kid came home from school with that bruise would you (A) think well they must have had a fun day, or (B) Call the school and demand to know what happened!

If the answer is (B) the bruise is so big you'd be worried about the child's safety then put that hoop down or practice a different exercise using a different part of the body. 

Your body will toughen up eventually and you'll become more skilled at using the hoop. There will be less bruising. But if you are suffering from any of the below, firstly check the weight of the hoop, is it appropriate for that particular exercise?  

Common Hoop Injuries

HoopHip - These are the bruises that occur when the hoop spins around the hips instead of your tummy. They are two striped down those hip bones. Try a lighter hoop and practice keeping the hoop up around the belly button, that way your activating your core too. 

HoopForearm - These bruises often get the most attention because they really look a lot like a hand mark. You normally get one long bruise and several little ones that look like finger tips a. If you are already using a light hoop then it could be the speed with which you are spinning your hoop, slow it down for a bit. 

Are You Fake Fit?

Exercise cloths are cool right!? I love all the bright trainers and patterned leggings that are doing the rounds this season. They are so cool that people are wearing them all the time, trainers are way more comfortable than heels right so why wouldn't you. But some people.....you know who you are, you are faking fit. 

I've always had a slim build so I have always been able to fool people into thinking I was fit, even when I wasn't. It's so easy! People just look at you and assume you must be. But there is such a thing as 'Skinny Fat'.

On the outside you look like you live on salads, we assume you could run a marathon at the drop of a hat and honestly we are all a little jealous of that beach ready body. BUT on the inside your organs are covered in fat, you're at a higher risk of getting diabetes and if you are diagnosed you are twice as likely to die from it than someone who is diagnosed when they are overweight. It's serious and your ability to fake it only makes it easier to ignore. 

I was skinny fat. I'd be puffed at the top of a single flight of stairs, I ate small quantities of food but I ate whatever rubbish I felt like on the day. I was faking fit and I was great at it. 

I still surprise myself, I don't normally run because I prefer to hoop but when I do I'm amazed. Yesterday I sprinted down the beach so I could catch the last stand up paddle board class. I was barely puffed!

Fitness isn't just about being skinny, its only a small part of it. Fitness is about being able to run for the bus with out the embarrassment of keeling over when you get on. It's about those crazy endorphins, that really do make you happy. 

So stop faking it and get real! I'm not asking you to run a marathon, in fact you wouldn't catch me doing that in a million years but if you are going to wear your trainers out to lunch maybe just maybe you could walk to lunch?!

x Bree

P.S. I probably should note, I'm not perfect. My diet still isn't great, quantity wise it's more than doubled. I eat a lot and I'm aware of what is healthy I just don't always follow it. 

P.P.S So completely unrelated but have you seen the video clip to Kylie's Sexercise. It's full on I've warned you. 

How Does Hooping Make You Feel?

When I was being interviewed by the Sunday Times one of the questions Kristy Symonds asked me was 'How does it make you feel?'

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It was a great question but how could I possibly answer it in a couple of of words. The first word that comes to mind is 'Joy' and um maybe 'Calm'. The thing is I feel like I get two very distinctive feelings from hooping and they almost the opposite of each other. 

The first one is Joy, this comes from laughing at myself, jumping for joy when I finally nail a trick and that simple feeling of being at play. 

The second one I find harder to describe. I've never been much of a yogi but people who do both tell me that the feeling you get from hooping is very similar to that of yoga. It stops me my mind from jumping all over the place, it centres me. 

Which means, I hoop when I'm stressed and it relaxes me. I hoop when I'm excited and it brings me joy. 

How does hooping make you feel? What makes you keep coming back?

x Bree