Like hula hooping? Like Pilates? Like doing your favourite things at once? Well, you’re in luck because you can now do a mashup of both every week in a South Yarra studio, thanks to trained clinical Pilates instructor, circus performer, dancer and vintage pin up Ashlee Grunberg.
The meld of the two disciplines is genius. Pilates is a floor-based core strengthening form of exercise developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century – it makes you leaner and stronger. Hula hooping, on the other hand, involves some pretty intense cardio. If you haven’t picked up a hoop since you were a kid, you’ll find that you have to use every bit of energy to keep the hoop up. So, when you combine the two, you get a killer all-over work out.
Grunberg's classes are appropriate for various levels of expertise and she’s a patient instructor. Plus, classes are a hoot: the tunes fall in the rockabilly and burlesque camp, hoop work ends with a show girl flourish and no one gets in trouble (not even when they accidentally loose a hoop and smash a chandelier).
Wear: shorts or leggings you can roll up and a crop top – the more skin, the better your hooping will be. If that’s too scary, a T-shirt is fine.
Good for: toning your arms, sweating, laughing and developing some sweet hoop skills and abs.
Degree of difficulty from one (I get more exercise changing channels) to five (I can’t walk down stairs anymore and it’s been three days): three out of five.
Would we go back? You bet.
Various locations. Contact Grunberg at www.facebook.com/Hulalates/