The Best Exercise Hoop
We looked at the top 8 Exercise Hoops and dug through the reviews from 14 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best Exercise Hoops.
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You can bet that almost every retro fad will have at least one comeback, but few people expected the hula hoop to return in quite the way that it has. Sure, you’ve seen them spinning around on playgrounds and at music festivals. But these days, you’re just as likely to see those hooping hips shaking on social media or at the gym. It turns out that the simple act of keeping a circular band spinning can be just as healthy as it is fun — if you get the right hoop.
The term “exercise hoop” is a relatively new one, so you won’t find a strict definition for it. If you do it for long enough, you can break a sweat keeping even the cheapest plastic band spinning around your hips. What a true exercise hoop brings to the workout is weight, which will really get the blood pumping.
Weighted hoops serve a couple of different purposes when it comes to exercise. Keeping an extra pound or three rotating around your hips will help improve your balance while strengthening your legs and especially your core. It’s not a big muscle-builder, but as an aerobic toning exercise it’s a great way to change up your routine.
As a side benefit, a little extra weight actually can make hula hooping easier for beginners. As long as your hoop isn’t too heavy, the added ballast will create more centrifugal force and help stabilize the rotation.
So how much weight do you want? If you’re an experienced hooper, you can start with a pound or so. If you want a bit more challenge, you can go up to two pounds or more. Exercise hoops can weigh up to five pounds, but that much weight won’t benefit everybody. For those at moderate fitness levels, a little goes a long way.
Many exercise hoops have a modular system, letting you add sections or take them off as your balance improves. These can be a great investment, especially for beginners. Many of these hoops also can be disassembled, which makes them a lot easier to take back and forth to the gym. You can also adjust them to your waist size.
Some newer exercise hoops have a further innovation: a weighted gravity ball that swings around the outside of the hoop, usually on a tiny track. These can definitely add a little extra burn, but they may take some getting used to. Some of them are tailor-made for those who never could get the hang of regular hula-hooping. The hoop might fit snugly around the waist, so all you have to do is spin and keep the ball moving. If this sounds like your kind of exercise, make sure you consider your workout space. Such hoops take up a lot more room, and some are noisier than others.
Finally, make sure that your hoop has some padding. The more weight you spin, the more pressure you put on your waist. Use your hoop for too long and you might be looking at bruises — if you’re working with a plain metal hoop. Look for something with foam rubber reinforcements, at least on the interior, to make hooping more comfortable.
This 3-pound massaging hoop is durable and comfortable, with shock-absorbing supports along the interior. The soft ball adds an extra challenge that you can adjust as needed. You get a great, customized workout.
Strong But SupportiveFeel the burn where you need it with this precisely weighted smart hoop.
Strong But SupportiveFeel the burn where you need it with this precisely weighted smart hoop.
This ahoop is great for beginning hula hoopers, but can still provide a challenge once you've got the moves down. The ball weight can be adjusted to ramp up the intensity or left off entirely. The ABS plastic holds up well under travel and hard use.
Adjustable Weight WorkoutEasy to use but challenging for intense workouts, this hoop can burn fat faster.
Adjustable Weight WorkoutEasy to use but challenging for intense workouts, this hoop can burn fat faster.
The easy assembly is a big plus for this fun weighted hoop. Customize the size of this fitness item to fit your waist, then work up a sweat thanks to the smooth motion of the weight ball. You can also buy extra links if you need them.
Great For AbsYou can easily adjust this weighted hoop with a gravity ball to fit your size.
Great For AbsYou can easily adjust this weighted hoop with a gravity ball to fit your size.
There's a small learning curve for non-hula hoopers, but this weighted item makes it fun and easy to dive in. You can adjust the length on the line to increase the effectiveness of the weight. The parts are simple to assemble.
Versatile and FunPick your intensity with this challenging, fun hoop that will get you moving.
Versatile and FunPick your intensity with this challenging, fun hoop that will get you moving.
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Our experts reviewed the top 8 Exercise Hoops and also dug through the reviews from 14 of the most popular review sites including and more. The result is a ranking of the best of the best Exercise Hoops.
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This 3-pound massaging hoop is durable and comfortable, with shock-absorbing supports along the interior. The soft ball adds an extra challenge that you can adjust as needed. You get a great, customized workout.
Never hula-hooped before? It truly is an exercise anyone can do as long as they can stand — especially with the advent of “smart” fitted hoops that incorporate a rotating ball. Many of these hoops are designed to make it easy for anyone to keep the exercise up; your hoop won’t easily fall down unless you want it to.
For more traditional hoops, make sure you start with just a little bit of weight. Throw the hoop around your waist to start the spin, then rotate your hips until you get the feel for what’s needed to keep the hoop up. Make sure to keep your shoulders down and chest out to minimize back pain. Above all, try to keep the hoop spinning parallel with the ground.
Hula hooping is fun, but could you do it for days? Very few have, but Jenny Doan of Chicago, Illinois, outspun them all when she earned the Guinness World Record for a marathon hooping session in 2019. Doan kept on hula-hooping for 100 hours in an attempt to raise money for Mental Health America, breaking the previous record by more than 25 hours.
DWYM simplifies the research process by aggregating the reviews of the top product review sites. The result is the DWYM Score which represents the overall true rating of a product based upon a 1-10 scale.
For the Exercise Hoop category, we analyzed 14 of the most popular reviews including reviews from and more. The result is a ranking of the best Exercise Hoops.