Fit: Merry Go-Rounds for Your Core

WHAT SIX-YEAR-OLDS think of as the best forms of exercise actually are: Jumping rope, climbing, fleeing older siblings. Hula hooping is proving that it, too, deserves a spot in the rotation. It turns out that whipping one's hips in a looping motion can whittle away one's middle.

WHAT IT IS: Goddess Fitness' marquee classes are of the striptease variety, but who says hula hooping can’t be sexy? The studio's new five-class series, which makes use of hefty 1.5-pound hoops, combines elements from fluid, swaying hoop dance — the art form, not what you did on the playground — with traditional calisthenics.

MOVES: Classes begin with a Pilates-esque warm-up that activates the core and isolates arm muscles through a series of hoop lifts. Then comes the main attraction. While the simple side-to-side hip motion is the best known, one can also push from front to back, diagonally (from the back of one hip to the front of the other) or in a circle (rotating hips in the opposite direction of the hoop).

The next step is choreography; the goal is to learn a full routine. One of the more difficult steps is the booty jump — lean forward while hooping, then bounce backward. Students have a tendency to knock hoops, an event that's followed by giggling as the domino effect sends everyone's hoops crashing to the floor.

LINGO: To work the upper body and improve balance, the instructor tells the class to use "goddess" arms (that just means "wave them around"). "Temple" arms? Press your hands together overhead.

WORKOUT: "It is total body," says Jenn Tung, co-owner of Goddess. "It uses a lot of your core, just keeping your balance for all of the moves." This reporter felt the most burn in her abs, and she even saw a few small bruises. "It can happen," says Tung. "It depends on how you're hooping and how sensitive you are."

Toning is the focus, but cardio's still part of the package. "Especially with the booty bumps and the hip bumps [forward-facing booty bumps] — you really get your heart rate going," says Tung.

The heavy hoop wasn't, as one might expect, chosen for its strength-training benefits — that's just a nice side effect. "They're easier to keep up because of the momentum from all the weight," Tung says. "And you can feel where to push even if you're not used to hooping."

CROWD: "If you think you're not going to be good, it doesn't matter, because no one else does either," says Virginia Carnrick, who fits squarely in the class demographic of women in their 20s and 30s. After a few go-rounds in this supportive environment, though, most students master even the elusive booty bump.

GARB: Yoga pants (or shorts), bare feet and a top are all you need for this class.

» Goddess Fitness, 4931B St. Elmo Ave., Bethesda; 301-654-2007; Weighted Hula Hoop classes are offered on Tuesdays. A new five-class series begins Sept. 4 and costs $125.

Written by Express contributor Julia Beizer. Photo by Marge Ely/The Washington Post.