Hula Hooping With Adidas

February 5, 2014

Last Tuesday I was invited to the SS14 Adidas collection launch, which involved a hula hooping session at the London Dance Academy! The class was lead by “Anna The Hulagan” who teaches HulaFit all over London at the moment, and was recently featured in Time Out’s Top 10 Weird Fitness Classes. I didn’t think it was particularly weird though, just a whole lot of fun!

Having not hula-hooped since I was a child, I honestly thought I would be terrible, and mostly just went into the session to have a good time and to test out some awesome Adidas kit. But fortunately Anna was a highly encouraging teacher, with an infectious enthusiasm, and the hoops were a lot bigger and heavier than those I played with when little, which made them much easier to work with!

I definitely wasn’t amazing (check the video at the bottom for how to do it properly!) but I had a great time, and laughed at lot (mostly at myself). We also learnt some hooping tricks using our hands, arms and even necks which was definitely different!

There was quite a mix of people attending, from fitness blogs (hello Lunges and Lycra and Bangs and a Bun) but also lots of fashion magazine PRs, or fashion bloggers. And with kit that looks this good you can see why!

I was lucky enough to be able to keep these colourful pieces afterwards, and I can tell I’m going to enjoy wearing them to brighten up my runs, especially the shorts – cannot wait for it to warm up enough to break them out!

The Adidas Spring Summer was launched earlier this month by Jessica Ennis-Hill, Laura Trott and Jodie Williams, in a hula-hooping inspired photoshoot, and is the ultimate fusion of performance and fashion.

Women’s Supernova Racer Bra – £28

I was a bit sceptical about this bra, as I’m a “Shock Absorber gal through-and-through”, and I’m still not sure this would have enough support for running for larger chested ladies. But I’m willing to test it out! It was really comfortable for hooping and looks really great on, plus the slightly padded cups minimise any cold weather issues, if you know what I mean…

Women’s Studio Culture Crop Tee – £23

I don’t know what possessed me to agree to wearing a crop-top, normally I would avoid like the plague, and I definitely can’t rival Jessica Ennis’ abs! But anyway, this t-shirt is lightweight, and could easily be layered over a vest top for a cool dance studio look. I also love the grey version Laura Trott is wearing in the photo below.

Women’s Aktiv Shorts – £25

These shorts were my favourite piece of the evening, with an in-built mesh lining, and drawstring cord at the waist. The funky pattern looked great, and they were really comfortable to move in, as well as having climalite technology to wick away sweat.

Women’s Adistar Boost Shoes – £120

Another pair of trainers to add to my collection, and these may take the top spot for most eye-catching! Engineered with groundbreaking boost foam cushioning that provides endless energy return I’m definitely excited to test these out on my next run.

Overall the new Adidas SS14 collection looks and feels great, combining high performance technology with on-trend prints, bold colour blocking and new fabric mixes. I love all the striking patterns and if you’re after some new pieces, this range is the perfect motivation to kick start your New Year fitness season in style.

I am also loving the true athletes they got to model the kit…

Olympic superstars launch new adidas collection

As for the hula hooping, I now am the proud owner of my very own hoop so will be practising my skills! The next day I had sore ribs and stomach, so it’s a real workout for your core, even if you just feel like you’re messing about 🙂