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Instructor Jayne Gaffney

TURN the clock back 20 years, and there I was - a frustrated seven-year-old who could not get a simple, light plastic hoop to whoosh around my middle like the other girls in our street.

Back to the present and I was still that frustrated girl, only not so little, and the years had not somehow miraculously given me the ability to hula hoop with the best of them.

The best of them being Jayne Gaffney, the instructor of Fitness Hooping at Calne Leisure Centre, who throughout the 45 minute class, did not let her hoop leave her waist - except on neatly choreographed moves dipping it down to the bottom and back up again.

Like I was going to manage that!

Fitness hooping is just one of the classes on offer at the newly reopened leisure centre in Calne, which was shut by North Wiltshire District Council in March 2007, and is now run by a dedicated team of volunteers.

I was drawn to the class because of its unusual name and wasn't entirely sure what to expect, with images of the candy striped rings of my childhood.

Instead the neon hoops are bigger in diameter, at 37in and 41in, and are thicker than the standard toy, plus they are weighted at 500g for the smaller ones and 600g for the larger.

After a quick briefing, including a warning about potential bruising and picking up the dropped hoops carefully (something I took great note of, anticipating that would be my greatest exercise), Jayne switched on the CD player and away we went. "We" used in a very loose term - and not including myself.

"It really does attract everyone, people of all ages from teenagers at school to older ladies," said Jayne.

"I've been told by the makers that the bigger hoops are easier but I don't know. Taller people sometimes find the bigger ones better too."

And the class was pretty much that, with nine of us trying - and succeeding in some cases - to whirl their hoops about while completing a series of simple aerobics moves such as side steps and lunges, as well as hooping poses such as the Egyptian with palms pressed together over the head.

Aside from the bruising, one warning we weren't given was snapping fingernails.

I blame the distracting pain of a bent back nail - ladies will understand me here - on my complete and utter failure to manage anything more than a handful of rotations before losing it and dropping the ring.

Although I had mastered little more than the handful of circles, by the end of the class I was keen to come back again. "Is hula hooping a talent anyone can master, or is it a more particular skill that only comes naturally and cannot be developed and practised?" I asked myself.

I certainly got a good rosy glow to my cheeks during the class, although fitter candidates may find the cardio element of this class is not hard enough. I would suggest it to anyone wanting some form of exercise, as it is a fun class which so long as you can keep the frustration in check does provide a workout.

I did go back again and the hula hooping did get better. No broken nails this time and I have managed to sustain the rotation for slightly longer.

The secret, or so it seemed, is to keep the hoop below your actual waistline, nearer the tops of the hip bones.

Another week, another warning - be prepared for bigger, badder bruises. Whoever said hula hooping wasn't an extreme sport?

n Fitness hooping, Calne Leisure centre, Mondays 7.05pm, Thursdays 10.15am, 7.15pm. Pay as you go £3 per session for non-members. See www.calneleisure centre.co.uk

10:10am Tuesday 22nd January 2008

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