It might be an activity that's done more for fun than fitness, but make no mistake -- hula hooping can be quite a workout. In fact, as CafeMom recently posted, it can even be used to help you slim down.

You can tone your tummy with a Hoopilates class or pick up a hooping DVD that will show you the ins and outs of getting fit with the hula hoop. Make sure you're using a weighted one for an extra challenge, and check out these easy moves that can get you started. Keep in mind that you don't always have to use your hula hoop in the traditional manner -- it can be used to tone all your muscles, not just the abs.

So it's no wonder Hula Hooping is catching on all over the place -- even Michelle Obama is doing it!

Keep track of the latest in diet and fitness Twitter trends and opinions with this weekly post. Not only will AOL Health's Twitter alias Healthpop and That's_Fit ask fitness-related questions and share the best responses with you, we'll scour the Twittersphere for the latest buzz on everything from good eats to exercise routines gone bad.

---

Hopping on the treadmill and sweating it out on the elliptical are things of the past for many of Twitter's fittest tweeters. They've put traditional workouts on the back burner and are trying something new. Check out which exercise waters they've tested.

If you missed our daily postings this past week, we invite you to take some time to catch up on our prior week's news and gear up for a new week of healthy living information and inspiration.

Angelina Jolie and Britney Spears -- Is it training, or are they using a secret ingredient?

One of these guys used to date a celebrity and used to be 35 pounds heavier. Can you guess who it is?

Jacki thinks Jennifer Connelly is getting sucked into the scary skinny Hollywood culture. Take a look and see what you think.

Oprah, now back at 200 pounds, asks "How could this happen again?" Fitz weighs in.

We want everything BIG ... except our bodies. Can we have it both ways? Find out what Jacki has to say.

Squats are a great way to tone up and build a little strength. Have you perfected yours? Watch this video to find out.

Jennifer Aniston has always been a fit celeb. And at 39, it definitely shows! Can you imagine posing in nothing but a tie right before you turn 40?

Got a sweet tooth? Then this won't surprise you at all ... sugar is officially addictive. (But don't let that stop you from trying to quit it. If I can do it, so can you.)

Chasing your kids can keep you busy from dawn to dusk. But is it fitness? What do you think?

Can dark chocolate stop you from gaining this holiday season? And if it can't, what about burning off those extra calories with a hula hoop instead?

Have a great week everyone!

Debra Messing is a big ol' complainer. She hates to exercise, and she doesn't care who knows it. But, with a job like hers, it's not really something she can skip.

How does this Reno 911! star keep in such svelte shape when her kids are keeping her busy and away from the gym? She has some special equipment that she uses in front of the TV, and you'll be surprised at what it is.

Have you given much thought to Sandra Bullock's butt? We're thinking about it, and we can tell you how to get it.

"Candace from the whirlyGirlz will be doing a hooping circle," said the executive director of the children's non-profit whose board I sit on. It barely registered, was it sewing hoops or hula? I didn't even know.

Cut to six weeks later, and I'm in the middle of a park, surrounded by hundreds-year-old trees, a variety of adventurous types ages one to sixty, and piles of wildly-colored hoops. And we're suddenly hooping.

Gone are the Hawaiian roots of the hula hoop, and replacing them is a mystical part-Nia, part-power of positive thinking, part-50s zaniness amalgam that emphasizes staying in tune with your body and bringing it. According to Candace's web site, hooping benefits your body through "core isolation, meditative flow, and intrinsic massage in the organs and tissue of the muscles." Basic hooping classes teach how to move the hoop around various parts of your body (the waist, it is just the beginning), how to move with your hoop, and how to interact as part of a hooping circle. For the more advanced, the logical next step is hooping performance and hoop jams.

Hooping is surprisingly easy; by the end of a 45-minute session, even the clunkiest among us had gotten the hoop to spin around us and managed to find at least one hooping specialty to call our own. To find a class in your own neighborhood (San Francisco, LA, Portland, Vancouver and New York are all hooping hotspots), check out Hooping.org magazine.