The Four Oaks resident, from a family prone to heart disease, was looking for a way to stay in shape when she enrolled in a Hula Hoop class at HealthQuest, the hospital-owned fitness center. It took Parker two weeks to get the Hula Hoop off the ground.

“My ankle was black from the hoop hitting it, but I stayed with it,” she said. “I was hooping at home, and it flew and hit the dog in the nose. If I bring it home, my dog will run and hide.”

In a recent class, Parker dropped the Hula Hoop just a few times as she and her classmates spun hoops on their arms, around their knees and behind their backs.

“The trick about hooping is you are so focused on how you are handling the hoop, you don’t think about how many calories you are burning,” instructor Lisa Donner told the class. “Think about how you are strengthening your heart, how you are strengthening your arms and how you are strengthening your core.”

At home, Mary Rowshanaee of Wilson’s Mills clears out space in her living room and watches television while hooping. As a child, Rowshanaee was never good with a Hula Hoop; now, she can’t get enough of the childhood exercise.

“It’s a lot of fun,” she said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

Both Parker and Rowshanaee say they have noticed more bounce in their step since enrolling in the class.

“I am always trying to stay healthy and feeling good,” said Rowshanaee, a teacher at West Smithfield Elementary School. “When we come in the morning [to class], it just energizes me for the whole day.”

Exercising with a Hula Hoop a great alternative for folks who are tired of their old routines, Donner said. “You can work everything with the Hula Hoop because you have to be the resistance,” she said.

“Believe it or not, your heart rates gets up, and that is where you can increase the resistance.” Students in her class burn a lot of calories, Donner said.

“As many calories as you would burn running the pace of an eight-minute mile is how many you would burn in my classes, which are 30 minutes,” Donner said. “It is no-impact, but high intensity. That is what makes it such a good mind and body workout.”

Donner wants more people in the class. “It brings out the kid in you,” she said. “We know we’ve got to exercise, but we stop playing. Why not put the two together and just have fun with it?”

Donner’s class is at 7:15 a.m. Mondays, 6:15 p.m. Tuesdays and 6:30 a.m. Thursdays in the HealthQuest aerobics room. The class is free for HealthQuest members. It is $10 for all others.