Wim Hof, known as ‘Iceman’ or ‘The Iceman’ for his tolerance to the cold, is spending a few days in Ibiza. Hof is a 64-year-old Dutch extreme athlete famous for his ability to withstand freezing temperatures and feats such as running a half marathon in the Arctic Circle and summiting Everest in shorts and without a shirt.
Hof has written several books about his training which he has marketed and calls the ‘Wim Hof Method (WHM)’, which he practices himself and which is based on three pillars: cold therapy, breathing and meditation. The aim is to improve health and physical and mental performance. Its followers point out that it increases immunity, improves sleep, reduces stress and enhances concentration.
Its presence on the island has been unveiled not by his social networks, but by those of the British singer Rita Ora, who is in lbiza with her husband, filmmaker Taika Waititi. The three have shared a day in a farmhouse where the athlete has played the guitar and even sang. Also they have shared a bathtub with water and ice where they have been able to practice their famous method.
The athlete has broken Guinness records by swimming under ice and completely submerged in ice for a long time, as well as running a half marathon on ice and snow. Wim Hof attributes these feats to his Wim Hof Method (WHM).
Master your mind and developing “super human skills” is what the supporters of the controversial wim Hof method. The Dutch athlete claims that, by following his guidelines, he is able to train his autonomic nervous system to encourage it to generate an immune response at will. All this despite the fact that, according to science, control our own body temperature and our immune system at will is impossible for a normal human. This is why the followers of the Wim Hof method speak of “super human abilities”. But what does this method consist of?
Breathing and exposure to cold
Perform 30 deep breaths: it is about breathing in as much air as you can, filling your lungs completely and noticing how the diaphragm expands. Then you should release the air suddenly and quickly, and hold it as long as possible before taking the next breath.
Holding without breathingafter these 30 deep breaths, you must take in as much air as you can and hold it for 15 to 20 seconds before releasing it. Repeat the process three times.
You must perform this breath three more times.
Finally, you should give yourself a ice water shower holding as long as possible under the jet. It doesn’t matter if you have to step away from the water for several seconds as long as you then get back in. The idea is to avoid pain. This should be done on a daily basis, prolonging the time of exposure to cold gradually. As tolerance to cold temperatures increases, you can move on to doing the same thing outdoors. For example, we can choose to go outside lightly dressed in winter.
“Human will to master the mind.”
Hof created this method after a personal crisis: his wife took her own life in the middle of a psychotic break and the Dutchman was left alone to care for his four children. To try to overcome this period of his life, the athlete took the knowledge he had about meditation and started with this practice. Thus, little by little, he began to developing his own method with which, according to him, one can “dominate body and soul by human will”. But, as he himself explains, this method would have an infinite number of benefits for the body;
Increases fat burning and weight loss Strengthens the immune system Improves lung capacity and sports performance It is a natural anti-inflammatory and analgesic for the body, so it can help heal injuries or reduce discomfort from migraines Increases energy Improves sleep quality Reduces stress, anxiety and depression and even allows us to improve asthma control
All this between a enormous amount of physical and mental health benefits that, according to Hof, anyone can obtain by practicing his method on a sustained basis over time. Of course, science also has something to say about all this.
Method Vs. science
The truth is that ‘The Iceman’ has undergone several scientific studies to prove the benefits of his method. In 2016, Yale University School of Medicine subjected Hof and several followers to a medical test in which they were inoculated with an endotoxin that simulated flu symptoms to measure their immune response. The result was that Wim Hof’s followers produced higher levels of epinephrine, so they experienced fewer symptoms. So it can be said that the method does reduce flu symptoms.
More recently, in 2019, the University of Bern in Switzerland found that those who practice the Wim Hof method may see some of their inflammatory markers reduced, although the study was inconclusive. Furthermore, according to the journal Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, it is also beneficial for those who must adapt to staying in high altitude environments such as mountaineers or climbers.
Beyond that, there are multiple studies that show that the cold generates an impact to our bodies that helps us to burn the called brown fat. The idea is that, to warm up, the body must burn calories and thus its fat reserves, so exposing ourselves to low temperatures helps us lose weight and fat. But, for this, it is not necessary to follow any method. It would be enough to expose ourselves to the cold of winter.
The same goes for breathing control and meditation: there are hundreds of studies showing their psychological benefits: reducing stress, anxiety and depression, improving concentration, mood and even the immune system. Again, you don’t need to follow Hof’s steps to get all these benefits. All you need to do is apply any meditationbreathing exercises and even yoga.
The rest of the long list of benefits Hof claims his method produces have not been proven by science.
Can everyone climb Everest shirtless?
Considering that this method has somewhat aggressive practices with the body, not everyone can carry it out. It is not advisable for pregnant or breastfeeding women, nor for people suffering from hypertension, epilepsy, heart disease or respiratory problems, among others.
In addition, it should be noted that, at the beginning, the practice of this method may cause dizziness, ringing in the ears, tremors and tingling in the extremities. It seems that not everyone can master the body at will, nor is it possible to control the body at will can crown Everest in shorts.
For the full article, please visit Diario de Ibiza website here.