I started doing the Wim Hof method every day 10 months ago and this is what happened. If you're curious about the Wim Hof Method and its benefits, watch this video.
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Last November, the pandemic, US election and world events put me in a place where I couldn’t handle things very well anymore. My normal routine of exercise and the endorphins from that which normally kept me on a pretty even keel just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Not even close. I was ready to consult with my physician when an unexpected thing happened.
Now I want to preface things with the following. This is simply my experience and journey. In no way am I saying my journey is what anyone should do.
One day in early November I came across a YouTube video about Wim Hof and his breathing technique. I was equally amused and intrigued by the video and shortly after watching it shared it with my son.
I said, Hey, William check out this video about this crazy Dutchman, Wim Hof. He said I know Wim Hof. I’ve been doing the cold showers for a few weeks now. At this point, I had not heard about the cold therapy aspect of the Wim Hof technique. What cold shower thing, I asked? And, how did you even hear about Wim Hof? He told me that someone on his boxing team had told him about Wim Hof and he decided he’d give the cold therapy a try by incorporating cold showers into his routine.
Now the thought of a cold shower, or an ice bath, or swimming in ice-cold water did not spark joy for me at all. Who would purposely want to do that? I hated being cold, more than most people, I thought to myself.
But the fact that my son had sought this out on his own and had been doing it to try to enhance his training impressed the hell out of me. I wanted to encourage more of this and support him. I’ll do it with you, I said. We can do the breathing technique together and I’ll start incorporating the cold showers into my morning routine.
When I made this statement I had no expectations about the Wim Hom method. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I was very skeptical about it. But, I did hope that the meditative aspect of the breathing technique would have some benefit to my current situation.
My son only stuck with things for a couple of weeks. I, however, noticed something in the 1st week I did not expect at all. My mood had shifted after only a few days. I was noticeably calmer and more relaxed. In fact, I felt like no matter what the day threw at me, I was ready for it.
The first thing I thought to myself was, Is this just in my head. I was hoping this would help me feel better and because I wanted it to was that happening and it would soon dissipate or go away?
The only way to know for sure was to keep going. I have now been doing the Wim Hof method every day for 10 months and I can wholeheartedly say it has had a profound impact on my life.
It didn’t take long for me to start craving those cold showers and there has been the occasional day when I missed a breathing session in the morning and just had to do it later that day.
So, what is the Wim Hof breathing method and the cold therapy? Well, let me break it down for you.
The breathing technique is quite simple really. You sit or lie down in a comfortable space. Do not do the breathing technique while driving, or in water. You then do 30-40 deep inhalations followed by a relaxed exhalation. You do want to be forceful in the inhalation but you do not want to force the exhalation at all. Just a nice relaxed exhalation. On the last exhalation, you then hold your breath for as long as you can.
This is where you really get into the meditative aspect of things as you want to keep your body as relaxed as possible while slowing your heart rate. Common thinking is that it is only the air in our lungs that supports the body but it is actually every cell in your body that is primed with oxygen. When you get to the point of feeling like you need to inhale, blow the remaining air out of your lungs and you’ll be able to go for another 15-45 seconds. When you do inhale make it a deep inhalation and then hold for 10 seconds before exhaling. This is the recovery breath and it will feel so good. That whole cycle is considered 1 round.
I do 5 rounds of the breathing with breath retention and on the final round instead of simply holding my breath I do as many push-ups as I can with no air in my lungs. You will be surprised at how many you will be able to do. The no air push-ups is another aspect of the Wim Hof method and doing them every day for the past 10 months has been incredible. My best is 90 no air push-ups but for the last few months, I’ve consistently been around 75. It’s not about the numbers. Every day you are going to feel differently and some days will be better than others.
It’s just like any workout. You have to listen to your body. My longest breath retention time is 4:26 seconds but most days I’m between 3:45 and 4:00 minutes.
My curiosity of what would happen if I stuck with it and did this every day has paid off in the most amazing and unexpected ways. The state of calm it puts me into is fantastic and really helps me face anything I have to deal with during the day.
Of course, I still have my ups and downs. This isn’t some sort of magic cure but man has it altered my life. There are times when I’m doing either the breathing technique or cold shower and I think to myself, I’m crazy for doing this. But the result and effects it’s had on me physically, mentally, and emotionally are undeniable.
The cold therapy aspect can be done in various ways. Wim is called the Ice Man for a reason. His penchant for swimming in the most frigid and glacial water he can find is renowned. So, if you have access to cold bodies of water you can do it there. Many people have also constructed their own ice bathtubs at home. I’ve simply done the cold showers as it was the easiest thing to incorporate into my daily routine.
You have your normal shower, as usual, to get clean. Once you’re finished, you then turn the shower as cold as it can go and hang out there for as long as you can. You can start with 30 seconds and then increase your time by 5 seconds each day. I started at 1:30 and quickly got up to 3 to 3:30 minutes which is now my daily practice.
There is a fantastic app that Wim Hof has to track and record your results. I used the free version for the first 3 months or so and then simply paid for the full version. It’s only about $50 for the year.
This is a great way to not only have Wim guide you through the breathing technique but also to have the cold showers timed and tracked.
How long will I keep doing this? I don’t know. I’ll be coming up on the 1-year mark in just a few months and I don’t see myself giving this up anytime soon.
If you’ve tried the Wim Hof method let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear what your experience was like. If this video inspires you to give it a try also let me know. I’d love to hear how it goes.
Have an awesome day and as Wim Hof likes to say, breathe motherfucker!
There are times when I’m doing either the breathing technique or cold shower and I think to myself, I’m crazy for doing this. But the result and effects it’s had on me physically, mentally, and emotionally are undeniable.
Last November, the pandemic, US election and world events put me in a place where I couldn’t handle things very well anymore. My normal routine of exercise and the endorphins from that which normally kept me on a pretty even keel just wasn’t cutting it anymore. Not even close. I was ready to consult with my physician when an unexpected thing happened.
Now I want to preface things with the following. This is simply my experience and journey. In no way am I saying my journey is what anyone should do.
One day in early November I came across a YouTube video about Wim Hof and his breathing technique. I was equally amused and intrigued by the video and shortly after watching it shared it with my son.
I said, Hey, William check out this video about this crazy Dutchman, Wim Hof. He said I know Wim Hof. I’ve been doing the cold showers for a few weeks now. At this point, I had not heard about the cold therapy aspect of the Wim Hof technique. What cold shower thing, I asked? And, how did you even hear about Wim Hof? He told me that someone on his boxing team had told him about Wim Hof and he decided he’d give the cold therapy a try by incorporating cold showers into his routine.
Now the thought of a cold shower, or an ice bath, or swimming in ice-cold water did not spark joy for me at all. Who would purposely want to do that? I hated being cold, more than most people, I thought to myself.
But the fact that my son had sought this out on his own and had been doing it to try to enhance his training impressed the hell out of me. I wanted to encourage more of this and support him. I’ll do it with you, I said. We can do the breathing technique together and I’ll start incorporating the cold showers into my morning routine.
When I made this statement I had no expectations about the Wim Hom method. In fact, it was quite the opposite. I was very skeptical about it. But, I did hope that the meditative aspect of the breathing technique would have some benefit to my current situation.
My son only stuck with things for a couple of weeks. I, however, noticed something in the 1st week I did not expect at all. My mood had shifted after only a few days. I was noticeably calmer and more relaxed. In fact, I felt like no matter what the day threw at me, I was ready for it.
The first thing I thought to myself was, Is this just in my head. I was hoping this would help me feel better and because I wanted it to was that happening and it would soon dissipate or go away?
The only way to know for sure was to keep going. I have now been doing the Wim Hof method every day for 10 months and I can wholeheartedly say it has had a profound impact on my life.
It didn’t take long for me to start craving those cold showers and there has been the occasional day when I missed a breathing session in the morning and just had to do it later that day.
So, what is the Wim Hof breathing method and the cold therapy? Well, let me break it down for you.
The breathing technique is quite simple really. You sit or lie down in a comfortable space. Do not do the breathing technique while driving, or in water. You then do 30-40 deep inhalations followed by a relaxed exhalation. You do want to be forceful in the inhalation but you do not want to force the exhalation at all. Just a nice relaxed exhalation. On the last exhalation, you then hold your breath for as long as you can.
This is where you really get into the meditative aspect of things as you want to keep your body as relaxed as possible while slowing your heart rate. Common thinking is that it is only the air in our lungs that supports the body but it is actually every cell in your body that is primed with oxygen. When you get to the point of feeling like you need to inhale, blow the remaining air out of your lungs and you’ll be able to go for another 15-45 seconds. When you do inhale make it a deep inhalation and then hold for 10 seconds before exhaling. This is the recovery breath and it will feel so good. That whole cycle is considered 1 round.
I do 5 rounds of the breathing with breath retention and on the final round instead of simply holding my breath I do as many push-ups as I can with no air in my lungs. You will be surprised at how many you will be able to do. The no air push-ups is another aspect of the Wim Hof method and doing them every day for the past 10 months has been incredible. My best is 90 no air push-ups but for the last few months, I’ve consistently been around 75. It’s not about the numbers. Every day you are going to feel differently and some days will be better than others.
It’s just like any workout. You have to listen to your body. My longest breath retention time is 4:26 seconds but most days I’m between 3:45 and 4:00 minutes.
My curiosity of what would happen if I stuck with it and did this every day has paid off in the most amazing and unexpected ways. The state of calm it puts me into is fantastic and really helps me face anything I have to deal with during the day.
Of course, I still have my ups and downs. This isn’t some sort of magic cure but man has it altered my life. There are times when I’m doing either the breathing technique or cold shower and I think to myself, I’m crazy for doing this. But the result and effects it’s had on me physically, mentally, and emotionally are undeniable.
The cold therapy aspect can be done in various ways. Wim is called the Ice Man for a reason. His penchant for swimming in the most frigid and glacial water he can find is renowned. So, if you have access to cold bodies of water you can do it there. Many people have also constructed their own ice bathtubs at home. I’ve simply done the cold showers as it was the easiest thing to incorporate into my daily routine.
You have your normal shower, as usual, to get clean. Once you’re finished, you then turn the shower as cold as it can go and hang out there for as long as you can. You can start with 30 seconds and then increase your time by 5 seconds each day. I started at 1:30 and quickly got up to 3 to 3:30 minutes which is now my daily practice.
There is a fantastic app that Wim Hof has to track and record your results. I used the free version for the first 3 months or so and then simply paid for the full version. It’s only about $50 for the year.
This is a great way to not only have Wim guide you through the breathing technique but also to have the cold showers timed and tracked.
How long will I keep doing this? I don’t know. I’ll be coming up on the 1-year mark in just a few months and I don’t see myself giving this up anytime soon.
If you’ve tried the Wim Hof method let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear what your experience was like. If this video inspires you to give it a try also let me know. I’d love to hear how it goes.
Have an awesome day and as Wim Hof likes to say, breathe motherfucker!
