I've always seen the word life hack in news feeds from friends in various social media platforms and surely you would have as well, but sometimes the word life hack has been used over and over again but with not enough weight in them. However there is one life hack I know that definitely belongs into that coveted "life hack category" and that's the Wim Hof Method. Before I begin here is the summary of what I'll cover and it should on average be a 5-10 Min read.
- Part One : How I got to know the Wim Hof Method
- Part Two : Getting to know the Man behind the Method and his achievements
- Part Three: The benefits of this Method
- Part Four: How it Works
So please do take a look and hopefully you enjoy this childishly done but well intended article.
Part One : How I encountered the Wim Hof Method.
It was December 2016 and I'm in bed shivering. I've got the flu again and I thought to myself I can't remember a time that I did not have a flu or fever during these times of the year.
Frustration crept in and I got to thinking, is it the weather or is it that my immune system is just weak and I'm to suffer like this for the rest of my life?! (looking back I really was quite overly dramatic). Unable to accept the conclusion I've drawn. I jumped out of bed ( or maybe just crawled out of it slowly) and hopped in to Google and typed how to improve blah blah blah.
So that is where I found Wim Hof right?
At least not yet.
I read up on the first few websites I find interesting. You know, the basic stuff like exercising and cutting back on sugar as well as stop smoking etc etc etc. Turns out to some degree I do follow most of the suggestions they give and quite frankly its common sense and honestly it's nothing new. Somehow I still was't satisfied. There has to be something like a hack that can improve my body so that I never get sick again or at least make it minimal as getting sick is definitely not a good feeling.
And so I put in an ambitious keyword search that would yield a peculiar result.
"How to Never Get Sick Again."
The first search result entry Google gave me was a Youtube Video uploaded by Evan Carmichael titled
How to NEVER Get Sick Again - The WIM HOF "Iceman" Method
Here is the link.
I was amazed at the Idea that was presented to me. So amazed I felt better already ( Some weird Placebo thing right there )
I mean come on. This video shows a guy swimming in a frozen lake & trekking Mt Everest ( in his Shorts! ) Dios Mio!
Yeah. That was really how I felt after watching this video and the next video and the next video after that. I'm hooked
I had to know more...
Part Two : The Who of The WIM HOF METHOD
Still reading?
Great! Stick around. I think this is really worth your time.
Let's begin on knowing the guy.
Wim Hof is a 58 yr old slightly eccentric dutch daredevil with a kick ass moniker
"The Ice Man" and holds 26 World Records.
Despite his age and thinning hair he's done superhuman feats including (Queue Drum roll)
Conquering the Mt Everest in his Shorts!
I know I've already mentioned that before but come on it's really not that easy. People die climbing Mt. Everest.
Held and broke his Guiness Record for Staying submerged in Ice
Record time 1 Hr 44 Minutes
Held the Guiness Record for fastest half marathon barefoot on Ice
Record time of 2 Hr 16 Min 34 Sec
And then just after we thought the Iceman powers only work in cold places, he surprises us with another feat.
He owns the record for a 26 Mile run on the Namib desert
Without drinking a single drop of water!.
Yeah. Jaw dropping super human level right?
If those achievements doesn't amaze you, I don't know what will.
Part Three: What's in it for me?
You might say, yeah yeah he's great and all but how is it related to you getting sick again? Why should I care ?
Okay.
So now we know who he is. Let's get to the reason why I had introduced him in the first place.
Wim Hof claims his feats can be replicated and that any regular human being can given enough time "to a certain degree achieve this extraordinary feats"
What a load of BS! That's not possible! ( is that what you are saying right now? )
Here is an interesting fact: Wim has a twin brother and he is not able to do what Wim is doing but has led numerous ordinary people to Mt Everest. He's also led an expedition along people with debilitating conditions on a hike to Mt. Kilimanjaro in record time to boot.
Wait wait wait. So you mean to tell me if I use his method given enough time I can walk barefoot in the winter in ice and so much more?
Yep. Plus you get to beat your own personal record of longest time holding your breath as well.
Now do I have your attention?
What ? You're still not convinced ?!
Alright, here's more "Benefits of The Wim Hof method:"
- Increased energy
- Better sleep
- Heightened focus & determination
- Improved sports performance
- Reduced stress levels
- Greater cold tolerance
- Faster recovery ( muscular pain from workout and wounds )
- Enhanced creativity
- You will get a natural mood booster – (because of the released endorphins aka “love hormones”)
- Better circulation of the blood, preventing clogged arteries
- Reduced inflammation
and most importantly
- Strengthened Immune System
Now do I have your attention?
Great!
Part Four: How it Works
The Wim Hof Method has Three Pillars : Cold Therapy Breathing and Commitment.
We will focus on Breathing and Cold Therapy because Commitment part is you know, committing to it (it is important that you make the commitment nonetheless).
Breathing
Breathing
First on the list is finding "THE COMFY SPOT"
Sit in a meditation posture, whatever is most comfortable for you. Make sure you can expand your lungs freely without feeling any constriction. It is recommended to do this practice right after waking up since your stomach is still empty or before a meal.
Then do "30 POWER BREATHS"
Imagine you’re blowing up a balloon. Inhale through the nose or mouth and exhale through the mouth in short but powerful bursts. Keep a steady pace and use your midriff fully. Close your eyes and do this around 30 times. Symptoms could be a feeling of lightheadedness , tingling sensations in the body. This is an effect of the brain being deprived of oxygen causing from decreased CO2 in the body when you are doing power Breaths
Then we "HOLD" our breath
After the 30 rapid successions of breath cycles, draw the breath in once more and fill the lungs to maximum capacity without using any force. Then let the air out and hold for as long as you can without force. Hold the breath until you experience the gasp reflex.
Penultimately the "RECOVERY BREATH"
Inhale to full capacity. Feel your chest expanding. When you are at full capacity, hold the breath for around 10 seconds and this will be round one. The breathing exercise can be repeated 3 rounds after each other.
The Final part is the "FEELING"
After having completed the breathing exercise take your time to enjoy the feeling afterward. This feeling will be more and more like a meditation.
When you start doing these exercises we recommend to take your time recovering from the breathing exercise. After doing the breathing exercise and you feel good, you can start with taking the cold shower.
Breathing Technique Checklist for Dummies
+-30 times balloon blowing
Breathe in fully
Breath out without force and hold until gasp reflex
Inhale fully and hold for 10 seconds
Repeat until finished and recover from the breathing exercise
Cold Shower
Cold Shower
If you are new to cold exposure, just end your warm shower with 15 - 30 seconds with cold water only. Begin with your feet and then follow with your legs, your stomach, shoulders, neck, and back. An initial shock, shivering and hyperventilation is normal. Try to remain calm and breathe easily. Close your eyes and really try to embrace the cold. Don't pour the cold water over the head if you are not known with cold exposure. If you feel heavy shivering, numbness or pain please get your body warm again as soon as possible.
Cold exposure works like weight lifting, you get stronger over time. There are little muscles around your veins that contract when they get into contact with the cold. After some time (only 1-2 weeks according to Wim) these become stronger, making your veins healthier and reducing the force that your heart has to use to pump blood around your body.
You can increase exposure over time. At one point the cold will feel just as comfortable as wearing your favorite pajamas and you can skip the warm shower completely. Notice how you feel amazing after a cold shower and sluggish after a warm one.
This concludes my Wif Hof nut-hugging/ Wim Hof Method article. I wish you the best of luck and please don't try doing what he's been doing on your first few weeks ok? He's been exposed to the cold and began his interest in cold immersion when he was 17 and only after decades of practice did he do these stuff. Now I know your a special snowflake so maybe you can do all of these in 1 or 2 years so let's wait till then before you try ok?
Below is their website and their learning course.
It covers a 10 Week in-depth Program.
https://www.wimhofmethod.com/elearning
If this post will in the future change your life or maybe it helps you in any way.
Please support Wim Hof and his team by enrolling in his course.
I plan on doing a follow up diving more on to the Science of How this Method works ( includes scientific papers and hopefully diagrams, Youtube videos and my personal experience thru months of trying this method. If you liked my post please stick around and follow me as your support really means a lot to me. I know my article has some serious writing touches to work on, but I'm learning and I'm posting this because I really want to share the knowledge I learned and hopefully change a few lives along the way. After all is it not what this community is about.
Happy Steeming :)
References
[1]http://www.superhumanhealth.org/videos/guinness-records-worlds-longest-ice-bath/
[2] http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/fastest-half-marathon-barefoot-on-icesnow
[3] http://www.superhumanhealth.org/videos/wim-hof-runs-26-mile-marathon-african-desert
[4] https://www.wimhofmethod.com/
[5] http://www.livingflow.net/wim-hof-method/#Wim_Hof_MethodBenefits