It can also help in improving the quality of life, including having better sleep at night. He believes that practicing his breathing and meditation techniques can help cure and prevent more diseases. Do your very best to block out any distracting thoughts and sounds around.Īs Wim Hof said, this will be difficult at first, but it will become easier with constant practice. Here, it would be best if you close your eyes then focus on your breathing. Once he is done with all the rounds of power breathing, he immediately meditates for a minimum of 5 minutes. Next is, he holds his breath for about 10-15 seconds. If you’re in this step, don’t focus too much on time or feel anxious if your time doesn’t increase quickly.Īfter Hof holds his breath until such time he feels a gasp reflex, he then inhales for about 10 seconds. To monitor how long he can hold his breath and improvement with the time, he is using a stopwatch to check it. Once Hof completes the first step, he empties his lungs and holds his breath as long as he can. When performing power breaths, you need to imagine being blowing up a balloon and need to picture it out as if your body is being concentrated with fresh oxygen.ĭuring this process, it is normal if you feel tingly or lightheaded.
It must be slow and steady, making sure his breathing is neither deep or shallow. Here, Hof starts his exercise with 30-40 breaths (inhale and exhale). There should be no distractions and minimal noise in that place so that he will be comfortable while exercising. Looking for a quiet place to sit or lie down is the first thing that Hof is doing. Anyone can learn and achieve what he has.
Then, in September, he ran a full marathon at the Namib Desert without water.ĭespite his achievements, Hof still insists that he is just a typical guy who has a lot of struggles in life, and even facing depression. Moving forward to 2016, Hof was able to reach Gilman’s point of Kilimanjaro together with journalist Scott Carney for only 28 hours (documented in the book “What Doesn’t Kill Us”). In February 2009, Hof’s made another world-record when he reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro for only two days wearing a pair of shorts and shoes. He had set another 16 world records for accomplishing the longest time in full-body contact with ice, including 1hour, 42minutes and 22 seconds (January 23, 2009), 1 hour, and 44 minutes (January 2010), One hour, 53 minutes, and 2 seconds (2013). But due to a recurring foot injury, he didn’t finish climbing up to the mountain’s peak. In 2007, it was recorded how Hof had climbed Mount Everest only wearing shorts and shoes with a total altitude of 23,600 ft. It was followed by another world record of being the fastest runner in a half marathon on January 26, 2007, in which he was able to run barefoot on ice and snow a total time of 2hrs., 16 mins., and 34 secs. Hof had set his first-ever Guinness World Record was on March 16, 2000, in which he accomplished swimming under the ice with a total distance of 188.6 ft.
When he had lost his first wife, the sadness he felt all the way had led him to develop and formulate techniques on how to face and survive low-temperature environments. His siblings are namely, Rob (1954), John (1955), Marianne (1957), Wim and Andre (1959-identical twins), Ruud (1961), Ed (1962), Marcel (1964), and Jacqueline (1967).Īt the age of 17, all of a sudden, he felt urged to jump on the freezing cold water of the Beatrixpark canal. To know more about the secret behind this Iceman’s success, dive in and find out more below.īorn on April 20, 1959, in Sittard, Netherlands, Wim Hof is one of Mr. To be like a Wim Hof superhuman, you need to follow his three pillars to maintain good health - cold therapy, breathing, and strong commitment.
Being known for his cold endurance feats, you’ll be prying what he has been through to accomplish such. Wearing only shorts and shoes, he had climbed on Mount Kilimanjaro and tried the same with Mount Everest. There was even a record of him running a half-marathon distance race over the Arctic circle bare-footed, and another one was in the Namib desert without water. With his strong resistance in very extreme temperatures, he was able to grab a total of 26 records, including a Guinness World Record for achieving the longest time ( 1hr, 54 min., and 42 sec.) in an ice bath. These are great words of Wim Hof, a popular Dutch extreme athlete or also best known as an “Iceman.” He has been known for his ability to endure and survive in sub-zero conditions by utilizing his psyche to direct his body temperature. There is more than meets the eye, and unless you are willing to experience new things, you’ll never realize your full potential.” – Wim Hof “We can do more than what we think.” It’s a belief system that I have adopted, and it has become my motto.