When you think about inspirational people in the health, fitness, and wellbeing industry, Wim Hof, or “The Iceman” will most likely come to mind!
Whether you’ve heard about Wim Hof because of his Guinness World Records, his insightful breathwork techniques, or his strict and intense intermittent fasting diet, he’s a popular man, and for some very interesting reasons.
Wim Hof is an incredible person with impressive accolades to back his beliefs up – there’s no doubt that it’s justifiable why this man has such a huge following and rapport in the health industry.
If you want to know more about who Wim Hof is, learn about the specific details of his workout, or find out what his intense diet regime is made up of, this article is for you – we’re going to be talking about all things Wim Hof!
Who Is Wim Hof?
Wim Hof was born in Sittard, Holland, on April 20th, 1959. When Hof was 17, he felt the urge to jump into the cold water of the Beatrixpark canal in Amsterdam, and since then, he’s been addicted to plunging himself into cold water and facing low-temperature environments.
When Hof’s wife died by suicide in 1995, he was encompassed by sadness, and this intense sadness made him push his body and mind further.
He felt even more compelled to push his physical and mental boundaries and create techniques to survive in low temperatures. He created the “Wim Hof Method.”
On March 16th, 2000, Hof set his first Guinness World Record by swimming under the ice for 57.5 meters. After setting this world record, he didn’t stop! In 2007, he set another record of being the fastest runner in a half marathon, running barefoot on ice and snow.
Then, Hof attempted to climb Mount Everest wearing just shorts and shoes to an altitude of 23,600 ft. He only came down after suffering from a flare-up of a reoccurring foot injury.
Since then, Hof set 16 other world records, including the world record for longest-time in full-body contact with ice and the fastest summit of Mount Kilimanjaro wearing just a pair of shorts and shoes.
Additionally, one of the most impressive records set by Hof was running a marathon in the Namib Desert without water.
Wim Hof continues to promote his method for pushing mental and physical boundaries today whilst also being candid, real and speaking out about his struggles with issues such as depression.
Hof claims that anyone can do extraordinary things by following the techniques he has created.
Wim Hof’s Workout Routine
Now you know all about Wim Hof, it’s time to take a look at his workout routine and later on, in more detail, what the “Wim Hof Method” really looks like.
Wake Up and Stretch
The first part of Wim Hof’s workout routine starts as soon as he gets out of bed in the morning. Wim wakes up and stretches immediately upon waking.
He stretches his back, touches his toes, and then reaches up towards the sky whilst standing on tip-toes. Each position is held for three seconds to get the most out of this movement, and the sequence is repeated twice.
In addition to these simple movements, Wim also practices certain yoga poses to stretch his body in the morning. In particular, child’s pose, forward and backbends, planks, and bicycle crunches.
Hof claims that by stretching upon waking, the mind-body connection is strengthened.
Power Breathing
Breathwork is an important part of the Wim Hof Method, which we will take a much closer look at later in this article. However, power breathing is a crucial part of Hof’s workout routine.
Hof inhales deeply and steadily through the nose, holding a count of 10 seconds. He then exhales deeply through the mouth to a count of 10 again. He then repeats this process 30-40 times without stopping.
This type of breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, calming the body and reducing stress and anxiety levels.
Cold Shower
Although exposing himself to the cold is a regular and essential part of the Wim Hof Method, which we will take a closer look at later on, Hof ensures that he has a cold shower every day. Hof spends 2-3 minutes in a cold shower daily.
Related: Cold Plunge Benefits
The Wim Hof Method
Although aspects of Wim Hof’s workout that we’ve mentioned above are, of course, held within the Wim Hof Method, let’s take a closer look at what the Wim Hof Method is and how you can incorporate it into your life to improve your overall health and wellbeing.
There are three pillars to the Wim Hof Method – Breathing, Cold Therapy, and Commitment.
Breathing
Breathing is one of the most important aspects of the Wim Hof Method, with Hof claiming that this breathing technique will boost energy levels, reduce stress levels, and improve the immune system.
The entire method can be practiced like this:
Step 1Do Power Breathing
As mentioned above, power breathing is done by inhaling deeply and steadily through the nose, holding a count of 10 seconds, then exhaling deeply through the mouth to a count of 10. You should then repeat this process 30-40 times with no break.
You may experience light-headedness or feel your body go tingly whilst you power breathes – this is normal.
Step 2Completely Hold Your Breath
Once you’ve done power breathing, you will hold your breath. Breathe deeply, empty your lungs, and hold your breath for as long as you can.
Try to relax into it and find a peaceful space in your mind – this will make it easier for you to hold your breath.
If you want to, you can time yourself to see how long you can hold your breath for and measure your change over time. However, ensure you’re not focusing on the time because if you do, you’re not likely to hold your breath as long.
Step 3Take A Deep Breath and Hold
Once you need to gasp and after you're holding your breath, inhale deeply for 10 seconds, hold your breath for 10 seconds, and then release.
Step 4Repeat For 4 Rounds
To truly benefit from this breathing technique, you must repeat these three steps four times.
Step 5Meditate
The final step to the breathing part of the Wim Hof method is meditation. Once you have completed the steps above, you should meditate for five minutes, minimum.
Focus on the breath, but breathe slowly and calmly, and try to block out any sounds and remove thoughts from your mind.
Cold Therapy
The other main aspect of Wim Hof’s Method is cold therapy, which can be done by practicing cold exposure.
Wim Hof claims that cold exposure reduces inflammation in the body, helps to balance hormone levels, improves sleep, promotes the production of endorphins and supports fat loss.
You can practice cold exposure in 2 main ways.
Cold Showers
If you’re new to taking cold showers, you might not want to dive right into it and take prolonged cold showers – you might not be ready for it!
So, start cold exposure slowly.
When you’re trying to cold shower, for the first week, you may want to start as normal by having a warm shower.
Then, turn the heat off for the last 10-30 seconds of your shower so that the water is fully cold. If you can’t hack that, you can emerge your legs or feet into the cold water.
After this first week of slowly exposing yourself to cold water, take it up a notch and start exposing yourself to longer and longer cold showers.
After some time, you should be able to handle getting into a cold shower from the outset.
Once you can do this, try to spend longer periods of time under the water. 2-3 minutes in a cold shower is great and can provide benefits, but if you can last longer, that’s even better!
Ice Baths
If you want to take cold exposure a step further, practice using ice baths.
You can either head to a wellness center and use their ice bath, or you can create your own ice bath at home simply by filling up your bath halfway with cold water and then adding 2-3 bags of crushed ice into it.
You can start by sitting in an ice bath for 1-2 minutes and then work your way up to 15 minutes or longer.
Related: Best ice bathes
Commitment
The final aspect of the Wim Hof Method is commitment.
You must commit to it to fully benefit from the Wim Hof breathing technique and the cold exposure method. To ensure your commitment to the method is strong, you may want to try the Wim Hof 30-Day Challenge to start with!
Wim Hof’s Diet
Wim Hof has a fully vegetarian diet and only eats one proper meal daily, scheduled after 6 pm.
The meal Wim Hof eats after 6 pm is either vegetable soup or pasta, and throughout the day, he eats nuts and fruit. He also only drinks water, green tea, coffee, and the occasional beer in the evening.
The estimated macros of Wim Hof’s Diet are 10% protein, 20% low-medium fat, and 70% high carb.
We Can All Learn From Wim Hof
Wim Hof is clearly a very talented man that has biohacked his way to success, pushing physical and mental boundaries.
Whether you want to get involved in the Wim Hof Method or you implement aspects of it into your daily life, we can all learn something from this impressive man!