"Ice Man" Wim Hof: biography, books, methodology, interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

Wim Hof is a Dutch resident who is commonly referred to as The Iceman for his ability to withstand extreme cold. He was born on April 20, 1959 in the city of Sittard. In addition to him, the family had eight more children: six boys and two girls. Now Wim Hof has five children: four from his first marriage and a son born in 2003 from his current wife.

The start of the journey

By the time Wim reached adolescence, he was already running barefoot in the snow without much discomfort. This was the beginning of a large series of confrontations with the cold, in which new limits of human capabilities were set each time, surprising the whole world. The longest stay in ice is not the only record set by Wim Hof. Iceman holds 21 Guinness World Records in the most amazing areas.

Through exercise and training he achieved the following:

In 2007, Wim climbed 6.7 km up the slope of Mount Everest wearing only shorts and boots. It was not possible to reach the summit due to an aggravated old leg injury.
In 2008 hebroke his previous world record and entered the Guinness Book of Records by spending 1 hour 13 minutes and 48 seconds in an ice bath.
In February 2009, wearing only shorts, Hof reached the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in two days.
The same year, in temperatures close to -20°C, Hof ran the full marathon distance of 42.195 km north of the Arctic Circle in Finland. Dressed only in shorts, he finished in 5 hours and 25 minutes. During the test, he was monitored by operators working for TV channels such as the BBC, Channel 4 and National Geographic.
In 2010 and 2011, Hof broke his own ice bath records again, his most recent being 1 hour 52 minutes and 42 seconds.
In September 2011, Hof ran a full marathon in the Namib desert without a drop of water.
Wim ran half the marathon distance in the Arctic Circle barefoot and in shorts.
According to official data, Hof swam 66 meters under the ice in one breath, the unofficial record is 120 meters.
Hung on one finger at an altitude of 2000 meters.

All this may seem unrealistic, but according to Wim Hof, the methodology he proposes is very simple: "Everyone can learn what I can do." A wellness program called "Classes with Wim Hof" is visited by many people, mostly of retirement age. Most come simply to learn how to lead a he althy lifestyle.

Internal managementhuman nature

Wim Hof, whose incredible abilities cannot but amaze, independently learned to control his pulse, breathing and blood circulation. All these functions are regulated by the autonomic nervous system. Science says that this system does not depend on the will of a person, but Wim manages to control his hypothalamus, that is, the area of \u200b\u200bthe brain that regulates body temperature. If in an unprepared person, under the influence of cold, the body temperature drops to dangerous values, then Wim is able to constantly maintain it at a level of about 37 degrees Celsius. Even after sitting in the ice for 1 hour and 52 minutes, he maintains a normal temperature. Scientists around the world were simply dumbfounded by this phenomenon.

Science considers him a mystery

Professor Maria Hopman of the St. Radbod University Medical Center in the Dutch city of Nijmegen has been studying Wim's physiological responses. During the tests, the latter was exposed to cold, being immersed up to the neck in a cylinder filled with ice cubes. According to the scientist, from a scientific point of view, Wim's abilities can be considered impossible. Under such conditions, an unprepared person would most likely die of hypothermia. However, Wim takes absolutely no risks; his body temperature constantly remains at around 37 degrees. The results of the experiment led scientists to consider the possibility that this person is actually able to influence his autonomic nervous system, which regulates, among other things, heart rate,respiration and circulation. Many questions are still unresolved: how can a person double their metabolism without raising their heart rate; how is it that Wim doesn't shiver when this is a normal reaction when exposed to cold? Maria Hopman continues to research Wim's body to find answers to these questions.

Recently, this unusual person was observed by many scientists. Endotoxin studies conducted by Maria Hopman's colleague Professor Peter Pickers showed amazing results, proving that Wim can control his nervous system and immune system. They also took blood samples from him during meditation and breathing exercises, examined the fatty tissues of the body, and studied physical reactions at low temperatures.

Exceptional results through exercise

The task of spending almost two hours in a cylinder with 700 kilograms of ice cubes seems almost impossible. You have to be superhuman to climb the highest and coldest mountains in the world wearing only shorts. How about half a marathon barefoot on snow and ice? Unbelievable, but true. But the most important thing is that everyone can do it! There are several sets of breathing exercises and cold water workouts that can help you achieve the same results. The author of the technique is Wim Hof himself. The books of many authors recommend that you first learn how to breathe correctly, is no exception and is the only one in itssort of, one could even say that the inimitable, exceptional and unique autobiographical work Becoming the Iceman written by Iceman, which is discussed later in this article.

While under water, Wim can easily go without air for six minutes. Everyone can achieve this, it is only necessary to master a special breathing technique. With proper breathing and training, you can learn to hold your breath for a long time and establish conscious contact with your heart, as well as with the autonomic nervous and immune systems. It also has a positive effect on blood circulation.

Fight the Cold

After breathing and meditation exercises, your body and mind will be prepared to withstand the cold. Exposing your body to certain types of exposure to cold will make it stronger. You can start practicing right now. For example, take a cold shower right after a hot one. This will help train the tiny muscles in your veins, making them more elastic. Once you've made progress, you'll even be able to sit, walk, or run on snow and ice. But more importantly, it will help your body resist disease in the future.

Becoming "Ice Man"

In November 2011, Vin Hof and his student Justin Rosales published Becoming the Iceman, which describes Wim's life path, as well as recommendations for training, exclusive techniques and exercises used forachieve the ability to tolerate extreme temperatures. The book says that anyone can control their own body temperature.

Fact or fiction?

On January 28, 2012, an episode of the television program "Fact or Fiction: Paranormal Activity" dedicated to Wim Hof was released on one of the American TV channels. In addition to Hof, an employee of the TV channel named Austin participated in the test. Both were placed in tanks full of ice. Austin sat for about 20 minutes. As he emerged from the water, other members of the film crew took his surface temperature with thermal cameras. The device showed only four degrees Celsius. Hof's body temperature, as well as his pulse, remained unchanged all the time. He managed to spend over ninety minutes in the tank.

In 2016, Wim Hof was accused of killing four people who drowned while doing his breathing exercises. However, Wim repeatedly warned his followers to practice in a safe place and not in icy water.