Your city
Categories
 +31 (0)6 5107 9358
0Cart
Yvana van den Hork  •  23-01-2022

Wim Hof method: why is freezing cold water so healthy for the body? On breathing techniques and training for cold weather

Wim Hof method: why is freezing cold water so healthy for the body? On breathing techniques and training for cold weather

Wim Hof method: why is freezing cold water so healthy for the body?

By now it's late January and if you are like most people, your New Year's resolutions have already failed.
In the past two years I had had lost a lot of weight thanks to intermittent fasting which fitted me like glove. By late 2021 I had been going to the gym more often.
Unfortunately, my recovery certificate showing I have antibodies (had already fallen ill in April 2020 without an option to test for it) was not accepted as enough proof to be granted access to the gym. This left me to trying to train and exercise more at home. Which is damn difficult to do when you are continuously distracted by your daily tasks.
 
However, last week I listened to a BNR-podcast (Business News Radio) about healthier living, in which Samefko Ludidi, a scientist and nutrition coach of Diana Matroos was interviewed. The special thing about his method was that he focused more on her exercise and lifestyle than on her dietary habits.
A special aspect of this was that he let her walk in the morning on an empty stomach, partly with the motivation that it woke her up healthier than a cup of coffee and she could achieve half the recommended daily number of steps.

This inspired me to try this as well, but how when you know yourself full well? As well as I used to be able to persevere in the past, so poorly it goes nowadays. 
It suddenly occurred to me that I had heard somewhere that you can also learn to persevere with the Wim Hof ​​method. 
 
For those who have never heard of Wim Hof, the name 'Ice Man' may ring a bell because he became world famous for the various crazy things he achieved in the bitter cold, such as running a half marathon barefoot and of course the many sessions in ice cold water.
 
Wim Hof ​​claims everyone can learn to embrace the cold. His breathing exercises in particular play a major role in this.
Now I happen to feel cold easily and am not even able to fall asleep without wearing bed socks because of cold feet.
Would using the Wim Hof method cure cold feet? 
 
Because so many people were as skeptical as I was and thought that he was simply a unique person, Wim Hof ​​had himself and a number of test subjects subjected to scientific research. More and more people are embracing his method. Besides making you less vulnerable to cold, his method also makes you less susceptible to illness.
 
A more specific  medical explanation
Explanation by Wim Hof at TedX
Free first session by Wim Hof in English: 
Free first lesson by Wim Hof in Dutch 
 
Are you interested in applying this method? Or better yet, have you already embraced it? Am curious about your experiences, please send me feedback!

Author

Yvana van den Hork
Rank: Senior Editor
Position: Director
She holds an MSc in Toxicology and Biology of the Wageningen University
All author posts