Wim Hof - The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Potential, Transcend Your Limits

Wim Hof

THE WIM HOF METHOD

Activate Your Potential, Transcend Your Limits

The information in this book is not a substitute for and is not to be relied on for medical or healthcare professional advice. Please consult your GP before changing, stopping or starting any medical treatment. So far as the author is aware the information given is correct and up to date as at 04/08/2020. The author and publishers disclaim, as far as the law allows, any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use or misuse of the information contained in this book.

CONTENTS

1. cker

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wim Hof got the nickname the Iceman by breaking a number of world records related to cold exposure. His feats include climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts, running a half marathon above the Arctic Circle on his bare feet, and standing in a container while covered in ice cubes for more than 112 minutes. Having embraced the majestic force of nature, Hof resolved to share his discovery with the rest of the world. He is convinced that everyone can tap into this potential without having to invest decades worth of study, travel, and daring as he has. And so he developed the Wim Hof Method: a natural path to an optimal state of body and mind.

Hof teaches his method in seminars all over the world, but he maintains a spartan training camp in Przesieka, Poland. He resides in Stroe, The Netherlands, with his family. To download the free Wim Hof Method app or enroll in one of our courses, visit wimhofmethod.com.

ALSO BY WIM HOF

Becoming the Iceman (with Justin Rosales)

De Top Bereiken Is Je Angst Overwinnen (Dutch)

Klimmen in Stilte (Dutch)

The Way of the Iceman (with Koen De Jong)

PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS

All photography used with permission.

courtesy of the Hof family archive

courtesy of the Hof family archive

Henny Boogert

Henny Boogert

Henny Boogert

Kersti Niglas

Peter Schagen

Peter Schagen

Peter Schagen

Peter Schagen

Peter Schagen

Peter Schagen

Video still from Senior Health Beyond Wellness on NEVCO

PRAISE FOR THE WIM HOF METHOD

Wim Hof has inspired millions of people to use just their bodies and breath to heat, then heal, themselves of a laundry list of chronic illnesses. Dubious, you say? I certainly thought so, until I discovered the real scientific research from real scientists around the world proving these impossible claims were in fact true. This book is a valuable guide to anyone looking to take better control of the health, heat, and untapped potential locked away within us all

JAMES NESTOR

I enjoyed this book immensely! Get inside the mind of Wim Hof and learn why millions of people worldwide feel the freeze and do it anyway. Breathe in, chill out, and enjoy the ride

PATRICK MCKEOWN

Wim Hofs program has become an essential part of my daily regimen for self-care and grounding. I warmly recommend it

GABOR MAT

This book fortifies that the mind is the most powerful tool we possess, however very few use it like Mr Wim Hof. A positive and persuasive read

ANT MIDDLETON

Thor-like and potent Wim has radioactive charisma

RUSSELL BRAND

Wim is a legend of the power ice has to heal and empower

BEAR GRYLLS

This book will change your life

BEN FOGLE

A fascinating look at Wims incredible life and method

FEARNE COTTON

FOREWORD

AN UNLIKELY MEETING

BY ELISSA EPEL, PHD

It was an unlikely place for a somewhat conservative medical school researcher to be: a business-oriented wellness conference in Palm Beach, Florida. I wondered if I should have come, and I reminded myself to be open that you never know what the world has in store for you, who you might meet, what you might learn. And then, my reason for being there was unveiled. There he was, walking up to the podium, wearing a T-shirt when most were in suits, a beard that implied I have better things to do than spend time on a manicured trim. Wim Hof told us part of his story. He led us through the breathing part of his method. And I was absolutely struck.

What he described of his experience was exactly what I had been searching forways to increase hormetic stress in our bodies. Theoretically, a stressful exposure can have harmful effects at high doses, but at low doses it can actually create changes in our body that make us healthier and stronger thats what we call hormetic stress. Stress researchers like me spend a lot of time exploring the dark side of stress, how chronic stress and depression wear us down, shorten our telomeres, and contribute to disease. But we also know that stress can be a good thing. Acute short-term stress can lead to powerful positive changes in our cells. Heating up a worm just a bit, for example, can increase the life of that worm, although too much heat and it becomes a funeral. Studies on hormetic stress in humans are scarce, leaving many questions unanswered. Are there natural ways to safely unlock the positive effects of stress in our cells? Do we already hold the keys to our own well-being? Where do we start the search for those answers? It seemed to me, hearing him speak, that Wim Hof had created a good map for us to explore.

After the talk, a couple approached me, Victor and Lynne Brick. Victor, having tragically lost his brother to mental illness, was looking for ways to support research on natural methods to prevent or even cure depression and other serious mental health issues. (Despite the many antidepressant medication ads on TV, several meta-analyses suggest Big Pharma solutions do not have benefits beyond the placebo effect.) From that meeting, a study was born.

When I returned to University of California, San Francisco, and told my colleagues about Wim Hof and his method, I didnt exactly jump to, Can we study the Iceman? Thats the first thing you might have learned about him: his nickname. In the many documentaries about Wim, you see people practicing the method in small circles with him. You can feel their adrenaline and group cohesiveness, fueled by exercising the limits of their bodys regulation, exposing themselves in shorts to the icemaybe during a cold Poland winterwhile heating up their bodies with their mindset and breathing method. You see people doing push-ups while holding their breath, more push-ups than they thought they could do. You see young people flocking to him, especially men, high-performance machismo in the air. You hear accounts of miraculous cures from people with disease who practice the method. All these are red flags for conscientious medical school researchers. But the potential of unleashing novel potent hormetic stress effects overrode the alarm of extraordinary claims, the skeptical reaction to his growing popularity. My colleagues saw the potential, just like I did. To our delight, Wim Hof was 100% supportive of our rigorously controlled trial.

With the fame that comes with breaking twenty-six world records, and the documentaries and popular books that feature him, Wim knows the limits of anecdote, of story, to giving a method validity in the medical world. He knows that the research pathslow, painstaking, and with the necessary attitude of objectivity and skepticism is the only path to understanding and applying this method to health care. Research can help us unveil the methods mechanisms, document safety and efficacy, and determine in controlled clinical trials how it affects people with disease states. The method has been tested in small pilot studies so far, showing improvement of the immune system response to endotoxin It is being tested in people with spinal cord injuries who cannot easily activate their autonomic and cardiovascular systems with exercise. It is being practiced among the elderly, with some members of the Wim Hof Method practice group over ninety years old. Wim knows that rigorous research is the path that will lead to discoveries that give more people control over their health and well-being.