#72: Wim Hof Method with Cold Showers

4 min read

In the post Breathe I mentioned that I started doing the WIM HOF “Iceman” Method to see if I don’t get sick again. It’s now 30 days since I started.

A combination of breathing techniques and a cold shower exposure.

The process is explained in detail in the video below starting at 15:53.

How to NEVER Get Sick Again - The WIM HOF “Iceman” Method

Here are the steps written down (taken from the video):

#1 Get comfortable

Sit in meditation posture, whatever is most comfortable for you.
Expand your lungs freely without feeling any construction.
Do this practice right after waking up since your stomach is still empty or before a meal.

After the 30 rapid successions of breath cycles, draw the breath in once more and fill the lungs to maximum capacity without any force
Let the air out and hold as long as you can without force
Hold the breath until you experience the gasp reflex
You can do push ups as long as you hold the breath (you can probably do more than usual)

After step #3 inhale another breath to full capacity
Feel your chest expanding
When you are at full capacity, hold the breath for around 10 seconds and this will be round one
You can repeat the exercise 3 Rounds after each other
After completing the exercise take your time to enjoy the feeling afterward
When you start doing this exercises Wim recommends to take your time recovering from the breathing exercise
After doing the breathing exercise and you feel good, you can start with taking the cold shower

Gradually build up exposing yourself to the cold
Always train without force and listen to your body carefully
If it’s not practiced responsible, there is a risk of hypothermia
Relax as much as you can, really be with the colds, only then can your body process the signals and start thermogenesis
If you are new to cold exposure, just end your warm shower with 15-30 seconds with cold water only.
Begin with your feet and then follow with your legs, your stomach, shoulders, neck, and back
An initial shock, shivering and hyperventilation is normal
Try to remain calm and breathe easily
Close your eyes and really try to embrace the cold
Don’t pour the cold water over the head if you are not known with cold exposure
If you feel any strong physical uncomfortableness, like heavy shivering, numbness or pain, get your body warm again as soon as possible
Cold exposure works like weight lifting, you get stronger over time
There are little muscles around your veins that contract when they get into contact with the cold
After some time (only 1-2 weeks according to wim) these become stronger, making your veins healthier and reducing the force to pump blood around your body.

I realized while writing this post that I didn’t do any repetitions of step #1 - #4. So I will start doing this the next time
While doing the breathing exercises I felt the symptoms of light-headness and tingling sensation in the body
After doing the breathing exercises I felt like an extra armour shield build up around my chest
Started the first 10 days with a warm shower and ended the warm shower with the cold water only
After 10 days I took cold showers directly from the start to the beginning at least 2 minutes
It’s still every day a challenge to do the cold showers
I didn’t get ill so far since I started the method (will keep an eye on that for a future post)
Dealing with cold becomes easier comparing outside weather to the harshness of cold showers. I realized it’s not that cold
Coffee is nothing compared to this in my opinion. The process is a boost every morning
It feels like overcoming a big challenge before the day has even started. It gives a motivation push for the rest of the day

Published 6 Jan 2020