Things You Did Not Know About Wim Hof

Shorts And Shoes

Image Source: Tranquil Kilimanjaro

In 2014, Hot lead a 26 man group to the very summit of Mount Kilimanjaro, in Tanzania, which is the tallest free standing peak in the world. He did this in just a pair of shorts, and some shoes. The rest of the group did the same as he did. He did this In 48 hours, even avoiding hypothermia, which is considered nearly impossible.

Ice Bath

Image Source: Country And Town House

Wim loves an ice bath, every morning when he wakes up he takes a plunge in his own ice bath where he lives. It is supposedly good for your metabolism and boosts your immune system. Hof has managed to submerge himself in an ice bath for 2 whole minutes.

Barefoot Half Marathon

Image Source: Sciclonic 

In 2007, Hof, ran the fastest half marathon whilst barefoot. This was completed in Finland in an astonishing 2 hours and 16 minutes. He did this for a show on the Discovery Channel looking into real life super humans and how they live their lives, interesting eh?

Autonomic Nervous System

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The Autonomic Nervous System is part of the human nervous system that controls components such as blood pressure, heart rate, digestion etc. Wim claims to have the power to be able to control this, meaning he could slow his heart rate down on command.

Trainer To The Stars

Image Source: OK! Magazine

Not only does Wim train himself and his own mind, he also trains other people that want to learn from him. This includes celebrities too. He has coached and trained celebs such as Russell Brand, Oprah Winfrey and Tim Ferriss. Guess you could call him a trainer to the stars!

Scientific Studies

Image Source: British GQ

Wim Hof has been subject of plenty of scientific studies. Including his Wim Hof Method (which we'll get into later). You'd assume this is because of what he can do to his body and how he can control his body. Obviously scientists will be curious and intrigued.

Twin Hof

Image Source: Castricummer 

Wim Hof has a twin! Yes they are identical, but no, his brother does not share his super human abilities. There was a study on the two twins, that had them doing Wim's exercises to compare how their bodies reacted. Wim's results were obviously more prominent.

Wim Hof Method

Image Source: Rad Season

The Wim Hof Method Is a technique that he claims can change and improve your body and mind. The method combines meditation, cold exposure and Wim Hof breathing. It is supposed to help with things like anxiety and depression, as well as improving your mood and helping with arthritis.

The Iceman

Image Source: Irish Examiner

The Iceman is his most famous and well known nickname. He was given the name by a dutch journalist (Wim's home country) because he was seen taking a long run in the streets of Amsterdam in the middle of a freezing winter wearing nothing apart from shoes and a pair of shorts.

Patents

Image Source: Wim Hof Method

Wim Hof created a device for creating a breathing gas mixture off the back of Wim Hof method. He holds a patent for this, so if anyone wants to use it in a design of their own he gets full credit. He holds patents for many other devices he has created too.

Freezing Canals

Image Source: Phys.org

He is widely known as someone who can withstand vastly cold temperatures. As explained in the point about the ice baths. A notable mention on this is that as a child he would take daily plunges in a frozen canal where he grew up. Swimming there every morning.

Documentaries

Image Source: NationalWorld

Wim has featured in various different documentaries and programmes. The most well known documentary is called The Superhuman World of Wim Hof: The Iceman. Also another documentary called Freeze The Fear, which is where celebrities take part in Wim's activities and experience life like Wim.

Book Author

Image Source: BookForum

Not only is Wim Hof a superhuman when it comes to the freezing cold. He is also an excellent writer. He released a book called The Wim Hof Method, this book in basic terms outlines his methods and techniques when it comes to self care, and things like how to look after your body.

No Water For Wim

Image Source: Wikipedia

Obviously we are learning that Wim Hof is a freak of nature when it comes to the cold. But he has actually proven himself by doing the complete opposite. He ran a whole marathon in the Namib Desert, the catch? He didn't drink a single drop of water.

Hofcast

Image Source: SoundCloud

Hof is also a hugely sociable person. He appears on many podcasts around the world. Spreading his story and promoting his book. People just love him. He has appeared on many but some notable ones are The Joe Rogan Experience and The Tim Ferriss Show. 

Royalty

Image Source: Rolling Stone

Like the previous point on celebrities, Wim Hof doesn't only train celebs, he also trains and mentors royalty! He has trained members of the Dutch royal family! The family members include Prince Bernhard and Princess Margaret. Clearly a popular person when it comes to self care.

Innerfire Foundation

Image Source: Marathon Handbook

Interfere was founded in 2006 by Wim's son, Enahm. The non profit organisation was created to aim to promote well being and health along with the Wim Hof Method. It all intertwines with his books, his lifestyle, and of course, the famous Wim Hof Method.

World Records

Image Source: HighExistence

Wim Hof on top of all these great achievements, holds many world records. A notable one is that he holds the record for the longest swim under ice, he swam a distance of nearly 200 feet. This achievement was accomplished in 2019. He used the Wim Hof method to control his breathing.

Fatherhood

Image Source: Sounds True

On the outside, Wim Hof is a human juggernaut that can withstand temperatures you wouldn't believe and can even control his own body. But on the inside he is a devoted family man. He has three adult children and he currently resides in the Netherlands when he was born.

Multilingual

Image Source: Ben Greenfield Life

In an interview with podcaster Tim Ferriss, Wim stated that he loves to learn and never had any teachers. He claimed he was just interested so he claimed that he learnt to speak 10 different languages, these languages included Japanese and Hindu, very talented isn't he?

One Is Enough

Image Source: Path To Yoga

Obviously as a human we require certain nutrients. We need water, food to basically live. Not Wim though, for the past 38 years he has only consumed one single meal a day, every day. He states he only eats once in the evening. He claims he produces energy from his breathing techniques.

He is Anti Antibiotics

Image Source: Lewis Howes

Whenever a person falls ill, we require anti biotics to help fight infection, fight off whatever illness they have. Wim however, does not. He was gave himself an Enema with a fountain jet and severely injured himself. There was a risk of sepsis but Mr Hof managed to fight it off on his own.

Deep Freeze Swim

Image Source: The Sun 

Similar to a couple of other points on this list, we all know Wim loves freezing water. Not only does he hold the world record for the longest ice swim, and has an ice bath every morning, on his television show he had celebrities doing it all as well. You can see here, celebrity Dianne Buswell, taking a plunge.

Therapy

Image Source: Rad Season

Wim Claims that his methods and techniques can be used a form of therapy. It makes sense because some of his techniques involved calming your breathing which would be beneficial for example for panic attacks. Not quite sure how handling the cold could help, but it increases your metabolism and has proven to have positive effects.

Wim Hof Academy

Image Source: Country and Town House

The Wim Hof Academy is a programme created to teach the Wim Hof Method in a safe environment. When you enter you become a WHM Practitioner and you can work your way up to become a certified WHM Instructor, which means you are qualified to pass on the knowledge of the method.

Beginnings

Image Source: Sounds True

You might be wondering, how on earth did Wim Hof discover he could do all of this? Well, when he was seventeen he felt an impulsive urge to just throw himself into a piece of freezing cold water in a canal near his home. He says there is no really reason other than that he just wanted to do it.

Mental Health

Image Source: Mpora

Mental health is obviously important when it comes to humans. Hof claims that his method is essential when it comes to looking after your mental health. The breathing techniques and the subconscious thought that you are looking after your body can help on its own.

Advanced Yoga

Image Source: British GQ

Wim Hof is also advanced in Yoga, any time of yoga you can think of, he's an expert. He has learnt how to meditate himself into an unconscious state. Obviously this is very dangerous but he an expert so knows how to control this. He also supervises other people whilst teaching them this technique.

Likeable

Image Source: jala

Although Wim Hof has been labelled as a super human. However he claims he is not. He states that anyone and everyone has these powers in them. It's just about training yourself and how to put them into practice. He claims it's all in your head, and anyone can do what he does.

Family Man

Image Source: Twitter 

Earlier in the article we spoke about how he has children, but on the other hand we is also part of a massive family. He is one of nine siblings. Including the twin we spoke about. Although like his twin his siblings don't share the same abilities and powers as he does.