It all started with Jonna Jinton’s videos, where they take ice baths and she mentions Wim a few times. I had heard of Wim Hof before, but didn’t know about the existence of his method. After I did my research, I purchased the book Wim Hof method. Read it twice in a row because it was so good and also to make sure I didn’t miss any important information regarding the techniques.

I practiced cold showers before ever knowing about this method – about 30 seconds at the end of every warm shower. I also took a cold plunge in the sea occasionally, the water and air mostly had about 10 °C. It felt amazing and liberating in the least.

I first tried the method by the book. I wanted to know more, so I subscribed to the mini course on the website. Did everything as advised 100 %, felt great, then decided to take the Fundamentals course. Which, by the way, you get a 35 % discount for if you take the (free) mini course.

My life really opened up when I started this course. Anything I didn’t find perfectly clear before, this course explained it all and more.

As I finished the course, I’m taking all the challenges in the free app which, firstly, is a lot of fun and it leaves you feeling fantastic every day.

The basic method is well explained on Wim’s Youtube channel, as well as on the website, so we won’t go into the method here, I’ll just explain my experience.

Improvements:

• daily O₂ saturation never fell below 95 % since the start of practicing, whereas before, at least once day per week it fell down to 86 %;
• I went from breath retention of less than 1 min to 3 min (in 2 breathing sessions);
• improved flexibility – this has a lot to do with the morning yoga routine which is part of  WHM;
• energy is higher for an average of 10 %, depends on the day (that may seem little, but my basic energy levels are/were high enough already due to my lifestyle and diet, this is just an extra bonus);
• focus is more sharp, I can perform mental and physical work for longer and am more effective, again, for at least about 10 %;
• optimism levels have increased, this I noticed in certain random unpleasant situations, they don’t bring me down the way they occasionally did before, it’s a flow through life;
• lost some excess fat that has accumulated through the last few years of sedentary office work due to the discipline the courses bring with them;
• menstrual cramps have gone, almost completely. On occasion they still happen, but very rarely, whereas before, I was useless for two days every 4 weeks due to severe pain;
• I had a problem with swelling ankles for the last 5 years (a genetic problem, runs in the family, started some years ago randomly as I got off a flight), not so much since I quit the sedentary job, but still, they were not as they were originally. With this method, the swelling decereased week by week. Now it’s down at least 60 % and only goes worse on extremely hot days. They’re still not completely back to their original shape, but the improvement is significant and I intend fot the swelling to disappear;
• I can easily run long distances without special training (let me expalin here, long distance run for me means anything over 5 km);
• physical regeneration is remarkably fast, less than 24 hours to full recovery after high impact sports (running, high hill hiking, walking long distances (20 km));
• better resistance to cold – depends on the energy levels and wind, of course, but usually, at about 10°C I lose the jacket or the layer below and feel perfectly comfortable;
• the best of all: my family started practicing the method after reading the book and hearing my experience and are now improving their health and energy levels.

Wim Hof is an incredible person and his method works. It works 100 %, BUT ONLY if you invest yourself in the method 100 %. No off moments, zero cheating and keep the persistance. You’re only lying to yourself if you cheat and that’s the worst kind of lying, because it’s the easiest and also the easiest to overlook.

Be patient, results may not come as quickly as some report, but they will come.

With me, I started noticing I was more resistant to cold only after five weeks of practicing the method, but it was quite a noticable change (being outside at  9 °C, windy, with no jacket and not feeling cold in the slightest), later on, there’s just more room for improvement, as there always is.

I practice this method every morning, first yoga, followed by breathing exercises, then flexibility and strenght workout and a cold shower. The latter on average every other day, no exceptions. There will be an update after I’ve practiced the method for a year. I wonder what happens by then!

I highly recommend reading the book WHM and taking the mini course to see what it’s all about. This way you’ll see if the method is for you and if it makes you feel any different. You can go about it any way you want, in your own way and at your own pace. But cold exposure really does improve one’s life. Since this is also a potentially dangerous activity, this must be done by the method, so combined with the breathing exercises and mindset and also by the pace that suits each individual.

Let cold be your warm friend.

Stay cool! 😉

*This post is not sponsored.