Wim Hof, known as “The Iceman”, is a Dutch extreme athlete and the creator of the Wim Hof Method, a simple daily practice of breathing, cold exposure and commitment. He became famous for records in the cold, then helped turn breathwork and cold showers into a worldwide habit for millions of people. [1] [2]
Who is Wim Hof?
Wim Hof was born on 20 April 1959 in Sittard, in the south of the Netherlands, one of nine children. [2] At 17 he felt a sudden urge to jump into the freezing water of a canal in Amsterdam’s Beatrixpark, and the cold became his lifelong teacher. [2]
Over the following decades he earned his nickname with feats of cold endurance. He swam 57.5 metres under ice in 2000, ran a barefoot half marathon on ice and snow near Oulu, Finland, in 2 hours 16 minutes in 2007, and spent 44 minutes in full-body contact with ice in 2010. [2] He climbed to about 7,400 metres on Mount Everest in shorts in 2007 and reached Kilimanjaro’s Gilman’s Point in 2016. [2] His official site counts 26 world records in all, including running a marathon in the Namib Desert without drinking. [1]
In 2011 scientists at Radboud University in the Netherlands began studying him, and in 2014 a study in PNAS showed that volunteers he trained could influence their own stress response and immune response. [2] [3] That moved his work from stunt to science and made his motto famous: what he is capable of, everybody can learn. [1]
Today he teaches through his book, the Wim Hof Method app, online video courses and a network of certified instructors, with workshops and retreats in Europe, the Americas, Asia and Australia, and courses in English, German, Spanish, French and Portuguese. [1] [4]
His method in brief
- Breathing. Rounds of about 30 deep, relaxed breaths, a breath hold after you exhale, then one deep recovery breath held for about 15 seconds.
- Cold exposure. Start by ending your shower with 15 to 30 seconds of cold water and build up gradually.
- Commitment. Focus, patience and daily practice, which Wim sees as the glue that holds the method together.
At a glance
Born: 20 April 1959, Sittard, Netherlands
Nickname: The Iceman
Work: extreme athlete, teacher, author
Method: breathing, cold exposure, commitment
Website: wimhofmethod.com
Good fit if
You want more energy and a calmer response to stress, you like a physical challenge, and you would enjoy a short daily routine that starts in your own shower.Our take
Free to start, easy to learn and genuinely energising. Few self-help methods have had their creator tested in a lab, and the early research is encouraging.The Wim Hof Method
Wim Hof’s method rests on three pillars. Tap one to see how it works and how to begin.
Pillar 1: the breathing
The breathing is the part most people try first. Sit or lie down somewhere comfortable and follow these steps, or simply follow Wim in his guided video. [5]
- Take about 30 deep breaths: in fully through the nose or mouth, and let go without forcing the out-breath.
- After the last breath, exhale and hold your breath for as long as feels comfortable.
- When you feel the urge to breathe, take one deep breath in and hold it for about 15 seconds.
- That is one round. Do three or four rounds, then rest and notice how you feel.
Many people feel tingling, lightness and a burst of energy. Over time the comfortable breath hold tends to grow. The breathing sits alongside other practices in our guides to meditation and relaxation.
Pillar 2: the cold
Wim recommends building up cold exposure gradually. Begin by ending your normal shower with 15 to 30 seconds of cold water, breathing calmly. Over the following weeks, lengthen the cold part to a minute or two. Some people go on to ice baths or outdoor swimming. [5]
The aim is not to endure, but to relax into the cold and let your breathing stay slow. Many practitioners say a cold finish to the shower wakes them up better than coffee, which is why the method is popular for energy and fatigue and stress management.
Pillar 3: commitment
The third pillar is commitment: patience, focus and willpower. Wim describes it as the foundation that makes the breathing and cold work, because results come from regular, daily practice rather than one dramatic plunge. [1]
His Fundamentals course builds this habit week by week, with a new lesson each week and homework to log your progress. [4] For more on building lasting habits, see our pages on motivation and flow state.
Your first week
- Days 1 to 3: one guided breathing session each morning, three rounds, followed by a cold finish of 15 seconds in the shower.
- Days 4 to 7: three or four rounds of breathing, and a cold finish of 30 to 60 seconds.
- After a week: try the free Mini Class or the app, and keep a note of your energy, mood and sleep.
For a full step-by-step walkthrough, see our complete guide to the Wim Hof Method and the Wim Hof Method hub.
Videos with Wim Hof
Hand-picked and checked one by one: his own guided sessions, his TEDx talks and the best-known documentaries and interviews.
Start here
Guided sessions from his official channel
Talks
Documentaries and interviews
Articles about Wim Hof
Wim Hof’s books
His main book is published worldwide in English and many translations. [6]
Buy The Wim Hof Method in your country: US · UK · Canada · Australia · India.
His app, courses and instructors
The Fundamentals course is also available in German, Spanish, French and Portuguese, so it works from the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Europe or India. [4]
What the Research Shows
Wim Hof is one of very few self-help teachers whose method has been studied directly in the lab, and the findings have drawn wide interest.
- The 2012 case study. Radboud University researchers measured Wim himself during an 80-minute full-body ice immersion and after an endotoxin challenge. His body showed a strong stress-hormone response and a milder inflammatory reaction than is typical. [7]
- The 2014 PNAS trial. Twelve healthy volunteers trained for ten days in his breathing, cold exposure and meditation, then received a bacterial endotoxin. Compared with 12 untrained volunteers, they had much higher adrenaline, more anti-inflammatory IL-10, lower pro-inflammatory markers and fewer flu-like symptoms. [3]
- Brain over body. A 2018 brain-imaging study found that during cold exposure Wim activated brain areas linked to pain control and self-regulation. [8]
- Cold showers. In a trial of 3,018 adults in the Netherlands, ending a daily shower with 30 to 90 seconds of cold water was linked to 29% less self-reported sickness absence from work. [9]
- Breathwork and mood. A 2023 Stanford study found that just five minutes a day of structured breathing, including a cyclic-hyperventilation-with-retention pattern similar to Wim Hof breathing, improved daily mood over a month. [10]
Taken together, this research suggests that breathing and cold can influence the stress and immune systems more than scientists once thought, which is the core of Wim’s message.
Watch: Wim Hof on TikTok
Here is a short clip from Wim Hof’s official TikTok account on an idea covered on this page.
See: Wim Hof on Instagram
Here are two posts from Wim Hof’s official Instagram account.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Frequently asked questions
Who is Wim Hof?
A Dutch extreme athlete, born in 1959, known as the Iceman. He created the Wim Hof Method of breathing, cold exposure and commitment.
What are the three pillars of the Wim Hof Method?
Breathing, cold exposure and commitment (mindset). Together they make up a short daily practice.
How do I do Wim Hof breathing?
Take about 30 deep breaths, exhale and hold your breath comfortably, then take one deep breath and hold it for 15 seconds. Repeat for three or four rounds.
How long should a cold shower be?
Start with 15 to 30 seconds of cold at the end of your shower and build up gradually to a minute or two.
What world records has Wim Hof set?
Records include a 57.5-metre swim under ice (2000), a barefoot half marathon on ice and snow (2007) and 44 minutes in full-body contact with ice (2010). His site counts 26 world records.
What does the research on Wim Hof show?
A 2014 study in PNAS found that volunteers trained in his method could influence their stress and immune responses, with fewer flu-like symptoms after an endotoxin challenge.
How much does the Wim Hof Fundamentals course cost?
The Fundamentals video course is $299 and includes a year of app premium. There is also a free Mini Class and a free version of the app.
Which Wim Hof book should I read?
The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential (2020) is his complete guide.
Sources
- Wim Hof Method: Who is the Iceman Wim Hof?
- Wikipedia: Wim Hof
- Kox et al., Voluntary activation of the sympathetic nervous system and attenuation of the innate immune response in humans, PNAS 2014
- Wim Hof Method: Fundamentals video course
- Wim Hof Method: The science
- Wim Hof Method: Books
- Kox et al., The influence of concentration/meditation on autonomic nervous system activity and the innate immune response, Psychosomatic Medicine 2012
- Muzik, Reilly and Diwadkar, “Brain over body”: willful regulation of autonomic function during cold exposure, NeuroImage 2018
- Buijze et al., The Effect of Cold Showering on Health and Work: A Randomized Controlled Trial, PLOS ONE 2016
- Balban et al., Brief structured respiration practices enhance mood and reduce physiological arousal, Cell Reports Medicine 2023
Practise the breathing sitting or lying down on dry land, never in or near water or while driving.
By Saj Ali. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will fix it.
