Wim Hof: a Modern-Day Nordic Shaman (Video Course Review)

Say hello to one of the most interesting men in the world – The Iceman, Wim Hof.

If I could promise you one thing about Wim Hof, it’s that he’ll challenge you to rethink what is possible between the body and mind. What if you were capable of more than you ever knew?

Wim Hof is a record-setting daredevil, with a long list of incredible feats that you’ve got to see to truly appreciate. This is history in the making! I first read about Wim at Danger and Play and was fascinated. This is the wild stuff that movies and legends are made of.

Enjoy this short video as an introduction to Wim Hof:

The Wim Hof Method is an online video course that teaches you exactly how Wim Hof trained his body and mind to do these incredible things. His unique program combines physical exercises, breathing techniques, visualization, meditation, and cold therapy.

Structured as a 10-week course, the training starts with the fundamentals and then goes deeper and harder week-by-week. His videos walk you through all the exercises, the science behind them, and more.

Overall, as explained by Wim on wimhofmethod.com, his program helps you:

Sleep like a baby
Reduce inflammation
Have more energy
Feel more creative
Reduce your stress level
Improve your mood
Recover faster
Burn fat
Enhance athletic performance
Boost your immune system
Rid yourself of cold hands and feet
And build an incredible resistance to the cold.

Going further, one of my favorite things about Wim Hof is the “esoteric” feeling to his teachings. Wim taps into a deep, inner power that modern man lost touch with.

Even the doctors and researchers who study him are baffled; they believed that what he does is impossible. Not any more!

In his interviews, Wim insists that this isn’t something extraordinary about him. This power is natural to all of us, only we’ve forgotten how to tap into it. He goes on to say…

Over time, we, as humans have developed a different attitude towards nature around us and we actually forgot one thing, “inner power.” This is the relationship by our physiological mechanisms to adapt and survive within our natural environment, which is direct and effective.

Because we wear clothes and control the temperatures at home and work, we have changed the stimulation on our body, thus the old mechanisms related to survive and function. As these deeper physiological layers are not stimulated anymore we have become alienated from them, thus our bodies have weakened and we are no longer in touch with this inner power. The inner power is a force accumulated by full awakened physiological processes. It also influences the very core of our DNA. – Wim Hof

I think photographer Drew Mistak said it best:

I'd love to photograph @Iceman_Hof. A true modern, Nordic shaman. https://t.co/ic233Mf1gR

— right wing hooligan (@drewmistak) December 4, 2015

Something you may be surprised to learn, is that the Nordic folk created a lot of the physical yoga exercises taught in yoga classes today. They called it Scandinavian gymnastics. And there is also a history of shamanism and trance-states among these people.

For these reasons and more, the training felt very “at home” to me. Like it was something my ancestors did generations ago. I’m thankful that Wim is helping to restore these lost connections.

Be sure to follow @Iceman_Hof
He has rediscovered ancient European knowledge of the body; now teaching it to the masses. History in making.

— Derek Wolf (@DerekTheWolf) December 4, 2015

I’ve been doing the Wim Hof Method for 3 months now and don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.

If you’re wondering if the Wim Hof Method is right for you, then enjoy my review of his video course to help with your decision! Here’s a rundown of how the program helped me most and how it may also benefit you.

The Wim Hof Method helps get your day started on the right foot

You know that feeling you get when you’re heading into work, but it feels like your body is still in bed sleeping? Yeah, me too. It’s a drag and sometimes even a whole pot of coffee won’t pull you out of it.

Compare that to being awake, sharp and ready for anything – without having to mega-dose caffeine.

A lot of that difference has to do with your body’s oxygen level and blood circulation. Many people “wake up” by checking their email and social media until it’s time to drag themselves into the shower. That type of morning start will make you feel sluggish.

Injecting a little bit of exercise (and oxygen!) into your morning routine makes a huge difference on how good you feel and how well you can perform in your business or trade.

The Wim Hof Method is great for this. It gets your blood pumping very strong throughout the body and the deep breathing enriches the blood with oxygen. Combined, this fuels your brain and cognition, helping it to fire off the way it was designed to.

Using the Wim Hof Method in the morning, your body will be warmed, charged and loose. That’s much better than being stiff, jerky and sleepy when you head into work.

Short for time? Wim includes instruction on how to do abbreviated sessions, too, so you can get benefit in just 10 minutes (or even 4!).

Overall, this is a wonderful way to get your day started on the right foot. I combine a little bit of breathing, physical exercise and cold therapy every morning and it makes a huge difference.

Here I am enjoying a frigid morning during the Colorado winter. Some mornings were below 5°F. The deep, conscious breathing helps to keep the body warm and relaxed instead of degenerating into a shivering fit. It also supercharges the brain and body with oxygen, making you feel great.

How the Wim Hof Method helps you to be stronger and go harder, longer

Before lifting weights I use the breathing exercises to pump the body with blood and oxygen to prime it for lifting. While breathing, I mentally prepare myself for lifting and do visualization exercises of great form and power.

Doing the Wim Hof Method alongside my normal workout routine has boosted my strength (e.g. bench press increased from 225lbs x 5 to 245lbs x 5) and put a little more muscle on me.

(Looking for a workout program that WORKS? I’ve been using Body of a Spartan for over a year now and love it. You can read my review of it here.)

Why does the Wim Hof Method boost your strength and muscle? One reason is that it ramps up your oxygen levels and blood flow. That fuels muscle growth and helps with recovery. Better still, Wim Hof says that his method supports the production and regulation of growth hormone.

You can also use Wim’s breathing techniques during your gym session, in between sets. This helps you refocus the mind and restore oxygen in the body.

And in the video course Wim teaches you an exercise that reduces lactic acid buildup – while your body is under physical stress. This allows you to push your body harder and longer than ever before.

Use the Wim Hof Method to relieve stress and revitalize your day

Most of us today spend too much time working at the desk or in other positions that don’t involve any physical work. Doing the Wim Hof Method in the afternoon is a great way to mix up the day, clear stress from the mind and rejuvenate the body.

The training sessions finish with some relaxation and meditation. This helps to reign in the “Monkey Mind” that can run wild and get fixated on negative thoughts. As explained by Wim Hof, the exercises also stimulate the production of serotonin. That’s the neurotransmitter that gives you the feeling of happiness.

My favorite is to do a session before lunch, or after work in the afternoon before getting into other projects.

Kiss those cold hands goodbye with the Wim Hof Method

This program is great for the circulation. It’s common today for people to have cold hands and feet. I am (was) one of those people. It means the body is struggling to get enough blood to the extremities.

The deep conscious breathing, physical exercises and cold therapy help with this. It strengthens the cardiovascular and nervous systems to respond quicker to the cold and give fuller blood flow to resist the cold better. I’ve benefited from this and will keep up the practice so I can keep my hands and feet warm.

Pumping the body full of blood and oxygen benefits you in other ways too. For example, the better your circulation, the more blood you can get into your reproductive organs.

Did you know? Viagra was originally intended to treat hypertension by widening the arteries and allowing better blood flow. The sex-performance benefits were a side effect but became the primary use of the drug.

Learn how to be more powerful with less oxygen in your lungs

Part of the program combines dynamic strength training and a unique concept: working the body without oxygen in the lungs.

The program uses a specific body-weight exercise to train this ability. Surprisingly, you can actually do as many (or more!) reps, more forcefully, than you could breathing normally.

I won’t leak specific details of the program, but I will say that you will be surprised to see what’s possible.

The Wim Hof Method, meditation and good vibrations

One of the biggest benefits of the Wim Hof Method is that it makes your body feel incredible. It calms you but at the same time makes your body feel very “charged.” Like the energy between your cells and throughout your body is flowing stronger and with higher integrity. You feel alive.

People who meditate or do spiritual or energy work will really enjoy it. The Wim Hof Method helps you have good vibrations, visions, and more. The program is very good for the “third eye,” as you’ll see.

And by the way, when I say good vibrations I don’t just mean metaphorically. From super-oxygenating the blood, you will literally feel vibrations throughout your cardiovascular system. You will also see bright, colorful flashes as your neurons experience the “oxygen rush.”

So if some of this seems like New Age Woo-Woo™, know that many of these benefits are very physical and backed by biology.

Learn to love the cold with the Wim Hof Method

A pillar of this whole program is “cold therapy.” That’s when you deliberately expose your body to the frigid cold in exchange for health benefits.

Taking cold showers, for example is great for kick-starting the circulation. The cold water causes your body to pull the blood inwards, to protect the vital organs. Switching to warm water or getting out of the shower then draws the blood back towards the surface.

That’s where you’ll start and later on, Wim takes you out into the elements. Like standing barefoot in the snow (or taking an ice bath). As explained by Wim, once your body is trained and ready, you can walk barefoot in the snow for much, much longer than you’d expect without getting frostbite.

Crazier still – you’ll come to enjoy it!

Before sunrise in the winter mornings, I would do the exercises to charge the body and then walk barefoot through the frosty grass (or snow). It takes some getting used to, but you’ll discover that the body has the natural ability to adapt.

Now that it’s spring, I have to use cold showers and the other methods. Mornings have been around 30°F lately and that just doesn’t cut it. After your body adapts to sets of cold exposure at 10°F, 30°F is no longer a challenge. It’s more refreshing than frigid!

In this short video, I take advantage of the cold rain for a little training. The wifey was wrapped in a coat and blanket while recording and she still felt cold. After using a few of the breathing techniques, I was actually too warm to consider it “cold therapy.” And after you start training with the Wim Hof Method, you will experience the same.

In general, the Wim Hof Method increases your tolerance to the cold. It will be in the 40’s outside and while people are hiding in their winter coat, you could comfortably walk around in a T-shirt.

What I liked most about Wim Hof’s video course

Overall, I thought the video course was great. Instead of just giving you a book full of instructions, you feel like you’re actually training with Wim in his studio. He goes through all of the exercises and does them with you while you’re doing them at home. And he goes into great detail about the techniques he’s teaching you.

Training with Wim and his students.

I play the videos on my laptop in the living room, with my yoga mat on the floor. Felt like a studio.

Do the Wim Hof Method in the comfort of your own home.

What I liked most about the video course was it’s effect on my commitment level. Some days, having already seen how to do the training, I would go through the exercises without playing the video and following along.

The days that I trained alongside the video, making it feel like I’m in the studio with Wim, I was much more engaged. Even though the order of the exercises was the same, I could feel the difference.

I think for people starting out, commitment is a big concern. Doing the training alongside Wim in the videos made it easier for me to do the program every day. It helps you to really get into it. And once you’re familiar, you can do the exercises whenever and wherever you please.

Wim’s video course is also set up with ongoing community support. People can ask and answer questions and share their experiences with others who are doing the program. On the subject of commitment, I thought this was a great addition.

Bonus goodies

The course also includes the e-book Becoming the Iceman and other literature. Among my favorite were the scientific reports explaining some the biology behind his method.

Take the plunge with Wim Hof

Overall, Wim delivered as promised.

The Wim Hof Method is great for someone looking to explore and challenge their mind and body in exciting new ways. Those who already love yoga and meditation will especially love it.

Get started today and join the paradigm shift. Science textbooks will be re-written in the wake of Wim Hof!

A hundred years from now kids will be taught in grade school what we today consider “advanced” and esoteric. Wouldn’t it be great to be a part of that evolution?

Take the plunge!