Ice Baths and Cold Showers. The new frontier of athletic performance is through ice. The method we are talking about is called Wim Hofby the Dutch athlete of the same name, also known as 'The Iceman', famous for setting several world records for swimming under ice, for prolonged full-body contact with ice and for a half-marathon barefoot on ice and snow.
Born in 1959, Wim Hof began his passion for the cold at the age of 17 when, at that time already practising yoga, karate and meditation, he was often walking near a canal and one day decided to dive into the water, later turning that first experiment into a daily habit.
A revolutionary approach that combines breathing techniques, exposure to cold and meditation and that, according to the numerous studies that have been done, has multiple benefits for health and psychophysical well-being, attracting, especially in recent years, the attention of many professional athletes - but not only - around the world.
There are essentially three fundamentals of the Wim Hof method: breathing techniques, meditation and mindfulness and exposure to cold.
Controlled breathing and deep is at the heart of the method. A practice that helps oxygenate the body, improving blood circulation through lung efficiency, and reduce stress through mindfulness and concentration.
An improvement in psychophysical state that translates into improved sports results. Indeed, numerous world-class athletes have integrated the Wim Hof Method into their training routines to improve their performance and post-race recovery.
Alistair Overeem, for example, a mixed martial arts fighter and kickboxer, attributed a significant improvement in his endurance and muscle recovery to the Wim Hof Method.
Novak Djokovicthe famous Serbian tennis player, spoke about the importance of breathing and mental control in the Wim Hof Method to maintain concentration during crucial matches. World-renowned surfer Laird Hamilton uses breathing techniques to improve his lung capacity and remain calm during extreme challenges in the open sea.
And the list could go on and on, talking about a practice that, initially greeted with curiosity and not without a hint of mistrust, has become an essential part of the athletic training of many sportsmen and women.
To tell us about the method Wim Hof is Alessio Alfei, a coach who has been helping people to become the best version of themselves for twenty years. Alessio Alfei has a degree in motor sciences from the University of Tor Vergata in Rome, a first level master's degree in relational counselling, author of the books "Ogni singolo Giorno" and "La sfida nello specchio" published by Anteprima Edizioni, instructor of the Wim Hof method level II, Master trainer EQF level 6, American Council On exercise certified coach.
What motivated you to become a certified expert in the Wim Hof method? Can you tell us the path that led you to this certification?
I got to know Wim Hof in 2011 through a programme that was on the Discovery Channel at the time, called Stan Lee's Superhumans and about people doing extraordinary things. One of the episodes of the programme was dedicated to Wim Hof: the crazy Dutchman who defied the cold by running a half-marathon, dressed only in a pair of shorts, in the Arctic Circle in winter. At first I was not particularly impressed, although I was fascinated by his resistance to the cold, but his figure somehow always remained present in the back of my mind. In those years I was living a profoundly different life from the one I am living now, and there was no room for the message Wim was sending with his exploits: learn to be comfortable in discomfort.
All this until the day I got divorced, I ended up with my life turned upside down: I had a small child and a newly started business, I found myself in what is normally referred to as the 'perfect storm', at which point I had two choices: succumb or find a way to manage the stress and move on without damaging myself; and it was here that the memory of the Dutchman running in his underwear on the ice came back from the depths of my mind with its message of strength. I decided to find out more about him, I ended up on the Wim Hof method website where I bought the first available course (the ten week course: 10 weeks of the Wim Hof method), it was crude but described the method very well: breathing, exposure to cold and meditation, all to make the mind and body more resistant to the shocks of life. At the time, I had already suffered enough shocks, but with daily practice I was able to find an inner centre, a strength of mind that allowed me to keep problems at bay and focus on me. My personal experience with the method was so helpful that I decided to spread it as widely as possible to be of help to those who, like me, had gone through, or were going through, a difficult time. In 2019 I completed the process to certify myself as an official instructor of the Wim Hof method and since then I have helped so many people to find, and often to find, their centre.
What are the main benefits you have observed personally and in your students through the practice of the Wim Hof method? Can you share any significant testimonies?
Ihe Wim Hof method has many benefits: it improves the mood, normalises the immune system, improves the cardio-vascular system and also provides an immunisation against stress. What I have listed above are all great effects but they only manifest themselves if you practise the method consistently: doing the breathing and cold shower once a week does not bring any benefit, you have to be constant. Why am I telling you this? Because the greatest benefit is to encourage people to have a routine, a solid backbone that supports the individual days, and we know that life is made up of moments that become hours and then days: if you can give your days an order, your whole life benefits. Here, the most beautiful and important feedback is that thanks to the method, people feel they have to make room for it: they take care of their sleep, their nutrition, maybe they even start exercising because they want to be able to do as many push-ups on their arms as possible (there is a part of the practice where, in apnea with empty lungs, they do as many push-ups as possible). I had a course participant who had no balance when he came to me: he was living at the mercy of events and the only way he knew to stem the stress of this drift was alcohol and the sofa.
He, like me, was intrigued by Wim Hof's message about being comfortable in discomfort, and with a big push of willpower he enrolled in the course and changed the course of his life. Now this person (with whom I have kept in touch) has revolutionised everything: he no longer drinks as much as before, he works out, eats well and cultivates healthy relationships, all because he started by making time for a practice that made him feel good right from the start.
Is there a particular case study, among your clients, that you would like to tell us about that shows how this method has benefited athletic and sports performance?
The Wim Hof method is a great tool for performance, provided you know how to integrate it with the type of training and its timing. Let me explain: exposure to cold has a strong anti-inflammatory power, which is a good thing most of the time, except when the inflammation is actually needed, i.e. in the hours following a strength, power or hypertrophy workout; after these types of muscle stimulation it is not recommended to take an ice bath, precisely because the muscle repair processes benefit from a state of acute inflammation. On the other hand, for what is commonly referred to as 'aerobic' training, exposure to cold seems to improve performance by favouring faster recovery and increasing the size and number of the cell's energy plants. Having said that, I can tell you that many of my clients are operators (firefighters and soldiers) who not only benefit from the method in terms of recovery and physical performance, but also in terms of their ability to handle stress during demanding tasks. Performance is never only physical, everything is always governed by the brain; if our mind is not steady, neither will our limbs and movements be. The Wim Hof method, with its concerted breathing practice, guarantees very effective management of emotions.
The Wim Hof method combines breathing, cold exposure and meditation. Can you explain how these elements work together and why they are so effective?
The three pillars you listed are interconnected: rapid and deep breathing (which Wim Hof borrowed from the Tummo practice) has an analgesic effect and allows our organism to expose itself to the cold by reducing the effect of pain perception derived from thermal shock, the meditative and focus state allows the organism (together with a type of breathing, defined as calming, which is done during exposure to the cold) to activate the autonomic nervous system which keeps us calm, this is where the anti-stress 'magic' happens: we manage to stay calm and relaxed in a situation that our body has always perceived as dangerous; that is, to be comfortable in discomfort. When we calm our body and remain calm in a situation that it perceives as potentially dangerous, we are sending a strong signal to the brain that we can cope, that, then, it is possible, through breathing and controlled exposure to stress, to take the reins of our lives into our own hands and decide to stop being reactive and start being proactive.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to start practising the Wim Hof method? Are there any special precautions to take or common mistakes to avoid?
Those who come to my courses know how important safety is to me: I am, basically, a trainer and coach and safety is the most important parameter of all because it prevents injuries and guarantees health and performance over time. With the method I make no exceptions: to a person who is just starting out I can give this list of rules that allow them to practise safely without any problems:
1. Breathing is done lying down: during the Wim Hof breaths, dizziness may occur (absolutely harmless but can throw one off balance) so make sure you are in a safe position such as lying on a soft surface (a yoga mat is fine).
2. Having done the breathing, one must wait ten to twenty minutes before taking an ice bath, to mentally prepare the body for the experience with the cold while the more intense effects of breathing are dispelled.
3. Wim Hof breathing should never be practised in water, not even in a tub, there is another type of breathing (the one I mentioned earlier which is called calming) to be done in ice.
4. One should not use Wim Hof breathing for apnoea underwater: Wim Hof breathing is able to increase the time we spend without taking in air, this happens not because we increase our lung capacity, but because we delay the onset of the stimulus to breathe. The time between the onset of the stimulus and the actual need to breathe decreases with each round of breathing Wim Hof, doing it in the water makes the practice extremely dangerous as we risk what is called shallow water 'drowning', as we do not realise we are about to open our mouths. If this happens at home, lying on the ground, it does not happen
nothing, if it happens in the water it becomes a big problem.
5. The method is not recommended for those who suffer from epilepsy, have severe heart disease, Level II Raynaud's syndrome and for those who are pregnant.
Why should everyone (or almost everyone) expose themselves to the cold?
Cold is an archaic and powerful force that has always accompanied us during our evolution as a human species. It is a stimulus that has much to teach us and rewards us with a great zest for life, because exposure to cold causes our bodies to produce an extra 250% of dopamine. This transmitter has many functions, including influencing mood and weather perception.
Having a dopamine peak corresponds to an intense euphoria, the same as after a satisfying workout and also, unfortunately, after smoking or taking drugs. The difference between the dopamine peak induced by drug use and the one that occurs after exposure to cold weather is that in the former case the peak is extreme and does not return to basal levels, but rather falls far beyond the threshold, causing a sense of strong depression, followed by a desire to try that euphoria again. In contrast, the peak of
dopamine triggered by exposure to cold is softer and remains well above the basal threshold (i.e. the amount of dopamine we have at rest) for a long time, ensuring a good mood for a long time, and then returns to basal level without
no 'rebound' downwards, hence no risk of addiction or dependence. In addition to the mood benefits, I always remember that exposure to cold decreases inflammation (chronic inflammation from stress and poor nutrition is the real scourge of our times) and allows the mind to train itself to handle challenging situations.
What are your future plans?
Definitely to continue to spread the Wim Hof method and a healthy lifestyle. Together with my partner Alice De Stefani (yoga instructor and holistic practitioner) we have designed a course for instructors who wish to give their clients all
the means to manage everyday stress. It is called OSG Discipline and is recognised nationally by the CSEN sports promotion body. In addition, I am writing a third book, obviously the topic is top secret!
Tell us about your 'typical' day and what is the importance of a wheel, a discipline...?
My day begins by anticipating Apollo in his race towards morning... said less poetically: I have my alarm clock set for 4.30am. I get up early in order to be able to train, I couldn't do it during the day, and since training is a very important part of my life, I am willing to make this sacrifice, of course I always make sure I get at least 7 hours of sleep: this means that at 9:30 p.m. I have already closed my eyes. As soon as I wake up I drink a glass of water and practise the Wim Hof breaths, then I go down to the garage where I have my small gym and work out, at the end of the session, I go upstairs, take a cold shower (yes, you can take a cold shower after strength, power and hypertrophy workouts!) I eat and start the day. Twice a week, when I have purely aerobic workouts on the calendar, I take a nice rejuvenating bath in my chest freezer converted into a tub with one degree water. The routine, as I have written before, is important to give a solid structure to the day and life,
but it must remain a tool and not become a cage. One must never become a slave to one's own habits: it is right to have a road to follow, but it is important that this is a dirt track in beautiful countryside rather than an aseptic motorway bridled in grey guard rails. I leave you with a consideration, a sentence taken from one of my favourite philosophers, Marcus Aurelius. In this sentence is all the power of the mind. If we know how to educate it, it stops being an obstacle and becomes our most valuable ally: 'You have power over your mind, not over external events. Realise this and you will find strength'.
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