The Cold Cure: What Freezing Water and Extreme Breathing can do for your Performance

Man with frozen hair doing yoga exercise, parsva bakasana, on the ice

The Daily Routine Athletes Love – The Cold Cure: What Freezing Water and Extreme Breathing can do for your Performance

http://www.wimhofmethod.com/?linkId=31978754

Professional surfer Koa Smith is one of a growing number of athletes—from Laird Hamilton and his wife, Gabby Reece, to CrossFit coach Brian Mackenzie and biohacker Tim Ferris—who have begun using the breathing exercises of adventurer Wim Hof as a way to achieve peak physical performance.

The 57-year-old Dutchman is an unlikely fitness guru. Hof has spent decades pursuing obscure feats, nearly all of which are designed to demonstrate his singular ability to withstand extreme cold: climbing to 20,000 feet on Mount Everest while wearing only shorts and shoes; running a marathon barefoot above the Arctic Circle; staying submerged in an ice bath for nearly two hours. Dutch TV has dubbed him the Iceman.

http://www.mensjournal.com/health-fitness/articles/what-freezing-water-extreme-altitude-can-do-for-our-health-w455186

A Daily Routine to Hack Your Body

1. Shock the System

First Step: Exercise the circulatory system and activate brown fat. To do it, go stand in snow barefoot. Or turn the shower cold and stand under the water for a minute. Whatever the source, the goal is to give your system a little shock, then suppress your natural response to shiver. (How? Take a deep breath, and relax. You’re fine. You’re not dying today.) Doing so sends a signal to your body to find another way to warm up; this activates brown fat and boosts metabolism.

2. Dial in breath.

To alter the way your body responds to external stress — say, standing in the snow barefoot — you need to train it to metabolize oxygen more efficiently. Power breathing is the way to do it. Begin by taking 30 fast breaths. Inhale for one second, and let the exhale flow out slowly and naturally. (You may start to feel dizzy or cold or experience tingling in your hands and feet: This is normal.) After the 30 breaths, finish with an exhale and time yourself to see how long it takes before you need to gasp for air. Hold on as long as you can, clenching the muscles in your chest, arms, and legs. When you can’t stand it anymore, take in a half breath and hold it for 15 seconds. Exhale, then start over. Repeat this power-breathing process three times, increasing the length of the final hold each time.

3. Supercharge a workout.

Power breathing can temporarily increase the amount of oxygen your body has to use, allowing you to push harder during any short, intense exercise, like outdoor sprints. Here’s how you can put it to use: After three rounds of power breathing and retention, do one final set, this time with 40 breaths. The extra 10 breaths should be at an even faster pace. After the final exhale, immediately do push-ups while holding your breath. Do as many as you can. The breathing prep will super-oxygenate your blood, making these push-ups feel easier than any you’ve ever done. The technique works for more than notching high reps of push-ups, too. Try it before any high-intensity workout.

4. Put it all together.

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Hof credits much of his success to his breathing exercises, a practice he began five years ago. And he says his technique—which involves a series of deep, rhythmic inhales and exhales, followed by breath holding—can strengthen the body, improve the immune system and circulation, prevent disease, and help with focus, confidence, and mindfulness. Surprisingly, research backs up many of those brash assertions. In 2014, a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that people could learn to control their immune response and autonomous nervous system after just ten days of Hof’s breathing exercises, meditation, and repeated exposure to cold. In the study, 24 participants—half of them trained by Hof—were injected with the endotoxin E. coli. Those Hof trained had a different inflammatory, immune, and hormone response, allowing them to fight it off significantly better than the other group.

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Hof prescribes a cold shower, an ice bath, or some other form of cold submersion immediately following his breathing regimen—a peculiar dictate also supported by research. “Cryotherapy increases the hormone norepinephrine,” says biologist Rhonda Patrick. “That ramps up fat metabolism and produces heat as a by-product.” The cold also reduces inflammation and eases chronic pain.

WARNING: As you might imagine, prolonged breath holding and cold exposure has inherent risks. Consult a physician before beginning, and practice while seated or lying down, away from water, and not while driving; increase intensity gradually. The method should challenge you, not end you.

Be Your Own Guinea Pig – Wim Hof Breathing Technique

1. Lie on the ground or sit with your back straight.

2. Inhale deeply, pulling in as much air as you can using your diaphragm.

3. Exhale fully but not forcefully; simply let the breath go.

4. Repeat inhales and exhales for 30 to 40 rounds with your own rhythm.

5. On the last round, exhale and then hold your breath until your body feels the need to breathe.

6. Inhale deeply, then hold your breath for ten seconds.

7. Repeat steps 3–6 for three or four rounds.

8. After your final round, hop in a cold shower. On your first try, stay under the water for 30 seconds, then gradually increase until you reach three to five minutes.

Wim Hof App

Strengthen your body and mind. With this app you can train and begin applying the Wim Hof Method (WHM) – Ignite your Innerfire.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.deckeron.apps.innerfire&hl=en

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/innerfire/id890471578?mt=8