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Wim Hof a.k.a. “The Iceman” is known for his ability to withstand extreme cold and control his autonomic nervous system. Wim holds 21 world records, including one for staying immersed in ice up to his neck for 1 hour and 52 minutes.

He reached the top of Mount Kilimanjaro in his shorts within two days and taught a group of 27 people to do the same. He climbed Mount Everest wearing nothing but shorts and shoes, and he completed a half marathon above the arctic circle in Finland in temperatures close to −20 °C (−4 °F) dressed in nothing but shorts. He even went to the opposite extreme and ran a full marathon in the Namib Desert without water.


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Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

Pre-show banter (this is interesting stuff!)

  • [0:01] Wim doing some yoga atop a mountain.
  • [1:23] Wim’s viewpoint of conditions and control of the environment.
  • [3:01] Breaking mountain climbing records with untrained groups of people.
  • [8:42] The last group’s toughest challenges climbing Kilimanjaro.

Outline of the interview

  • [13:52] Jeremy’s introduction of Wim Hoff.
  • [15:14] Wim’s closest call – when he was closest to death.
  • [20:26] The instantaneous changes experienced in Wim’s training.
  • [22:51] Wim’s journey to the top of Mt. Everest – running a marathon in shorts only.
  • [27:17] The greatest challenge of climbing Everest.
  • [30:04] The physical disciplines Wim follows when engaging in an extreme endurance challenge.
  • [33:28] How long a group trains before climbing Kilimanjaro with Wim & the key components of the training.
  • [37:09] Daily habits to do for endurance and extreme training.
  • [39:00] The ability of human beings to tap into their own body chemistry.
  • [40:10] The instantaneous effects of Wim’s breathing methods.
  • [46:26] Jeremy’s experiences practicing Wim’s methods.
  • [52:13] Wim’s breathing practice when being immersed in ice.
  • [57:31] The impacts of pH levels on grief, stress, and other conditions.
  • [59:02] A variety of applications for Wim’s breathing protocols.
  • [1:01:13] Wim’s thoughts on why more people are not adopting his methods.
  • [1:02:13] Wim’s research and experience training others to control their immune systems.
  • [1:04:27] The mental part of these disciplines and the focus of the mind.
  • [1:07:08] The 4 days that trained people to overcome symptoms of sickness.
  • [1:10:05] Wim’s instruction of people with stage IV cancer.
  • [1:11:41] The types of people who could be helped by these breathing techniques.
  • [1:14:21] In an ideal world, how much time should be spent on breathing each day.
  • [1:17:24] How scientists explain the results of Wim’s results.
  • [1:19:58] What makes Wim want to do the extreme feats that he does.
  • [1:21:45] The hardest thing Wim has ever done – getting through to people.
  • [1:22:33] The loss of Wim’s wife and how he raised 4 kids on his own.
  • [1:25:02] A day in Wim’s life with 4 kids as a single dad.
  • [1:26:11] Wim’s first encounter with extreme cold.
  • [1:28:10] What attracted Wim to extreme cold?
  • [1:29:30] What Wim wanted to do when he grew up.
  • [1:30:17] Wim’s parents and what they did when he was a child.
  • [1:32:42] The lessons Wim learned from his parents.
  • [1:35:41] Early extreme feats Wim tried as a young man.
  • [1:36:43] Wim’s mission: To bring happiness, strength, and health to everybody.
  • [1:39:02] Wim’s lowest point and how he pushed through it.
  • [1:40:01] How Wim coped with the loss of his wife.
  • [1:41:40] Wim’s proudest moments.
  • [1:47:01] Why Wim believes that we have to change the world.
  • [1:49:23] What Wim suggests you should check out in his training.

In this episode…

Few people have established such a place of reverence in their particular field as Wim Hof has. Wim is a very unorthodox example of a man who took his beliefs seriously and has fought to prove them to be true. He is affectionately known as “The Ice Man” because of his extreme endurance feats in cold temperatures. Wim has climbed Mt. Everest and Mt. Kilimanjaro, among others, in nothing but his shorts. But what’s more amazing is that he has also trained others to do the same thing in relatively short periods of time, in an effort to prove that the human brain and body are capable of so much more than we have believed in the past.

Wim is a native of the Netherlands and is not University-trained in science or conditioned professionally to be an endurance athlete. Even so, he’s been able to accomplish some of the most spectacular and truly unbelievable feats in the world. He first came into contact with exposure to cold when he was 17 years old and in his words, “The cold became my teacher.” Somehow, that experience put him in touch with his body in new ways and he’s been experimenting ever since.

What motivates a man to do the kinds of things Wim does? He says it’s for two reasons: #1 – to bring health, happiness, and strength to all the children of the world. He truly believes that the breathing and conditioning methods he’s discovered can not only bring healing to the body but also peace to the soul. And #2 – to gain attention for the research and beliefs he’s pioneering in regard to how breathing and pH levels in the body impact sickness and health, endurance, and the ability to perform at a much higher level mentally. One of the most incredible results of Wim’s experiments is the effect his breathing techniques have had on sickness. In one instance, after training a group of people with his breathing practices, they were intentionally subjected to a particular strain of bacteria and their bodies were able to fight it off with incredible strength. Wim attributes the result to the higher pH levels of their bodies because of the breathing techniques they’d been practicing.

In Wim Hof’s own life, his breathing techniques and mindset practices enabled him to push beyond the grief that threatened to consume him when his wife was killed in an accident. Wim is convinced that the mind is much more powerful than we have believed and that the right personal practices and disciplines can eliminate things like stress, worry, grief, and even physical sickness. This is a very interesting, unbelievable conversation that I know you’ll enjoy.

Resources and People Mentioned on this episode

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