The beginning of the Iceman

By the time Wim reached his teenage years, he was already running barefoot through the snow, comfortably.. It was the beginning of a large series of confrontations with the cold, where every single time, limits were tested, stunning the outside world. Wim Hof (born 1959) is able to perform exceptionally, almost unnatural, on what he is focused on. Worldwide, there are people bending themselves backward over this case, especially in the scientific field. According to Wim, it’s not complicated at all: "What I am capable of, everybody can learn".

Control over your inner nature

Wim Hof is an autodidact and taught himself how to control his heart rate, breathing and blood circulation. All this is regulated by the autonomic nervous system. Science says that the autonomic nervous system is a part of the body you just can´t control, yet Wim can, by steering his hypothalamus (an area in the brain which regulates the body temperature). Where the body temperature of an untrained person drops dangerously after exposing it to extreme cold, Wim is able to retain his core temperature around 37 degrees Celsius, constantly. Even after 1 hour and 52 minutes sitting in ice, Wim’s core temperature stays the same. Scientists around the world want a finger behind this exceptional performance. In the Netherlands, Prof. Maria Hopman of the UMC St Radboud Nijmegen examined Wim’s physiology as he was affected by the cold, while he was up to his neck in a cylinder filled with ice cubes.

18 Guinness World Records

The Guinness World Record Ice Endurance feat, which is set at 1 hour and 52 minutes, is not the only world record that Wim has to his name. He accomplished 18 Guinness World Records with the most exceptional and unique performances.

Through his exercises and workouts Wim has achieved the following:

• running a marathon above the Arctic circle in shorts
• running half a marathon barefoot above the Arctic circle in only shorts
• officially swam under ice for 66 meters, unofficially swam under ice for 120 meters with one breath
• free climbing
• hanging on one finger at an altitude of 2000 meters
• climbing the highest mountains on earth in only shorts
• heat tests with a constant body temperature
• Full marathon in Namib desert without water consumption

All of this may seem superhuman, but Wim remains persevering: “What I am capable of, everybody can learn".

Read more