A brand new BBC One present Freeze The Fear with Wim Hof begins tonight at 9pm.
Presenters Holly Willoughby and Lee Mack observe eight celebrities as they reside in sub-zero situations within the Italian mountains and are set a sequence of chilly challenges by the record-breaking Wim Hof.
Hof, often known as “The Iceman” believes that embracing the chilly can change our lives for the higher and he’s well-known for his Wim Hof Methodology respiratory approach.
Who’s Wim Hof?
He’s a 62-year-old Dutch motivational speaker and excessive athlete.
His “The Iceman” alias is due to his means to resist freezing temperatures.
He has set Guinness World Records for amongst others swimming beneath ice and beforehand held the document for a barefoot half marathon on ice and snow.
Hof says he is ready to obtain these superhuman feats via his Wim Hof Methodology which is a mixture of respiratory workouts, chilly publicity and meditation.
He additionally credit it with serving to him grieve the lack of his spouse and coping as he introduced up their 4 youngsters.
He says: “The youngsters made me survive nevertheless it was the chilly that introduced me again to life. It healed me.
“As an alternative of being guided by my damaged feelings, the chilly water led me to stillness and gave my damaged coronary heart an opportunity to relaxation, restore, rehabilitate.
“That’s the message I need to share. That is what I discovered. I need to share the love. I don’t need anybody else to be in the identical traumatic state of affairs that I used to be left behind in.”
On his website, Hof says his Methodology can carry stress discount, higher sleep, and enhanced psychological readability.
He additionally says it’s “linked” to serving to to cut back the signs of amongst others rheumatoid arthritis, a number of sclerosis and Parkinson’s illness, however these claims haven’t been scientifically confirmed.
Hof claims Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber and Matt Damon are followers of his Methodology.
What’s the Wim Hof Methodology of respiratory?
It’s primarily based on “three highly effective pillars”:
- Respiratory
- Chilly remedy
- Dedication
Hof says the Methodology “is about reconnecting us – to ourselves, to others and to nature”.
A spherical of the Wim Hof Methodology respiratory approach is as follows:
- Shut your eyes and attempt to clear your thoughts
- Inhale deeply via the nostril or mouth, and exhale via the mouth.
- Repeat this 30 or 40 occasions in brief, highly effective bursts.
- After the final exhalation, inhale one last time, as deeply as you’ll be able to. Then let the air out and cease respiratory. Maintain till you’re feeling the urge to breathe once more.
- When you’ll want to breathe once more, draw one huge breath to fill your lungs. As soon as at full capability, maintain your breath for round 15 seconds, then let go.
- This completes the primary cycle.
This cycle could be repeated three to 4 occasions with out interval.
The Methodology shouldn’t be beneficial for pregnant folks or if in case you have a historical past of:
- seizures
- respiratory issues
- stroke
- excessive or low blood stress
Hof warns folks to not use his respiratory methodology when in water or driving as a result of danger of blacking out.
4 folks drowned whereas making an attempt the Wim Hof Methodology in 2015 and 2016. And in 2021 a person in Singapore drowned additionally making an attempt the Methodology.
What do critics say about it?
Some argue that the advantages of the Wim Hof Methodology have been overstated.
Within the journal Temperature: Medical Physiology and Beyond, Professor Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt, says of Hof: “With conviction, he mixes in a nonsensical means scientific phrases as irrefutable proof.” nonetheless, he added of the Methodology that with “a superb dose of widespread sense…it doesn’t damage to strive”.
Harriet Corridor on the web site Science Based Medicine says: “His extraordinary resistance to chilly is an fascinating truth worthy of additional investigation, however I don’t suppose it justifies taking chilly showers or hyperventilating.”
Who’s collaborating in Freeze The Concern with Wim Hof ?
The contributors are
- Patrice Evra
- Gabby Logan
- Alfie Boe
- Tamzin Outhwaite
- Owain Wyn Evans
- Dianne Buswell
- Professor Inexperienced
- Chelcee Grimes
How can I watch the present?
It’s on tonight at 9pm on BBC One. You possibly can watch it on iPlayer here.
Chilly water publicity on the programme was performed in a managed atmosphere beneath the supervision of execs and shouldn’t be tried at dwelling.
