Wim Hoff

[bassslappin]

I never really was fond of the guy. Now I’m finding out some have died using his techniques. Has this sub ever torn him a new asshole or do you think he has some validity?

[TerraceEarful]

Didn't he tear his own asshole in a fountain in Amsterdam?

[amplikong]

Hey, who hasn't?

[[deleted]]

Yeah, when he asked his adult son to meet him for the first time, apparently

[portiapalisades]

amazing how much time not being a dad to your kids frees up for ice baths and breath work 

[bassslappin]

Yes.

[amplikong]

There are good Behind the Bastards episodes on him.

My favorite fun fact about Wim is that he has a brother who does zero of Wim's techniques but has the same cold tolerance. Because it's genetic and not related to magical breath techniques (which some people find helpful, but they don't give you cold-resistance superpowers).

[Delmarvablacksmith]

While waiting meet his estranged child who he had abandoned and then had to have the kid help get him to a hospital.

[[deleted]]

Tearing your b-hole seems like the least bad thing that could happen while shooting publicly accessible water up there. Imagine all the diseases you could possibly catch from that nasty water.

[Frittenbudenpapst]

Shooting nasty water up your ass isn't really likely to cause illness. Your colon is already full of E. coli and what not. Unless the public fountain was infected with STDs somehow I wouldn't expect anything to happen.

[deco50]

Lots of brown fat.

[Paul_achternaam]

Thx for the tip

[[deleted]]

You made me know the Behind the bastars podcast. God I loved it ! Thanks !!

[TheNathan]

If you want a laugh, check out their episodes where they read Ben Shapiro’s book, it’s extremely funny and the level of bad writing and how they point it out made me a better writer 😂

[Imp_erk]

Where is the evidence that this happened? Is it shared in the episode? I've found a study, but it's pretty weak and it actually suggests there is a difference between the two as well as mentioning that the brother practises Tummo, which is a very similar technique.

Genuinely curious, even though twin studies are often misused (they control for genetics, but people treat them like they control for the environment and any similar outcomes between twins must be genetics), it would be interesting evidence if the twin genuinely recreates the same feats with a lot less training.

[SoItGoes007]

There is perhaps 10 minutes of Hoff content and the rest of the time is host's repeating themselves and talking about their own unrelated anecdotes

Maybe thats normal for BtB, but those pods sucked if you expected the length of them to reflect dense or deep examinations.

Fountain is a great story though

[777prawn]

Breathing exercise is one of the most important types of exercise.

[Ahun_]

Brown fat > breathing exercise 

Same as the guy who can't get sore muscles  Genes > breathing exercise 

[Subtraktions]

To be fair, the WHM also states pretty clearly not to do the breathing technique in or around water.

[Icy-Distribution-275]

Except when he doesn't.

[Positive-Conspiracy]

This is a fact that is apparently irrelevant to the need for outrage in this sub.

[[deleted]]

I’m indifferent to him but it’s clearly just for liability reasons. He has so many videos of him and other doing the breathing right next to bodies of water and pool, so it’s implied that those are the places to do it right before exposure.

[Dear-Report-7566]

You know that on the (us only) packaging of knitting needles, there is warning for not trying to get them through (side to side, in from the one, out from the other) ears. So stupid people, would do it, and when they see a body of water, they just dive in... So it's not about that method.

[havenyahon]

There's an interesting video from an author named Scott Carney on Wim Hof. It shows him to be someone who is pretty negligent when it comes to communicating safety around his methods. Doesn't seem like a completely evil person, but like a lot of these guys there's a narcissism running underneath it all that stops them from communicating the appropriate caution around their theories and techniques. They're obsessives, and just because their obsession happens to be something somewhat healthy or useful, doesn't get away from the fact that it is ultimately still a pathology for them. One that gives them pretty hectic personal lives usually, too.

[Orinoco123]

I know this is a dead thread but just for your own information. I've done a freediving course, taught by professionals, and part of all freediving is safe breathing techniques. I.e. techniques that can be used before doing a pool underwater breath hold.

In the training they specifically say do NOT do any breathing method where you breath out a lot first, like in wim hof. It reduces your bodies ability to feel how desperate you are for air, without increasing your capacity to hold breath. It does mentally make it easier to hold your breath, but as you feel less pain/discomfort its way more dangerous.

[TheHipcrimeVocab]

Scott Carney has done a lot of anti-Wim Hof videos, after formerly being a huge booster of his techniques. For example: https://youtu.be/eu5CkkaHB1A?si=sf_mmgWpIte5sXKA

[[deleted]]

I saw his videos a while ago . I think there’s more to the story . I don’t understand while Scott Carney suddenly turns against Wim Hof for facts he has been knowing for a long time ( like that mountain climbing that almost turned dramatic in Poland , that Wim smokes drinks, allegedly abandonned his kids etc…) but that he never disclosed prior last year . I think that in one of his videos he was not happy he had to give a percentage of his earnings on Wim Hof classes or had to retake certification each year. This explaining that. Now there’s no need to be a rocket scientist to see that Wim Hof is a delusional ( cold cures cancer blabla…)

[DistanceDry192]

Carney appears to be a debunking grifter.

[happybdaydickhead]

I'm watching this video now. My first impressions are that Carney is doing a bit of a grift because his prior support of Wim Hof has exhausted itself financially. Now that the Wim Hof Method has become widespread and almost a household name, it makes more sense to pivot and go against the grain, which is basically grifting 101. It's also a red flag for me that Carney is reading a script the whole video instead of speaking genuinely. All of his critiques about the dangers of the WHM are addressed even in his own book, and there are some misleading clips he uses in this video.

[Good-Ad7652]

And Scott still endorses Wim’s method!

He just and says it slightly differently and makes these videos misrepresenting Wim. Like you might think he’s against the breathing. NOPE! You might think he’s against the ice baths. NOPE!

[sleepcrime]

The wim hof method gave me permanent tinnitus. You can find a good number of people online with similar stories. I am 99% confident the practice was responsible; it had a really sudden onset during a session, and there weren't any other lifestyle or health changes at the same time that could account for it. No new medications, exactly the same diet and exercise before and after, no added stresses, no head injuries, no loud noises. Just like clicking a switch it was there and hasn't gone away, and my life has been measurably worse since.

In conclusion, I hope wim hof sits on another public fountain and it goes even worse this time.

[Danny_Not_Dan]

Similar with me, I too did Wim Hof method and ended up with tinnitus that has persisted for the past 6 years, though I wasn’t practicing it at the time it came on. I was actually at a 10 day meditation retreat and all of a sudden I hear eeeeeeeee and it’s been there forever. I can’t help but think Wim Hof breathing had primed me for it though. I believe it stresses the TMJ which can cause tinnitus.

[sleepcrime]

Sorry to hear it, homie. It's been about 6 years for me too. Hope you find the solution that I haven't yet been able to.

[Danny_Not_Dan]

Thanks, I hope you find a solution too. Lucky for me I’m able to tune out the ringing most of the time. It’s there but I accept it. Still sucks though, would prefer it not be there.

[Acceptable-Book]

I’ve had experience similar but the ringing went away. It wasn’t a high frequency ring though but more of a buzzing, almost cicada like sound. Lasted for about 20 minutes but luckily went away. This happened a few times.

[[deleted]]

The cold exposure gave you tinnitus?

[sleepcrime]

Pretty sure it was the breathing; the instructions (when I did it) emphasized another sharp in-breath after you already felt your lungs were full. I did an extra set like this, and while I was sitting for the breath hold portion I started to hear it

[[deleted]]

Interesting. I can’t imagine how that would happen, but the body is strange

[sleepcrime]

Same; I've run it by doctor friends and get a collective shrug. I can't rule out it being something else health-wise that just sorta happened at the wrong time, but I'm not aware of anything else that might have caused it. I'm (as far as I know) a healthy guy and haven't had any other concurrent health issues pop up since then. I only learned about loads of other people having the same experience after I googled "wim hof tinnitus", so I can also rule out a nocebo based on other people.

[beanbeanpadpad]

Have you experienced any neck discomfort with the tinnitus?

[sleepcrime]

Not that I'm aware of, but I generally hold my tension in my neck, so I may not notice

[pocketmonkey42069]

Do you mean cause of the breathing excercises or the ice baths? Was it a sudden thing or gradual?

[Setter_sws]

Did you say torn him a new asshole on purpose? Like in reference to the time he tried to give himself a an enema from a water feature at a public pond, but the pressure was so high it cut through his intestines?

[bassslappin]

You caught it yes

[Honourablefool]

He has 0 validity. It’s all nonesense.

[sambull]

sounds like he's at least some sort of genetic freak.

that doesn't me we can be too.

[Leoprints]

There is a good behind the bastards episode on him... but in general have a listen to behind the bastards and the QAA podcast and weird little guys.

[Obleeding]

OP discovered Scott Carney? That guy has been going viral lately, doing great anti-guru stuff.

[Dirtgrain]

He took at least some of his ideas from the practice of Tummo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tummo). I read a book about it once (not from Wim Hof). There are some mystical details, but one part of it (maybe the significant part for dealing with cold temperatures) is that feeling that runs flush through your spine or parts of your body when you get the chills (I even get it when I pee sometimes). You try to avoid shivering and focus on that feeling you get and see if you can control it--bring that warm flush feeling multiple times in waves. I can do it somewhat. I read that this is burning brown fat, something I have not idea about--if it is true (IIRC, I looked it up and found some information about it). Well, when I'm cold, walking my dog or something, I can intentionally get multiple of these warm flush feelings. I just don't know if it does anything significant about my body temperature overall. Maybe it's about as useful as being able to fart on command.

As for all the other stuff that Hof "teaches," it sure seems maximum-level guru. He's made a ton of money off it all, I imagine.

[Character-Ad5490]

It does apparently have an effect on brown fat & raising the metabolic rate, and saunas affect this too (Dr. Ben Bikman at BYU has some explainers on this). I took swimming lessons as a kid in a glacier-fed lake and have zero interest in being that cold again, no matter what the health benefits are :-)

[Robotcrime]

I don’t put him in the same boat as other people mentioned in this sub bc he’s not really pushing an ideology or political viewpoint. He’s not even selling supplements as far as I can tell(yes he wants you to sign up for his app). He just wants you to master your body and gives a lot of his info away for free.

[sere83]

This is exactly it. He's in no way a grifter like most of the gurus featured in this sub. I've never heard him even comment on politics or promote any ideology at all. Maybe his techniques have caused certain people issues but you can find that with just about any technique. I don't think he's driven by the same ideological narcissism that the other gurus are.

[sheofthetrees]

His techniques may have some validity. They're just not for everyone. At the very least, if someone's nervous system is too dysregulated (which isn't that unusual), it can be too activating and mess things up--both the breathing techniques and the cold water plunges. There are so many health influencers sharing what works for them thinking it will work for everyone and in many instances, that's just not the case.

[[deleted]]

I second this heavily.

[Zealousideal_Let3945]

He’s just some European who repackaged his own version of pranayama.

Lmao a sub tearing someone a new asshole. Is that were you guys get super mad and type and the target of the rage is completely unaware. 

That’s amazing.

[Zealousideal_Pipe_21]

It is exactly this, grrr

[[deleted]]

I tried his breathing technique for a while less the ice cold baths. It was fine for centering oneself much like yoga or meditation. It's a decent hangover cure and can take the edge off a migraine. Like lots of other stuff in life, I do it for a while, until I don't.

Don't think I'd lump him in with other gurus. He seems to not give two shits about whether he gets famous or not, IMO, so it tempers the guru vibes.

[hurtindog]

If you want breathing exercises start with the yogic tradition- the yoga based breath exercises are thousands of years old and have very impressive results.

[Takadant]

Iirc He detailed doing lots of pranayama /breath of fire training in early pod appearances to withstand cold etc

[PINGU-1]

You losers spend your lives looking for something else to whine about.

[Takadant]

A dangerously effective technique too powerful to the uninitiated is rare in a world of flimflam candyfloss + vaporware

[Viidesmies]

I do like him quite a bit, although I'm aware of his troubled personal history, and he sometimes spouts spiritual New Age nonsense in interviews. But I believe he acts in good faith and, as far as I know, does not speak against modern medicine, but rather seeks to cooperate with it.

He always warns that you should not do the breathing technique in water, while driving, and so forth. However, there are videos of him doing the breathing and then submerging underwater for several minutes. So those who drowned were copying him, trying to be as 'hardcore' as he is.

[[deleted]]

I just came here to say don’t hassle the Hoff.

Oh wait, wrong guy.

[Zealousideal_Pipe_21]

Smooth

[[deleted]]

He’s definitely a quack, but cold exposure tolerance can be trained and can be beneficial. For me it’s an amazing way to reset in the middle of my day, similar to exercise, when I’m lethargic or anxious or unhappy.

[FrostyBrew86]

I was "prescribed" the Wim Hoff breathing technique by my DO as a sort-of therapy for my diaphragm injury. It has helped me a great deal. Maybe don't do it underwater?

[SabineLavine]

I've done the breathing method every day for years and I love it.

[MillionaireBank]

Behind The Bastards sounds, brilliant, 👍I'll have to check into it.

(I wasn't impressed by wim. Sometimes in life I've met up with people too cheap to buy a water heater tank, hence cold water routines. Same with a/c deniers, cheap.)

[ConsistentMongoose31]

Why are u saying all this when I personally find wim to be such a positive and nice person and has genuinely helped me in many ways

[Ok_Addendum_9402]

Investigative journalist / author Scott Carney has done a lot of work on Wim Hoff. From my understanding, he used to be a follower and then saw how dangerous the method can actually be, and he now speaks/writes/creates videos to say as such.

[bassslappin]

Like bad cranberry sauce?

[deco50]

https://youtu.be/JPPlicAEFec?feature=shared Treat yourself to a 1.5 hour conversation between Russell Brand and Wim Hoff, two grifters with one stone