Wim Hof method

I had asked Dr Feigenbaum this question on Instagram DM but I figured this would be better as a discussion. Here goes.

What are your thoughts on the Wim Hof method? Wim Hof has developed a system of breathing, meditation and cold exposure which has allowed him to set some ridiculously cool world records. The students he coaches also routinely accomplish extreme feats with him. His breathing method has been tested in a lab where he was injected with a component of E. coli cell wall to simulate a sepsis , a systemic infection. And remarkably, Wim Hof was able to minimise the immune response of his body. All he felt was a mild headache.

What are your thoughts? Is it just placebo? Does this have any application to powerlifting or strength sports?

I don’t know much about his “method” in particular. However, based on our current understanding of the interactions between the psychological, neurological, endocrine, and immune systems (sometimes given the ridiculous name “psychoneuroendocrinoimmunology” … seriously, Google it), many of these things are plausible.

I don’t know what you mean by “is this just placebo”. I do think it has application to PL/strength sports, and this is actually the fundamental topic of my stress neurobiology lecture at our seminars.

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