Misconceptions About The Wim Hof Method

A response to Loris Vitry’s opinion on the Wim Hof Method

By Leonardo Pelagotti and Sébastien Zappa, PhD

With supervision by Mr. Schlachet D.O., Director of CFPCO

Quick foreword: This article is a response to misconceptions originally published in an article written in French. Non-French speaking readers interested in the Wim Hof Method may still find interests in reading this response, since these misconceptions are common and we debunk them by giving detailed explanations of what the Wim Hof Method consist in.

According to his website, Loris Vitry is a Yoga Therapist and breathing coach. He says he has “transformed the lives of the thousands of people he has coached through [his] online training. ” He also has an opinion on the Wim Hof ​​Method which he has published on his website. So far, nothing abnormal for anyone interested in breathing techniques.

On the other hand, this opinion is riddled with questionable claims and errors about the Wim Hof ​​Method, in addition to scientific approximations or even errors.

Leonardo and I therefore take the trouble to answer him. This response is by no means an attack on the person: we do not know him and are ready to think that he is acting with a positive intention, namely for the well-being of people. This answer is not a criticism of his breathing method either. We don’t know what it consists of, and while it seems to rely on flawed scientific explanations, the method can still be effective.

First of all, Loris Vitry claims to have met “dozens of former practitioners of the Wim Hof ​​method, [who] all suffered from burnout and today have a destroyed endocrine system”, but also “dozens of people who were surprised to have become asthmatic after a few months of practicing the Wim Hof ​​breathing method “, and finally ” people who have developed heart problems (palpitations), anxiety attacks, sleep apnea [because of the Wim Hof ​​Method]. “

The authors of this response to Loris Vitry are certified instructors of the Wim Hof ​​Method. We are led to meet practitioners of this method and train these people. Leonardo has been practicing this method for 4 years and has trained thousands of people (including doctors, health professionals, osteopaths, high level athletes etc.). Sébastien has been practicing for 4 years, has been teaching for about 2 years and has trained around 150 people. In addition, we are in regular contact with the community of instructors, who exchange information and observations on the practice. Leonardo works directly with Wim Hof ​​to train new instructors with the Academy WHM Innerfire.

Despite this, we have never heard of dozens of practitioners suffering such negative effects. Admittedly, the instructors undoubtedly tend to see especially the people in whom the method has a positive impact in the long term. But it seems hard not to have heard back from those dozens of problematic cases. And when everyone else complains to the same coach, it becomes strange. It would therefore be interesting, if these former practitioners actually exist, to know how they practiced the Wim Hof ​​Method: did they learn it on their own on the internet or from a certified instructor?

In other words, were they actually practicing the Wim Hof ​​Method or an ersatz like the one described in the article?

Let’s dive into this…

To start with, a fundamental confusion made by Loris Vitry in his article concerns the difference between Wim Hof, the man of many crazy records, and the Wim Hof Method, a health / well-being approach adapted to the most people. Of course, it is not possible to completely dissociate the two. But while Wim Hof has lined up many records for various reasons (personal, such as surpassing oneself; but also attracting the attention of scientists and thus allowing to give legitimacy to his experiments), the Wim Hof Method has a different approach.

It’s like confusing learning to ride a bike and winning the Tour de France: the first is necessary to complete the second, but it is not the same thing.

The “Wim Hof phenomenon” has indeed spread over the internet with sensationalist videos: become a superman, become limitless, etc … Terms just repeated – hopefully ironically – in the article. But the truth is, during a Wim Hof ​​Method course, the instructor will not teach you any such thing. A word of advice: if you ever meet someone who wants to teach you how to ride a bike and says they are going to make you win the Tour de France: run away! (Especially since you cannot ride a bike)

One of the first messages Sébastien gives during his workshops is precisely “today, I am not going to teach you how to become Wim Hof, but I will introduce you to the Wim Hof ​​Method. ” To achieve the exploits of Wim Hof, one must certainly practice the Wim Hof ​​Method, but with the diligence and sacrifices of a top athlete who has complete control over his body and his mind. On the contrary, during a Wim Hof ​​Method course, we try to explore the limits of the comfort zone, but not those of safety.

The article describes the Wim Hof ​​Method as a work of breathing and exposure to cold that transforms you into a superman, a demigod. He forgets to specify not only that these exercises are carried out gradually, not forced and without concern for performance, but also that these two exercises correspond to the first two pillars only of the method. Indeed, the third concerns the mindset. Practicing only the first two pillars is not practicing the Wim Hof ​​Method.

This confusion on Loris Vitry’s part largely explains the author’s negative opinion of the Wim Hof ​​Method. Breathing exercises and exposure to cold, if done recklessly (and without mental preparation), are indeed very violent. And if one practices them both poorly and regularly, and if one has been chronically tired, the risks of getting even more tired are real. But this would not be the result of Wim Hof ​​Method, but of an approximation.

Besides ignoring the third pillar of the method, there is this disturbing phrase: “Some people greatly regret their experiences of hyperventilation while forcing themselves to stay in an ice bath.” It seems to indicate that those former practitioners he rescued were practicing breathing technique and cold exposure at the same time … However, one of the fundamental rules of the Wim Hof ​​Method is precisely that one never mixes these two practices.

Never !

It is therefore an approximation of the Wim Hof Method which is described and criticized by Loris Vitry. As we saw above, he only cites two of the three pillars. He says, for example, that “All these amazing [performed by Wim Hof] and extraordinary feats are attributed to his method of breathing, and the exposure to cold,” but that is not true, since the Mindset is missing here. The three pillars are supposed to be inseparable in order to be able to speak of the Wim Hof Method. In the 2018 study (Brain over body), Wim Hof alters his brain activity and metabolism by entering a meditative state, without practicing his breathing technique. Thus, we see how crucial the third pillar, not mentioned in the article, is during Wim Hof’s exploits.

Then come the approximations and errors in the breathing technique of the Wim Hof ​​Method.

He tells us that “First of all you hyperventilate with your mouth open” and that “the Wim Hof ​​exercise involves inhaling a lot of oxygen (hyperventilation) with your mouth open for several minutes. ” The practice of open-mouth breathing is not a prescription of the Wim Hof ​​Method. One can breathe through the mouth or through the nose during this phase of increased and controlled breathing. To sum it up briefly, the nose will bring more control while the mouth will bring more intensity to the exercise. However, the desired goal of this phase of the exercise is to play in the comfort zone but while keeping control of what you are doing. Thus, the practitioner is invited to explore the technique through nasal breathing, and the use of the mouth occurs only in a secondary way, and above all it is not an objective in itself.

Further on, the article tells us about empty lung retention. This is also an imprecision. No step in this respiratory sequence takes place by completely emptying the lungs. The exhalation phases are always passive, allowing the rib cage to reach a default volume of about 2/3 empty. No effort is made during the exhalation, while effort is required to empty the lungs. The exhalation is simply triggered as advised by the practice of yogic breathing (which is used by the Wim Hof ​​breathing technique).

One confusion exposed by Loris Vitry also concerns stress. He rightly indicates that the breathing technique of the Wim Hof ​​Method generates a physiological stress reaction (cf. sympathetic nervous system, adrenaline). However, he considers this stress to be deleterious and potentially associated with burn-outs. We will come back to it.

Later in the text, his words become inconsistent because he offers us his method (which, once again, is perhaps very effective) by saying that it is done without stress, but using a certain amount of stress, and allowing to live without stress. So we do not see where he is going with this.

But what about stress, and especially in the Wim Hof ​​Method?

In fact, not all stresses are created equal. In particular, it is important to distinguish between acute stress and chronic stress. The first one can save your life, the second one kills you slowly. The first makes it possible to trigger a survival reaction (“fight or flight”). The second is a state of permanent stress, which for the body is to constantly produce stress hormones (adrenaline, norepinephrine, cortisol) for no objective reason. The adrenal glands, which produce these hormones, eventually become exhausted and are no longer able to produce these hormones in sufficient quantities. Chronic fatigue sets in, burnout shows up. There are several levels of interpretation of the Wim Hof ​​Method, but one of them is to view this practice as an approach to regaining control over the autonomic nervous system. By exposing yourself to stressors (breathing technique, exposure to cold, etc.) with the right state of mind and without forcing, we observe how the body enters a phase of acute stress and we condition ourselves to regain control and relax (adaptation by the law of hormesis).

So the practitioner gradually get used to switching from one (sympathetic) mode to another (parasympathetic), and vice versa. We cannot live without stress (except perhaps in a “flotation tank” with food in IV). But you kill yourself by stressing when you don’t have to. So the idea is to be as resilient as possible by training the autonomic nervous system to efficiently activate the “fight or flight” or “rest and repair / digest” branches depending on the surrounding situation. In fact, during a typical breathing session, there is no question of extreme stress that will make you superhuman. In fact, working while in control typically induces a state of induced physiological stress while having a feeling of relaxation (notably through norepinephrine).

That being said, keep in mind that this aspect of the Wim Hof ​​Method is not fully scientifically explained and interpretations can be tricky. But in the PNAS 2014 study, it appears, for example, that the practice of the respiratory sequence induces a high production of adrenaline and then of norepinephrine; while the level of cortisol normalizes faster than in the control group. This tends to confirm that practicing this method is indeed more effective in moving from one state to another.

Adapting with flexibility to external situations, with control, without passively undergoing them.

In fact, a passage from the text of the article ultimately sums up very well the fact that his criticism of the Wim Hof ​​Method stems from a complete ignorance of the latter. Here it is :

“To evolve and push your limits, you have to place yourself in a physiological zone that is healthy under stress. “

This is exactly what the Wim Hof ​​Method offers.

“In other words, you must voluntarily place yourself in a zone of discomfort (stress), but NEVER exceed your limit, the red line, at the risk of dying. “

This is exactly what the Wim Hof ​​Method offers.

“The Wim Hof ​​method blows this red line squarely by pushing your limits to the max. “

False.

So, as we can see, it would even seem that Loris Vitry is ultimately in accordance with the Wim Hof ​​Method. It’s quite ironic, but we can only wish him to go to a course with a certified instructor and get a more precise opinion. He will see that certified instructors are not supermen, demigods, super warriors, but normal people in search of well-being, better performance, and that often… they succeed!

Finally, the scientific errors…

Finally, among the scientific errors, we note the following:

• There have been no experiments with injecting E. coli bacteria into human organisms (Wim Hof, or volunteers). In contrast, there were injections of an endotoxin, which corresponds to the cell wall of the bacterium E. coli. The difference is significant: the bacterium E. coli is a living organism and, incidentally, an infectious agent; while its cell wall is a non-living cell extract, and therefore non-infectious. It is used in this type of experiment to trigger and study an inflammatory reaction (in particular of the innate immune system, generic non-specific response).

• It is not clear what this story of bicarbonate production by the adrenal glands is, or even this story of bicarbonate which is produced to replace CO2. Bicarbonate in the blood reflects the acid-base homeostasis of the blood. It corresponds to the major part of the CO2 resulting from cellular respiration, or about 75% of blood CO2. Aerobic oxidation of glucose in the mitochondria produces water and CO2, which by carbonic anhydrase is dissolved into carbonic acid, and itself occurs as a bicarbonate-proton equilibrium. The CO2 is evacuated by the lungs and the kidneys. Maybe Loris Vitry confused the kidneys and the adrenal glands?

• It is not clear what “natural CO2” is, or “the oxidation of CO2 and phosphorus in the nervous system”.

• It is not clear what an organism “does not run on adrenaline but on ATP” is. Every living organism uses ATP for its cellular functions, in particular metabolic. Adrenaline is not a source of energy, but a hormone that, for example, mobilizes glucose and fatty acids in the blood, allowing the rapid production … of ATP.

We have taken the time to write this article to help practitioners of breathing and the Wim Hof ​​Method and answer their doubts following the article by Loris Vitry. Here we do not want to prove the effectiveness of one method over the other but simply to stop circulating false information.

We remain available to complete this response and article with any information you may provide.