Wow, Eric! You and the Iceman have achieved impressive feats indeed. I have the electronic version of Wim's book. I skimmed parts of it, but then it stopped working. You sparked my interest again and I learned that the reason it wasn't working was because Amazon disabled the version of Kindle I was using without warning. I updated it and can now read the book again. I also found a program that enables me to read it on my iPod Touch, which is more convenient to use than having to sit at a desk to read it. Thanks for the reminder about it!
One part of the book I found interesting was how he learned that healthy humans are born with the ability to not only withstand intense, lengthy cold, but to get warmer from it--when he saw that his infant son had been holding onto a snowball for over an hour without pain and his hands were actually quite warm as a result!
Wim Hoff can withstand the
heat of "Hard Nature" too:
Q: How well can you withstand heat?
Wim Hof: “I just ran a full marathon in the desert without drinking water. The entire time, my core temperature remained the same. The cold is a temperature, heat as well, so I have complete control of both.”
http://becomingtheiceman.com/faq
The Scandinavians have long used both cold
and heat for therapeutic benefits. Cold and heat therapy fall under the umbrella term of "cryotherapy." My guess is that hormesis is the main mechanism that underlies the benefits of both.
a sauna followed by a cold shower has been shown to reduce pain in rheumatoid arthritis where pain is mediated by sensitised c-fibre sympathetics. Regular saunas have also been found to improve micro circulation and reduce vasoconstriction and hypertension.[53][54] Many symptoms of chronic illnesses may be due to vasoconstriction effects (e.g. cold sensitivity, physical pain, and even mood states); and sauna improves microcirculation and blood supply to constricted areas.[55]
Research has also shown that adaptation to cold through short term cold stimulus, as in cold swimming, immersion (or showers) has the added benefit of improving the body's anti oxidant capabilities, with increases in glutathione and reduction of uric acid, which may mean better handling of the stresses of illness.[56] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauna#With_cold_exposure
"Edmund Hillary's ascent of Mount Everest was a testament to human achievement; my climb of Mount Everest in my shorts will be a monument to the frivolous, decadent nature of modern society." ~Wim Hof
Something occurred to me today while doing a cold shower that followed a hot bath: the areas of my body most sensitive to the cold water are areas that are normally not exposed to the cold, particularly cold wind--the backs of my upper arms, shoulders and upper back and the hair-covered parts of my scalp. Exposing these areas to cold water has made them less sensitive.
