Health

Dutch ‘Iceman’ Can Do Freaky Things in Extreme Cold

Dutch Iceman Can Do Freaky Things in Extreme Cold

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — The sun beams down on a warm Dutch spring morning, and the Iceman’s students look wary as they watch him dump bag after bag of ice into the tub of water where they will soon be taking a dip.

The plan is to try to overcome the normal human reaction to immersion in freezing slush: gasping for air, shivering uncontrollably, and getting back out again as soon as possible.

Instead, under the direction of “Iceman” Wim Hof, the group of athletes is going to stay in the water for minutes practicing his meditation techniques, seeking possible performance or health benefits.

Dutch Iceman Can Do Freaky Things in Extreme Cold

AP

Hof, 52, earned his nickname from feats such as remaining in a tank of ice in Hong Kong for almost 2 hours; swimming half the length of a football field under a sheet of ice in the Arctic; and making the Guinness record books for running a half-marathon barefoot in Finnish snow in deep subzero conditions.

He tried to climb Mt. Everest in 2007 wearing only sandals and shorts, but suffered frostbite and turned back at 7,400 meters (24,300 feet) — he wants to test the limits of human potential, not die trying. He climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro instead the same way in 2009.

Dutch Iceman Can Do Freaky Things in Extreme Cold

AP

Hof tells his students meditation in the cold strengthens mind and body. Some scientists also say ice bath treatments may have circulatory benefits for athletes, or help them recover quicker after training, although this remains controversial.

For most people, hypothermia begins shortly after exposure to freezing temperatures without adequate clothing, and it can quickly lead to death once the body’s core temperature falls below 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius).

Hof says he can endure cold so well because he has learned to activate parts of his mind beyond the reach of most people’s conscious control, and crank up what he calls his “inner thermostat.”

In one well-documented demonstration in 2008, Hof remained encased in a glass box filled with ice on a New York City street for 71 minutes, at that time a record. Doctors monitoring his vital signs said his body temperature descended gradually to 93.6 degrees as his heart rate rose slowly into the 120s. He didn’t shiver.

It was as if he were running a race without moving.

Hof describes what he does as a kind of internal conversation, in which his mind and body send each other signals. During the Hong Kong stunt, he said he mentally directed warmth toward a specific part of his lower back when he sensed it was feeling too cold and starting to hurt.

“I never had a teacher, and I never had lessons, other than hard Nature itself,” he says in an interview at his apartment in Amsterdam.

“If you do it wrong, it hurts and you take some knocks, and if you do it right, then you really learn.”

Dutch Iceman Can Do Freaky Things in Extreme Cold

AP

Dr. Anders Cohen, chief of neurosurgery at Brooklyn Hospital Center, who had never heard of Hof, said he wasn‘t surprised at Hof’s ability to influence his body temperature, given the growing body of evidence that Tibetan monks who practice “Tummo” meditation have similar abilities.

“In a way it makes perfect sense,” he says. “They spend thousands of hours practicing this, while we spend that time doing other things,” he says.

A new medical test released last month suggests Hof may be able to exercise some influence over other body functions considered involuntary.

“We have one result, from one person, that is extraordinary, but it doesn’t prove that meditation is responsible,” said Professor Peter Pickkers of Nijmegen’s Radboud Medical University, who oversaw the test and has no commercial ties to Hof.

The Iceman was injected with endotoxin, a component of bacteria. Although harmless, the bacterial material essentially tricks the body into thinking it is under attack.

Dutch Iceman Can Do Freaky Things in Extreme Cold

AP

In most people, exposure provokes flulike symptoms: headaches, muscle pain, and fevers. These last several hours and then go away with no lasting ill-effect. Hof reported experiencing only a mild headache.

Pickkers said the unexpected part came in the laboratory: Hof produced only half as much inflammatory defense protein as average among more than 200 other healthy male test subjects. The apparent reason, Pickkers said, was a sharp rise in levels of cortisol, the “stress hormone” known to suppress the immune system.

Hof appeared to be intentionally influencing a system thought to be automatically regulated, Pickkers said.

“If you get into a fight on the street, and your heart races, that happens by itself, you can’t just summon it up,” Pickkers said. “What he has shown is that he can with his meditation, apparently, summon it up that his cortisol rises like that.”

He said the next step would be to see whether others using similar techniques can do the same.

Cohen found the Nijmegen results intriguing. “It would be unwise to ignore this just because we don’t understand the mechanism,” he said.

Cohen, who is also a former professional tennis player, says science is divided about whether cold water or sauna treatments actually aid athletes, though many use them. One theory is that forcing blood vessels to contract and expand can strengthen them and improve circulation. Athletes often use cold baths after practice to reduce muscle inflammation and soreness.

However, Cohen said it would be difficult to conduct a rigorous test of whether meditation in cold conditions could benefit sick people, since it would be unethical to put them at risk.

Hof tells his students at the Rotterdam workshop that viewing mental and physical training as separate may hinder their performance during competition.

“Technically you’re completely trained and ready and everything,” he says. “But there is still a difference between how you feel — the flow isn’t there — because there’s no unity,” he says, gesturing to his head and chest.

Hof describes the three main elements in his method as controlled breathing, paying close mental attention to signals coming from the body, and crucially, keeping an open mind.

Edith Bosch, who won silver and bronze medals in judo at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, said her only remaining goal is gold. “If this helps me improve, to cope better with matches, then, yeah, it’s definitely worth the effort to try,” she says.

Hof says that as he grows older, he wants to avoid what he calls the “circus sideshow” of extreme physical tests, and become more of a teacher.

Dutch Iceman Can Do Freaky Things in Extreme Cold

But daredevil habits die hard. To prove that he can also adjust his “inner thermostat” downward, he’s planning to run a marathon in desert conditions — without drinking any water.

Pickkers, aware of this plan, shakes his head in dismay.

“I have warned him not to do this, it can be extremely dangerous or lethal,” he said. “But if you had asked me ahead of time whether I thought he would have had a different reaction than anybody else to the endotoxin test, I would have said, ‘no.’”

___

Sterling reported from Amsterdam.

Comments (60)

1 2
  • Utahdrifter
    Posted on May 23, 2011 at 8:43am

    You know–this kind of things make you wonder what the mind can really do. Can this just be the tip of an iceberg?

    Report Post »  
  • windycitywoman
    Posted on May 23, 2011 at 8:28am

    Yuck! I can’t stand the cold! lol

    Report Post » windycitywoman  
  • thegodfather
    Posted on May 23, 2011 at 7:47am

    I see fans do that **** every weekend at the Cleveland Browns games

    Report Post » thegodfather  
  • purecolorartist
    Posted on May 23, 2011 at 12:38am

    Are you saying he is immune to frostbite?

    Report Post » purecolorartist  
  • MrJones
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 11:54pm

    This is awesome. However, in the end, he will grow old and die just like everyone else.

    Report Post »  
  • CARBON HOG
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 11:08pm

    yep, after 5 pm in MAINE, 3/4 of the state is either hammered or stoned………the way life should be…

    Report Post » CARBON HOG  
    • llotus
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 11:37pm

      Carbon Hog……Thats sounds very painful. Hammered and stoned. That would make a good username. Lotus.

      Report Post »  
  • Hickory
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 10:34pm

    He demonstrates the fact that we have no idea what the human mind and body is capable of. Many of us have heard of normal people lifting cars off their loved ones in an accident. God has given us a lot more potential than we realize. But, most of us are stuck in our little world of victimhood or gimme this or gimme that. If we just focus on what we can do and not what we can’t do, our race can become something special.

    Report Post » Hickory  
  • CARBON HOG
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 10:15pm

    the south will rise again!! ……and i’m from Maine. Go figure?

    Report Post » CARBON HOG  
    • I want some Mo ham Ed
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 10:44pm

      I’m from south of I-10 and the plans to rise again are usually forgotten after a coupla dozen beers and a bag of oysters……..

      Report Post » I want some Mo ham Ed  
  • ED4237
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 9:55pm

    So he is a polar bear at heart.

    Report Post »  
  • CARBON HOG
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 9:44pm

    George, “signifigant shrinkage!”…………….Elaine,….“it shrinks”?

    Report Post » CARBON HOG  
    • chris3
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 9:57pm

      hey carbon hog, is that your charger? if so, hate you! just kidding,love mopar!

      Report Post »  
  • TumbleBumble
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:58pm

    Wow. How does he sit in that little chair like that? All cross-legged and stuff.

    Report Post » TumbleBumble  
  • MOLLYPITCHER
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:58pm

    What does this have to do with any thing important.

    Report Post »  
  • barrycooper
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:43pm

    As I understand it, the name for Tibetan monks in Tibet (to the extent the demonic Chinese allow them to continue to exist; it was the suicide of a monk after presumed torture that led to the uprising several years ago) is “sky clad ones”, since they only wear very light clothing even when it is very cold. They practice drying out wet blankets put on them, when it is freezing outside.

    To state that they can do this because they spend their time learning it, rather than “valuable” pursuits like new pharmaceuticals, and surgical solutions to diseases that can be prevented, is stupid. The net is that person does not understand it, and lacks the imagination to realize that from very small things very large things come. In an absolute sense it does not matter that light bends around the sun, or that light quanta seemingly behave with intelligence, but oh the difference to our worldviews.

    Report Post »  
  • zman173rd
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:13pm

    More Huff Post Garbage. When will you morons wake up and see this crap for what it is? I didn’t read the story or watch the vids because this trash is not why I come to the Blaze. I’m permanently changing my home page to The Drudge Report where good investigative news is. I switched when this site started. now i’m switching back.
    Y’all talk about watching the other hand. And then you watch the wrong hand by watching this dookie. The folks at the blaze are playing you. This tripe is not what you come to this site for. If you want entertainment go directly to you tube or where ever this stuff originates.

    Report Post » zman173rd  
  • RN MOM
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:11pm

    Mind over matter; this is not a new concept. It’s good to see someone actually training themselves in this area and able to perform feats that one could not do otherwise. I would love to take a meditation class with him.

    Report Post » RN MOM  
  • dfree
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:09pm

    @nobaloney
    i agree with you, viking blood!

    Report Post » dfree  
  • BOMUSTGO
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:48pm

    Obama stinks on ice!

    Report Post » BOMUSTGO  
  • NOBALONEY
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:42pm

    Win Hof’s descendants are the Vikings of old.

    Report Post » NOBALONEY  
  • commonsenseguy
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:40pm

    he is in way better shape than i am, there is no way i would do anything near this crazy, but to each his own, i commend him for trying these really cold stunts, but it ain’t happening here,heck, i hate the cold , anything, except a tall glass of ice tea.

    Report Post »  
  • KickinBack
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:23pm

    Al Gore’s worst nightmare. Science studies this dude’s genes, techniques. Applies them to the average joe. Years later, humans colonize the arctic. No more polar bears.

    Report Post » KickinBack  
  • smak
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:21pm

    Cool!

    Report Post »  
    • KickinBack
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:23pm

      Pun!

      Report Post » KickinBack  
    • zman173rd
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:16pm

      More Huffington Post articles from the new editor. Folks wake up and see this crap for what it is! I didn’t read the story or watch the vids because this trash is not why I come to the Blaze. I’m permanently changing my home page to The Drudge Report where good investigative news is. I switched when this site started. now i’m switching back.
      Y’all talk about watching the other hand. And then you watch the wrong hand by watching this dookie. The folks at the blaze are playing you. This tripe is not what you come to this site for. If you want entertainment go directly to you tube or where ever this stuff originates.

      Report Post » zman173rd  
    • MrButcher
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:54pm

      (clears throat)

      Zman, you do know that one of the current top stories over at drudge right now is about Oprah’s last show, I hope?

      Give the Blaze a little slack…

      cheers

      Report Post » MrButcher  
    • GBMBulletsSKNRD
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 9:10pm

      zman,

      If you are always lookin for bad news, keep lookin there is always bad news.

      Report Post »  
    • GBMBulletsSKNRD
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 10:23pm

      zman

      Glad to see you go, well not really you have always been good for a laugh. I hope you will return someday to TheBlaze. If not, may you lavish in your own pitty.

      I also hope this does not offend you. I am not being sarcastic.

      Report Post »  
  • cloudsofwar
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:17pm

    he hae some cold stones. enough of this bs do a search on bing—– UN AGENDA 21. higher taxes, green energy, no proptery rights and more and it’s happening right now. call your congressman and senator. America is in big trouble.

    Report Post »  
    • TheGreyPiper
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:51pm

      Please, can everyone help report the threadjacker trolls?

      Report Post » TheGreyPiper  
    • 13th Imam
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:01pm

      I rather like hearing about other issues. As long as they are not selling something. Follow up on them or don’t.

      Report Post » 13th Imam  
    • Psychosis
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:14pm

      of course you dont like this comment greyfool

      you dont like sunshine on the lefts ambitions

      Report Post » Psychosis  
    • chris3
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 9:55pm

      Smak! beyouch!

      Report Post »  
  • mossbrain
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:14pm

    shrinkage

    Report Post » mossbrain  
    • CatB
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:59pm

      LOL .. my thought was “WHY”?!!! I grew up in a cold winters .. never again if I can help it .. I don’t like being COLD!

      Report Post »  
    • RepubliCorp
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:14pm

      I live in Florida, I get cold if drops below 70

      Report Post » RepubliCorp  
    • dealer@678
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 11:11pm

      mossbrain. Kinda like frightened turtle

      Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 11:14pm

      I too live in Florida >…. I do not “do” winters in the north … I laugh now when they say it is warm and it is 60 degrees! Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

      Report Post »  
  • Mesndblues
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:12pm

    PURPLE LIPPED FREAK!!!……Obama, not this guy…

    Report Post »  
  • Robert-CA
    Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:03pm

    That’s what happens to you when you look @ Hillary .

    Report Post » Robert-CA  
    • coladude
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:37pm

      Hillary…

      http://politicalbowl.com – Political Videos

      Report Post »  
    • 13th Imam
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 7:49pm

      He probably needs viagrICE or cialICE.
      but I think Mossbrain has it correct.

      Report Post » 13th Imam  
    • banjarmon
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:09pm

      Are you sure his name is not Jack Frost???

      Report Post » banjarmon  
    • GBMBulletsSKNRD
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 8:46pm

      All of you that are making smart little quips I say you are the smartest people on the planet. I don’t know how he does this but I will not say anything to interfere with him and his interests.

      OK you are not the smartest rather the most uninformed. When you post like an idiot you may as well stick your foot in your mouth.

      Report Post »  
    • GODSAMERICA
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 9:29pm

      @GBMBulletsSKNRD
      It doesn’t sound like they are being rude or snide or demeaning. They are just trying to post funny remarks with no intention of insult. I could be wrong but that is what I get when I read their posts. Besides some of what they post is pretty funny.

      Report Post » GODSAMERICA  
    • GBMBulletsSKNRD
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 9:42pm

      @GODSAMERICA

      Can we agree to disagree?

      Report Post »  
    • MiketheTrucker
      Posted on May 22, 2011 at 9:56pm

      Jean Claude Ice-man.

      Wonder what his “normal” body temp is?

      Hope he has a good, strong heart, shocking the body in those kinds of temps could cause a heart attack.

      Report Post »  
    • Parnell3rd
      Posted on May 23, 2011 at 3:08am

      high 5

      Report Post » Parnell3rd  
    • right-wing-waco
      Posted on May 23, 2011 at 9:10am

      Any of his tricks, plus $5.00, will get you a cup of coffee almost anywhere.

      Report Post »  
1 2

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