{"id":172617,"date":"2019-03-05T09:46:59","date_gmt":"2019-03-05T09:46:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=172617"},"modified":"2019-03-06T07:09:34","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T07:09:34","slug":"winter-cycling-embrace-the-cold-get-stronger-with-the-wim-hof-method","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2019\/03\/05\/winter-cycling-embrace-the-cold-get-stronger-with-the-wim-hof-method\/","title":{"rendered":"Winter Cycling: Embrace the Cold & Get Stronger with the Wim Hof Method"},"content":{"rendered":"

I hope you enjoyed the video! It was just an overview about the method so now let\u2019s dig deeper\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Being a bike guide based in Prague, it is very hard for me to train in winter. I really struggle cycling in the cold. After just an hour, my hands and feet would go numb and I would often get sick. So, instead of cycling, I do a lot of running and cross country skiing but those are different sports and although they give you a good cardio preparation, it is not enough to arrive well prepared for the start of the season \u2013 and I really need that. I guide people not only in Central Europe but also in the Alps. Our first advanced bike holidays<\/a> start in May and they are tough rides including, for instance, the Grossglockner and Stelvio passes. Very often our clients come from warm places like California or Australia. There, they can train all winter long and they come very prepared for the starting line. As a result, the first departures for me are always very challenging. If only there was a way\u2026<\/p>\n

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I first heard about the Wim Hof method from Tim Ferris\u2019 book \u201cThe Tools of Titans<\/a>\u201d and I was immediately very keen on knowing more. I have a notion that we are totally losing touch with our bodies and I am on a path to reconciliation with mine but what really intrigued me about it was the idea that maybe I could improve my resilience toward winter cycling.<\/p>\n

Then my 40th birthday came and with it a Wim Hof workshop here in Prague as a gift from my wife.\u00a0I was really excited but soon I also got pretty nervous and, therefore, started to read as much as I could on the topic. The two books I found the most helpful were The way of the Iceman by Wim Hof<\/a> and What doesn\u2019t kill us<\/a> by Scott Carney. Thanks to those books I could start the with the method ahead, albeit superficially, and I could prepare at least a bit for the workshop.<\/p>\n

The day came and it was great. Being in a group of 20 people was really motivating. With two official instructors, Emma<\/a> Estrela Corrie from the Lake District in the UK and Tereza<\/a> Kramerova, the local ice guru based in Prague, we went through all three pillars<\/a> of the method: cold therapy, breathing, and commitment. We mixed theory with practice. Not only breathing but also hand and feet immersion and, finally, full body immersion in icy water. I cannot recommend enough to start with official training. Not only does it give you the bases to practice the method properly but it is, most of all, truly inspiring. Meeting people that are already into it for years like Emma and Tereza and hearing their stories first-hand was crucial for me to later commit day after day for months.<\/p>\n