Wim Hof Breathing & Freediving

Hello future freedivers 

And welcome to the Total Beginner freediving podcast brought to you by Octopus Freediving. 

This is Episode 6 where we answer one of the most frequently asked questions in freediving which is can one apply the Wim Hof breathing technique to freediving? 

Jingle please 

Hello, my name is Ray the Freedive Nomad and the host of this show. 

So in case you don’t know who Wim Hof is, he is a Dutch extreme athlete who’s most famous feats involve his ability to withstand extreme cold.

He has a number of world records which involve the freezing cold like the fastest half marathon barefoot on ice and snow,  longest time with full contact with ice (over 2 hours) and longest distance swam under freezing water on a breath hold. 

He markets a very popular program called the Wim Hof method which has 3 pillars: breathing, cold therapy and meditation which is suppose to have a number of mental and physical benefits and he has gained a huge following worldwide with this program. 

We have Wim Hof to thank as one of the modern day personalities which has helped build awareness that breathwork could result in some positive benefits for practitioners. 

In this episode we are only going to discuss the breathing pillar of the Wim Hof method. 

The Wim Hof breathing method is a type of hyperventilation followed by a long breath hold. And its these long breath holds which have also gotten the attention of popular media, which gets people associating the Wim Hof method with freediving.

In his method you forcefully and quickly inhale and exhale 30 times and then hold your breath until you feel the urge to breath, then you repeat that cycle repeat 3-4 times. This hyperventilation allows the practitioner to easily hold their breath for minutes at a time without the urge to breathe. 

Why’s this?  One of the first things you will learn in a beginner freedive course is that the urge to breath does not come from your blood oxygen saturation declining. It’s actually due to increasing carbon dioxide levels in your blood. 

Let me say that again, the urge to breath is not from the decline in oxygen, it's due to increasing carbon dioxide levels in your blood. 

Why is this important? When you hyperventilate you are expelling more CO2 than you are producing and thus your CO2 levels are dramatically lower than homeostasis while getting a very negligible increase in oxygen saturation. 

Thus, when you start your breathhold with artificially lower levels of CO2, you can delay your urge to breathe for much longer. 

So, why is this dangerous for freediving. 

While your urge to breathe is related to your CO2 level, your threshold for blackout is only related to you O2 saturation and that remains virtually unchanged whether you hyperventilate or not. 

Thus your urge to breathe can go past your blackout point. Hyperventilating gives you a very false sense of safety where you can basically feel no discomfort or urge to breath before you blackout, which is very dangerous. 

I’ve read a few Wim Hof practitioners deaths have been classified as drownings and its been suspected they blacked out from doing breath holds in the water, alone….remember what the first rule of freediving is? Never dive alone. 

Thus, this is why Wim Hof breathing method or hyperventilation has NO PLACE WHEN FREEDIVING. 

It's not to say that hyperventilation does not have its benefits. 

Wim Hof claims that his method boost blood circulation and immune system. 

LIght controlled hyperventilation can get your engines revving to begin the day or a workout. 

Even freedivers can benefit from it as it strengthens the diaphragm. 

So what happens physiologically when you hyperventilate - a lot of it is the opposite of mammalian dive reflex which we discussed in the last episode. 

• It raises your heart rate
• It vasodialtes the vessels in your arms and legs
• It constricts the carotid artery, the main blood vessel to the brain which is why you feel lightheaded when you hyperventilate and if taken to the extreme, you can pass out if it constricts too much. 
• It also makes it more difficult for your body to access oxygen because when your CO2 levels decline your blood will be more alkaline, the more alkaline your blood is the tighter the bond that oxygen has to hemoglobin making it more difficult to access, this is called the BOHR effect, B-O-H-R. The bond loosens as your blood becomes more acidic with rising CO2 and easier access to oxygen. 

And a bit of a warning - 

DO NOT hyperventilate if you are pregnant, have high blood pressure, are driving or near or in water. 

This is why taking freediving course is essential to start your journey into freediving to prevent dangerous practices like hyperventilating before diving. 

And that’s it for Wim Hof and freediving. 

But before we go, I wanted to mention this free online safety course for freedivers and spearfishermen. I know I harp on about taking a freedive course all the time, but I also know a lot of people live in an area where they can’t find an instructor or for some, courses can be prohibitively expensive. If that’s the case Ted Harty, who is a former US national record holder, has a free online safety course. Even though I feel there is no substitute, this is a really informative course and you are much better off than if you never took it all, it’s only 45 minutes long . - he also has a bunch of other online courses freedivers on there, like for equalization or holding your breath longer. You can find that on freedivepodcast.com/safety

Dive safe and never dive alone and like take a freedive course.