Breathing is your best friend

Over the weekend, I attended a Wim Hof Method one-day event.

If you have been with Tri Swim Coach for a while, you know that we are big fans of the Wim Hof breathing method. If you don’t know who Wim Hof is, check out the 39 minute documentary here:

At the live event, we learned how to use our breath to alter our physiology, and ended with a dip in a tub filled with ice.

Now, I’m not suggesting that anyone reading this should be aiming for ice baths. The idea is to welcome the cold instead of fearing it.

But what I really got out of the clinic was the power of this style of breathing.

From just a few rounds of these breaths, you will feel powerful, euphoric, and light. Tension melts away and a feeling of strength replaces it.

This has everything to do with your swim, and your training.

With the Wim Hof method, you train to go longer and longer with no air in your lungs. I can now go over 2 minutes with the air completely exhaled out of my lungs.

Can you think of how this would help in an open water swim?

More confidence. More strength. More endurance. And getting more out of your body, in the face of the elements.

I’m now doing a few rounds of the breathing, and slowly taking colder and colder showers as part of my daily routine.

And I start my day a little more energized, a little more confident, and a little happier.

It’s November now, and I’m ready to bring on the winter! Cold water, wind, rain, and all.

We get into this more (as it relates to swimming) in Tri Swim Success. Hopefully next year we’ll have a group of Tri Swim Coach / Wim Hof athletes kicking butt and taking names!

For more on Tri Swim Success and to join:

Tri Swim Success

Befriend the cold, befriend the swim!

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