Alistair Overeem used the Wim Hof Method's breathing exercises and cold exposure to prepare for a recent heavyweight title fight. He knocked out his opponent in the second round without fatigue and credits the technique with sharpening his cardio and mental focus during the bout.
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My name is Alice Overeem. I am a fighter of profession. I've been fighting for a long time, training for 22 years and competing for 19 years. I'm currently fighting for the UFC, and my next fight will be for the UFC championship, so it's going to be a big year for me. I've met Wim actually through— I've heard several stories about him through friends, and I became curious. As an athlete, I'm always looking to gain that edge, to get an advantage over my opponents. And yes, his breathing techniques and withstanding the cold intrigued me, and especially the breathing techniques. Everybody needs oxygen. And as an athlete, you cannot have enough oxygen. Breathing is a very big component. So in that sense, I had several questions for Wim, and it took me straight to Wim. He had his own theories on it. The meeting was a very positive one. It was a very positive conversation. He gave me basically some homework, and I started doing that homework, which consisted of breathing exercises. And showering cold. And yeah, I'm currently now working with Wim to increase my performances. It's very cold in Holland right now. It's 9 degrees. The water probably is even colder. Yeah, if you breathe correctly, you can handle it.
Store up oxygen. Fully in. Let go. Stop and go. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
For me, I mean, I'm half Jamaican, half Dutch, half Jamaican. I really do not like the cold, so for me that's a milestone.
18 minutes, 2 minutes more. Keep the focus, get your mind in control.
Last weekend I had a fight and I fought the number 1 in the UFC. This man is a maniac. He truly is really good. He's really technical, he's tough, he's strong. In many fields, he's a great athlete. At the day itself, I felt the nerves coming, but I just reverted back to my breathing exercises that I've been practicing daily. And I was very calm, very calm on fight day, very calm during the whole day, during the whole process. Of course you feel a little tension, but every time I felt that tension, I just went back to the breathing exercise and I was calm and I felt energetic. During the fight, I was breathing correctly. Usually a fight is 3 rounds. I finished him by knockout, and really at the end of the second round, there was only like 10 seconds or 15 seconds left. But I also wasn't tired, so for my cardio, it really increased just by breathing, breathing correctly. A lot of friends of mine and in my family were involved with these exercises. I think we definitely do recognize there's a 100% added value. I am definitely recommending it to everybody. It is a truly unique method. It's funny how Holland has produced something like this. It's a unique method that, that's going to change the world.
