Wim Hof breathing app

What Wim Hof breathing is

One round has three parts. First you take 30 deep breaths in a row: a full inhale through the nose or mouth, pushing the belly out, then letting it go without force. After the last exhale you hold your breath with empty lungs. That's the retention. When it ends you take one big breath in, hold it for 15 seconds and let it go. That's the recovery breath, and it closes the round.

The official instructions say to repeat that three to four times, and to hold the retention until you feel the urge to breathe. They also mention lightheadedness and tingling in the fingers and feet.

Refresher is not affiliated with Wim Hof or with WHM Services, which publishes the official Wim Hof Method app. In Refresher the technique is listed as Power Breath by Wim Hof, alongside box, 4-7-8 and coherent breathing on the same pacer.

How Refresher times a round

The defaults are 30 power breaths at 3 seconds each, 1.5 in and 1.5 out, then a retention of 60 seconds in round one and 90 in rounds two and three, and a 15-second recovery hold. Three rounds come to just over nine minutes.

The retention is a countdown, and you're in charge of it. When the urge to breathe comes early, tap Skip to Recovery and the app moves straight to the recovery breath. When you've got more in you, tap +10 Seconds, as many times as you like. Both work for everyone, free or not. The app saves the hold you actually did.

A voice runs the whole session. It calls in and out on every breath, then ten more, five more and the last one, on the longer holds tells you when you're halfway, then when 30 seconds are left, counts the final five, and says let go at the end of the recovery. On iPhone each power breath also lands as a haptic tap, heavier on the inhale, building over the last five.

After the last recovery breath

The completion screen shows your longest hold of the session, and tells you when it beats your record. Each session in your history lists the hold you actually did in every round. On Apple Watch the session runs the default holds with heart rate. Custom holds and your hold history live on iPhone.

With an Apple Watch and heart rate tracking switched on in Settings, the session opens and closes with a heart rate reading and the difference lands on the completion screen. If the Watch misses either end, the row is left out. With Premium, the session's heart rate chart is split into rounds, retentions and recoveries, so you can see where each hold falls on the line.

Changing the numbers is free for your first five sessions of a minute or longer, then it's part of Premium, and your saved settings are kept. The default protocol stays free. Adding a round when you reach the last one is Premium.

Before your first round

Do it sitting or lying down, somewhere you'd be fine if you passed out. Never in water or while driving, and never standing. Intense, repeated rounds can in rare cases lead to loss of consciousness. Refresher shows a safety notice before your first Wim Hof session, and the session starts after you tap I Understand.

Don't force the hold. Skip to Recovery is there for the moment you need air. If you have a heart or lung condition, ask your doctor before you try it.