Getting Started and a Few Questions

I’m new here and just getting started. I thought I’d track my gains (hopefully) and solicit some advice from the experts.

I have used pumps for a while (water and air). I pump up most of the time before sex (things aren’t quite as spontaneous these days.). But, pumping is obviously not permanent. I have used an extender in the past, but it was difficult to keep it on regularly. My job required me to move around, and such. Recently, I’ve entered a new career where I will be sitting most of the time, and I figure now is the time to give it the old’ college try.

I’m using a Male Edge Pro Extender. I’m keeping track of the hours I log using an hour tracking app on my phone.

My measurements today (without pumping):
BPEL: 6.85” (17.5 cm)
EG: 5.25” (13.33 cm)

I’ve been wearing the extender for two weeks already this time around. As I mentioned, I’ve worn one at times before, so it didn’t take long to get used to it. The Male Edge is designed in a way that makes it impossible to know exactly how much tension you have, but you can get a decent guesstimate. Maybe all extenders are the same. Here are my hours thus far. Tension is approximate.

Week 1: 32 hours total
24 hours at 800 g
8 hours at 1200 g

Week 2: 47 hours total
10 hours at 800 g
32 hours at 1200 g
5 hours at 1400 g

I find that at 1400 g I can only keep it on for about 45 min before I start getting sore. At 800 g I can go about 2 hours before I feel discomfort. But, I can already tell my tolerance is increasing.

Some questions for anyone who has had success with an extender:

Is there a minimum amount of tension that needs to be applied in order to achieve results?
Is it better to apply more tension for less time or less tension for a longer time? (Obviously more tension for longer would be best, but wondering which variable is more important)
If I am wearing the extender for 7 or 8 hours a day, how many weeks will it take to start to see measurable results?
If I am wearing it for 7-8 hrs a day, is it wise to also incorporate some jelqing, or is that overdoing it?

Any advice would be appreciated. I’ll plan to update my post every week or 2.

Welcome to Thunder’s!

I am glad to see you’re motivated but you may be going a bit too fast to actually see gains right now. Thing is, you push your penis too hard and it will ONLY resist what you’re doing. And sometimes it is hard to get a handle on a routine and what works when you have it ramped up so high to start with. Just because it doesn’t hurt may not mean it’s best.

In my opinion, I’d probably reduce the wear time and wear days on the extender or just start START HERE ——-> NEWBIE ROUTINE <——- Important Newbie Info and worry about the extender later. Jelqing with the amount of time you’re using the extender seems a bit much.

Also, extender tension is done in 1/3 increments when they have a gauge. You have to know what the tension on the springs is before guestimating tension. Typical springs in the X4 Labs Extender were 1800g so it went 600, 1200, 1800 at max. They had some higher ones at 2100 or 2400 and you can buy some aftermarket also. That’s just extender trivia. In my experience, if you aren’t warming up before strapping into the extender you aren’t going to get a lot done. Stretching beforehand will make it more productive but those wear times are probably going to wear you out before you know it.

Extender theory is kinda mixed. Some go with more tension for less time. Less tension for more time. You can read some of the extender threads for more, I honestly can’t tell you more.

If I had any advice for you I’d pick this. Advice I wish someone had given me when I first started. and I’d recommend reading a bit more before deciding to go headlong into a regiment long-term without adequate research.

Thanks for the advice. I was under the impression that as long as I wasn’t experiencing any pain, then I wouldn’t suffer any injuries. The manufacturer recommends a slow start up process, but they also kind of imply you can wear it as much as you feel comfortable with.

The Male Edge designed is somewhat differently from the X4. Unless I am reading the manual incorrectly, I’m pretty sure that I have the tension numbers correct.

I appreciate the links. I had actually read those before posting. In any case, I will heed your advice and take a slower approach. Going to do a bit more reading this evening and make more specific plan.

Week 3: 41 hours total
9 hours at 800 g
28 hours at 1200 g
4 hours at 1400 g

Perhaps this seems like a lot of hours in light of the last post, but that one came a few days into the week when I had already logged some pretty long hours. The rest of the week I kept it at 1200 g for 4-5 hours a day.

My measurements today (without pumping):
BPEL: 7.25” (18.4 cm)
EG: 5.25” (13.33 cm)

I don’t think I actually gained a full CM already. I bought a new ruler that doesn’t stab me so much when I press it against my pelvis, so I expect I am just pressing it in a little further.

That being said, I do feel like it might be a tiny bit longer already.. Or maybe that’s wishful thinking. Time will tell!

I’d keep the hours down to 3 per day for the first few weeks. You really hit a point of diminished or dead returns running an extender too long and too hard early.

OK. How many weeks do you suggest? It’s been 3 already.

Well…in that case, take 4 days off. Then start back but limit your use to 4 hours daily. This way you can change tension higher some days but lower your fatigue and dick toughening and injury risks.

Up your time or tension after 4 weeks of this, if you choose. That’s my suggestion.

Interesting. You would suggest that there’s less injury risk in slowly increasing tension, but maintaining the time at 4 hours per day, than there is in maintaining a constant tension, but slowly increasing the hours per day?

After reading some of your other posts and other people’s posts on this site, I had gained the opposite impression. I was thinking I would keep it at 1200 g and do say 4 hours per day this week, 5 hours per day next week and 6 hours per day the following week.

In one of your posts you said something along the lines of, use the minimum amount of force necessary while still making gains. I took that to mean that increasing the tension (or force) should be done only after the penis had completely acclimated, so to speak, to the current level of tension. I figured the way to do this is to slowly increase the number of hours that the penis is subjected to the current level of tension.

You are correct. The minimum amount of force needed to create gains is best. However, there are two missing elements here.

First, 1200g is not what I’d recommend starting out. The extender typically doesn’t offer a lot of force, using 1200g regularly will acclimate you to 1200g. I think you should reduce duration and intensity. Stepping those up in time but only slowly, as you understand already. The two only can do so much and if you use it close to its max (I am guessing this is 1800g springs?) you’ll have the tool maxed out and not be able to gain after only a short time. Same with duration. If you run it at 1200 for more than 3 hours now, 6 months from now what options will you have? And then 12 months from now?

Upping time and tension is simply as the routine is supposed to naturally progress. As the minimum amount of force to see gains will naturally increase over time. Acknowledging that and riding the lower end of the spectrum is the key to longer gain cycles, easier exercises and prolonged useful life of an exercise or device.

I don’t want to be unclear. But when I read your routine, if you’re using 1200g already, I’d recommend stepping down to 600 or 900 and reducing time per day after taking the days off. This is just my .02 because I don’t think you’re high in the injury risk area, I really think you’ll just outmode the tool early when it can do more for you if you set it on lower settings for less time early on.

I see. Thank you. That helps clear things up quite a bit.

Actually, 1200 is at the low end of the spectrum for the Male Edge. The gauge starts at (I guess) 400 g and goes all the way up to 2800 g. Perhaps it is not accurate in terms of actually grams of tension. Not sure, but at “1200 g” I am only on the second “notch”. The rods can be extended another 4 notches. So maybe I’m at 33% capacity. Here is a link to the manual:

If you click on that and scroll down to number 9, you’ll see where I am getting the gauge reading.

Well, I wasn’t familiar with the Male Edge, as I used the X4 Labs Gold model and I think my springs were only 2100 or 2400 and most of the ones they offered were 1800 or 1500g at their max settings. That said…

I”m not sure they have it calibrated correctly. At 1/3 tension you should have 1/3 of the total force of the springs. The numbers for any other extender always are multiples of 3 and at each notch you have 33% capacity AND the gram tension is said to reflect this. Meaning my springs were 700/1400/2100 and the others offered were 500/1000/1500 and so on.

But, assuming the calibration is correct, I express sincere concern. When I extended and most of the folks at X4 extended, we’d start in the 33% capacity like you but our springs were rated for a lot less. I really don’t know if they have measured or calibrated that gauge properly. I talk about this in How to Read & Adjust Rod style Traction Devices (X4/Size Genetics/JES/Similar) and I offered pictures of the tension gauge used by X4/Size Genetics and several other competitors. So I’m not exactly sure how to advise you with Male Edge. But…let me try a simple guideline.

If we’re going with the idea that the first tension line is 1200g of tension, dial your time down to 3 hours and ride that tension for 6 weeks. You’re already 3 weeks in so that’s just 3 more at this point. This way, you less your fatigue with increasing time and tension too quickly. Many guys on the forum I posted at used to get injury and fatigue problems with less spring force than 1200g so I am leery of any system that starts that high. This being said, you can raise the tension used per day after the 6th week if you truly feel there’s no pull at all. But I would suggest raising duration over intensity and then when you raise the intensity, lower the duration back to 3 hours for a couple weeks before sitting at your normal time. Duration is where the true benefit of the device lies. I don’t like raising tension on extenders too high.

But please keep in mind these systems are designed with finesse in mind, feeling fatigue from an extender often is a sign of a poor session. Unlike jelqing, clamping or other exercises designed with higher strain in mind you shouldn’t feel fatigue after with an extender. They’re not designed for trauma type stress like hanging or manual stretching. It’s a gentle, coaxing stress that works over a longer period of time. My best gains when I extended came at times that I didn’t really feel much of anything at all and I noticed that the tension gauge simply was no longer offering any pull.

My tactic with the extender was to pick a setting that was gentle, typically around 33-50% (if I got to 66% I went back down) and wear it that way until my penis would strap in and no tension resulted from that setting. Then I would recalibrate it to my new size. Hopefully this description makes sense. It often would take 4-6 weeks at the same setting to see gains but it worked well and minimized stress and danger.

So perhaps this helps?

Yes, that is very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to give me such a considered answer to my questions.

One more question that comes to mind is, can you tell me a little more about what “fatigue” feels like in the context of an extender? I don’t think I would personally describe my sensations after using the device as fatigue. There have been days where I was a little “sore” or “tender”, but those feeling subsided pretty quickly, like within 10-15 minutes of taking it off. Even on the days when I wore it for 7 or 8 hours, I didn’t have any lingering soreness. I certainly have not had any problem getting an erection, even on a day when I wore it for a long time. When you say avoid fatigue, are you saying I really should barely notice that it was on? There have been some days recently where I felt that way.

I’m asking what you mean, only so I can monitor myself and try to ensure I’m not overdoing it.

That ideally doesn’t happen.

That ideally is exactly what I mean.

Fatigue manifests in subtle ways. Erection not quite stone hard, frequency is down, mild soreness…the thing is any soreness repeated a hundred times is a problem. Comfort is paramount with extender systems. Make sure there is tension but it should be mostly comfortable. Uncomfortable, in every case I monitored, was slower gains and increasing discomfort was a pattern that led to injury.

Even if it doesn’t feel like much, just err on the side of caution. This is my message.

Week 3: 29 hours total
29 hours at between 1000-1200 g

I ended up averaging just about 4 hours per day this week. Somehow, limiting my time to 3 hours was actually hard to do.. Odd as that may sound. But even at 4 hours, I have no discomfort at all. The only discomfort is the bulk of the device inside my pants, which does limit mobility to some degree.

Since I was curious whether the tension gauge that come with the manual is accurate, I got out my kitchen scale and pressed the device down on it until the springs were compressed to the first line of the gauge. That’s obviously not a scientific approach, but the readings actually lined up pretty well with what the manual predicted. For all hours this week, I had the rods set to the second notch, which I’d say is exerting about 1,000-1,200g of tension.

Today I was able to wear the device for two uninterrupted 90-minute sessions without discomfort. That’s a big change from before, when I at the same tension level I couldn’t keep it on for more than an hour. So, I am regarding that as progress, although my measurements have not changed.

Week 4: 35 hours total between 800-1000 g