Originally Posted by LoveMachine
As far as length gains goes, I know some people here have lost some of there gains before. But others keep them they claim. I would guess a light manual stretching maitenince routine a few times a month for 5 mins or less would retain gains. I also hear others have gotten thier gains back rather quickly when they started PE again, so there is that too.
The more I think about this, the more it seems - to me - that the harder it is for someone to make gains in the first place, the more likely it may be that those gains will be permanent, or at least that they’ll last longer. If you manage to achieve gains after a hard-fought battle, those gains are perhaps less likely to be plastic, and more likely due to new cell growth to at least a certain degree.
I’ve actually gained about an inch and a quarter since I started over ten years ago, as well as a mere 1/4 inch of girth. About 1/3 of that occurred before I even officially knew about PE and that there were other practitioners - I’ve just always had terrible circulation, and I did “exercises” that I thought would help. Well, they did, and I gained a small bit of girth in the process, which I’d chalked up to being a bit of a fluke at the time. However, those minimal gains lasted another four years, during which time I did nothing specific to maintain them.
As I’ve discovered over time and with significant effort, it turns out that with a lot of patience and consistency, and by doing specifically those things that have proven to work for me in the past, I can very slowly yet consistently push for further gains.
I put this down mostly to the tunica, which in my case seems extremely resilient and inflexible. Even after particularly intense routines (and following the few times I’ve attempted to pump), or even after hour-long clamping sessions, I’ve shown virtually no size increase, even if only temporary, which is the exact opposite of much of what I’ve read from other members here. Long term, I’ve gained significantly more length than girth, and considering that I was way above average in the length department and below average in girth (or pretty much average, depending on what source you trust), I think that likely says something about my particular physiology. Furthermore, I’ve been working out regularly for a dozen or so years - resistance training, not PE, and I hit a plateau about 11 years ago that I’ve ben unable to break through since. Given that, to my knowledge, muscle tissue is sheathed in fascia, which is also what the tunica is made of, the conclusion seems reasonable to me.
Point is, I think there is merit to PE, and, while individual success will certainly vary, it seems the most significant factor is finding what works for a given individual in particular, and then figuring out why, and sticking with it. Seeing as you’ve made no real gains yet (none visible, anyway), you might need to rely on a little luck to get the ball rolling in the first place, but stick with it and you might stumble onto something that suddenly works. And it does.
