Measuring constantly

Hi all,

I just discovered this site a couple weeks ago—hell, I just discovered PE about then—but have started up with vigor. It reminds me of bodybuilding (which I’ve done for years) in a few ways: you want to get bigger, and bigger, with almost no limit; it breeds obsession; it’s sexy; and there are a zillion different approaches and techniques and theories about everything: blood flow, nutrition, over/under training, rest, pain, you name it.

But the most important similarity seems to be this: that it’s very hard to measure results quickly and reliably. In bodybuilding, it can take weeks to reliably tell if a given routine or supplement has actually done any good.. That extra quarter-inch could come from muscle-pump, or fluid accumulation, or a different angle of the tape or a different flex of the muscle. In measuring the penis, I’ve found a similar variability: erection strength, angle, tape-angle, line-of-sight along ruler, and how hard I press the ruler into the bone. If I measure and re-measure the same thing at the same time, I can get values differing by almost 1/4 inch.

This is a problem, because you have lots more potential influences than you have result-measurements (“the equation is under-determined”, in the language of us geeks).. It’s like trying to figure out “the cause” of a stock-market blip.

So here’s my point: because you need *really* reliable measurements to tell if you’re gaining or not (and why), and *ultra* reliable measurements to tell if one routine gains faster or slower, the weak link in the whole PE picture seems to be the measurement process.. In which case the advice around here to measure only very occasionally seems nuts, from a scientific perspective. When your data sucks, you should take as much of it as you can, not only to get a better average but to get a gut feeling for how variable the data is and how much to trust it.

For my part, I’m measuring several times a day: before, during, and after my sets, and sometimes just for fun. If there’s any systematic change, I’ll know it soon (I’ve already gained 1/4” girth in my first two weeks!), and if there isn’t, I’ll be able to switch-up my routine, or at least have an upper limit on what to expect.. I want to make the most informed decisions possible.

Either way, I’m much more interested in getting good information on the one thing that matters—size—than in psyching myself up or out by avoiding the ruler. Here’s to the science of PE!

Post of the year candidate!!!

Simply awesome.

I’m afraid I would actually say quite the opposite :) .

Measuring too often will only lead to dissapointment, since permanent results in PE usually takes longer than achieving results in bodybuilding for instance. Furthermore, as the penis is not a muscle, results will most likely not show as quickly, and it is quite common to get a penis that is temporarily bigger after workouts, but that these gains not are permanent. I suggest measuring a maximum of once per week, and preferably less often than that.

I have noticed during the years that gains usually come in between longer intervals of no gains at all, so it is more motivating to see “real” results rather than temporary results.

We don’t measure constantly because growth isn’t a quick thing. Constantly measuring will bring upon frustration, and often convince you that you need to do more exercise than is actually necessary. This is a marathon, you only see substantial, measurable results after weeks or even months of practise. The only reliable, quick to immediate feedback-tool we have are the Positive Indicators (PIs) and Negative Indicators (NIs). That is why so many of us advocate the Penis Enhancement approach. Focusing less on growth, but more on health. Health will lead to growth. Health should be your immediate feedback comforting you that your exercises are good; growth is your long-term feedback hinting to you whether you should add more to your routine or keep it constant.

Maybe we’re both right. I’m claiming that the best way to get an *accurate* measurement and *know how much to trust it* (I.e. Get it’s variability) is to measure frequently, and neither of you contradicted that. Good.. It’s a basic principle of science, and applies to measuring anything: height, rainfall, photons.

You’re saying that in the real world, the psychology of frequent measurement and disappointment can lead people to give up prematurely if they measure too often. Could be.. I’m a newbie, and you guys evidently aren’t.. You’ve seen it happen.

But there might be some overlap. For example, some folks—like myself—are *less* likely to get disappointed in a single result if we have already observed how much such results fluctuate from day to day and minute to minute. In that case, measuring frequently might inoculate our brains against reading too much success or failure into a single once-a-month measurement which might be “wrong”.

And a finicky technical point: given how much different measurements of the same thing at the same time can fluctuate, it seems possible that a lot of the start/stop gains which you and others report are really just measurement errors. (Unfortunately for us both, the only way to resolve that is to actually measure very frequently, plotting a graph of those zillion points against time, and see if the plateaus are distinct above the scattershot noise.

So I think I’ll stick to my own approach, but I totally understand others doing it their way. And by the way, thanks for responding.. Judging by how many posts you guys have made, you’re real veterans.

There are a few here that agree with you Hourgasm. They seem to be in the more serious bunch. If you can do it without the risk of disappointment, I think it is a good thing to do.

I measure every 2 days to stay in touch with my gains. By doing this I’m always aware of any new gains I make and weather they’re cemented or need to be cemented by working extra hard.

I do what Fuel does. Measuring multiple times daily seems a little pointless and obsessive but to each his own. However I do agree with staying in touch with gains and measuring frequently - every 2-3 days.

I stopped taking measurements all the frigging time, because it just wrecked my nerves ;)

Besides even on a PE break the BPEL size changes a lot due to different grades of erection (up to 5/12 of an inch).

Here is what I consider to be the best way to measure: in a pump with your best erection.

In the thread Measuring in Pump I mention "One of the smartest things I did in PE was to mark in a black felt-tip marker exactly how far my cock reached in the tube when I first started." After a couple months, when my dick indisputably went past that black marker, I knew I was making gains. Regardless of my variable BP measurements outside of the pump.

I would say the best way to measure would be this:

1. Use Viagra, or get as hard as you possibly can by whatever means
2. Insert erect cock into a pump, pump to 4 or so HG
3. Mark with a black marker how far your cock reaches after a minute or two of milking the tube to inspire your biggest boner

Repeat this process every few weeks, and hope your cock starts edging past the marker.

In the beginning, the "In the Tube" method confirmed my hopes: I was growing little by little.

After 6 months, my cock was waaaay past the original marker, and it was very obvious I was not playing mind games on myself…

My $.02 on accurate measurements…

Thanks for the tip, commanderblop.

I thought about that a couple of times, but never considered doing it really.
Now, as I am more inclined to use a pump, I’ll probably use this method.

And this is for the rest:
Neither twice a day, nor once a year.
I guess anyone on a physical practice should keep his records on weekly basis,
Or at least a biweekly log.

Hourgasm,

If you can do it as a lab project and keep a serious amount of detachment going I think it is a good thing. Are you spread sheeting the whole thing? What you are discussing, if done properly and to the extreme, could yield some valuable insights into how PE works.

For me measuring no more than once a month worked best because I was truly crappy on record keeping and logging my routines.

That measure-in-a-pump idea is great.. Not only is it consistent, but you were able to tell how consistent it was, so you could tell when the signal exceeded the noise.

I haven’t been writing down each measurement (or “spreadsheeting”), for a couple reasons. First, I’m still getting the hang of just how variable things are (especially erection strength), and kind of taking a running average in my head. But it’s not really an average: I figure what I want is the single largest number of a handful [sic] of measurements, on the assumption that bone-pressing and erection strength both have a hard [sic] upper limit. (Basically, I’m such a numbers geek that I automatically do a lot of this in my head.. Plus I’m lazy). But once I’m on a roll, I’ll write stuff down.

I just saw the post a couple years ago by ModestoMan with various scatterplots from your PE database.. Wow! That is *exactly* the kind of science we need, and I practically blew my load when I saw them ;->.

Another great idea is the PI’s and NI’s. Not only a good overall indicator of “health,” but a good marker of what we want anyway, a kind of feeling good. (I mean, if I could feel full and turned on and confident all day, would it really matter how many extra inches I had?). Is there a uniform agreement from the veterans about which PI’s and NI’s to use?