It is true that PE is not an exact science, and we should not state things as facts. Almost anything any of us say here is in our own opinion.. I’m very guilty of this myself. I just get tired of saying, IMO all the time because I just assume that is a given. Also, when a lot of us old timers see certain routines done over and over where results are gained by veteran members we begin to feel or conclude that these methods are sound, sometimes forgetting that what works for one may not work for someone else. PE is a lot newer than bodybuilding, and although I’m sure some of the same principals apply, I’m also sure not all do. No one knows for sure if any of this stuff works or is permanent, hell ten years down the road all of us may find it was only a temporary fad, or worse, our dicks may all fall off, but I don’t think so.
There are some facts that we ARE aware of. Here are a couple of them. We know that it takes a minimum of 72 hours for caliginous tissue to completely heal. (Gray’s Anatomy) We also it takes a minimum of 100 hours for micro tears to completely heal in most connective tissue. (Same source). I personally have made great gains working seven days a week, although I don’t recommend this to anyone, especially newbies. I subscribe to the open wound theory, or the controlled damage, slow heal idea, that being, breaking down the tissue and keeping the micro tears open, healing as slowly as possible, forcing the rebuilding of new cells to increase tissue mass. Not every one agrees with this.
g36k, your fabric analysis has some merit, but you have to remember, fabric cells do not repair themselves, tissue cells do.
I also agree with gprint on the memory issue. Even in inanimate material there is some factor of this memory. It was said here once, I forget the thread, that if you bend a young tree over to the ground and let go, it will snap back. If you bend the same tree over every day for a year, it will eventually take on the bend permanently. The cells forget the old shape and learn, or adapt to the new.
I honestly believe no less than three days of PE before any rest day is best, four or five even better. Even then an ADS should be worn keeping the tissue extended until the next workout.
Of course this is all in my own humble opinion, or as I sometimes say,
The Truth According to Girtha.