Stretching VS Hanging

I’m sure everyone here evenutally comes to the dilemma about whether to continue to stretch or to try hanging. I’ve managed to injure myself quite a bit from stretching (In fact I’m currently waiting out/healing for last 3 weeks w/ probably another week to go). I’m not sure if it’s because I am too eager and intense about applying lots of square pounds of muscle behind each stretch or what. The thing I’ve liked about stretching is that I only actually spend 10-15 minutes doing it a day, before applying heating pad, and then going on to jelqing (400+). I’ve increased EL by 3/4” over 3 months and my flacid gains are more impressive.

If I eventually decide to hang, I’ll probably purchase the Bib Starter Hanger. I’ve got to admit that I’m a little scared about the hanging - the possibility of injuries, etc..

Do you really have to invest more time into hanging than you would with stretching to get equivalent results?

Are there any polls on this site that indicate which method is more prone to produce injuries as well as gains between hanging and stretching?

What are some of the pluses and minuses of each?

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

<Do you really have to invest more time into hanging than you would with stretching to get equivalent results?>

It is said to at least hang 10 hours a week, but any is better than nothing.

<Are there any polls on this site that indicate which method is more prone to produce injuries as well as gains between hanging and stretching?>

Well hanging is king of length gains, and as far as injuries there is an injury forum. I personally think hanging is safer than most other methods.

I know that when I stretch i always get red dots afterwards. And sometimes if I grip too hard or pull to hard it hurts :p and sometimes in a really bad way. I’ve never tried hanging though, but I’m guessing it’s safer.

Yeah man, I think hanging is way safer than stretching! When you are stretching, the pressure is not even and constant so it is a lot easier to injure yourself. With weights, you just stack them on and there is no movement so no chance of injury if you are careful.

I’m curious about the reason why you should hang at least 10 hours a week. If I can gain 3/4” in length by manually stretching 15 min/day, then if I hang using weight that is equivalent to the square pounds of force I exert manually then shouldn’t I get the same results?

You’d think that if I was putting 15-25 sq. lbs of force (just guessing-I actually have no idea) into my manual stretches for 15 min, that if I started hanging with 15-25 lbs for 20 minutes that I would AT LEAST be seeing the same gains. Wouldn’t you think?

Is it that you can exert a greater square pound of force manually than you might feel comfortable hanging with?

Jan. 2005 and you are already doing a great job, like others, of making things overly complicated.

Sm,
How did you injure yourself from stretching 15 minutes? What type or injury is it?

I am sort of in the same boat as you. I want to move on to hanging but I decided to put that on hold a bit because of all the things that I’ve read on discoloration. I might be wrong but everything I’ve read on discoloration is that it is hard to remove.

This is a good question, and I’m not sure I know the answer. One possibility is that manual stretching will only take you so far. I’ve never heard of anyone significantly stretching his ligs using manual stretching alone. Eventually, your grip will not be enough to support the amount of force needed to provide further gains.

But I really think you should try to get the most from manual stretching before you move to hanging. The discoloration is a definite problem, as is the time that hanging requires. In addition, there is the paraphernalia, which can embarrass you if it is discovered.

mapson,
occasionally when I’m stretching I’ll feel a slight pain in my left testicle, so I usually just stretch in a slightly different direction and the pain stops. Several weeks ago I was stretching (more forceful stretching than I’ve ever done) for an entire 5 day week (Monday - Friday), 15 minutes a day followed by 400+ jelqs (more intense strokes than usual). I increased the intensity, because I had just gotten another 1/4” in erect length and my penis was looking much thicker, so the excitement got me eager to achieve even more gains.

I was just humongous after this by Friday (thicker and longer than I’ve ever been since I started) and the penis/ligs were a bit sore. I had sex with my wife on Friday, Saturday morning and night, and Sunday morning. I was so impressed with the way I looked I was practically walking around the house naked. Sunday afternoon she gave me a lubed but very strong handjob for about 45 minutes. Aside from soreness in the penis and ligs everything felt alright, though the soreness increased a bit after the handjob.

Then on Sunday night, when laying on the couch my left testicle became really sore as did my ligs and the inside of my penis. I got a fever and had the cold sweats all night. The fever stopped completely the next morning, but the soreness in my testicle and ligs and penis continued for 2 weeks. I went to urgent care center and the doctor said I had a swollen left testicle and there could be a cyst, but they weren’t sure. They prescribed antibiotics in case it was an infection and told me I HAD to go to a Urologist.

I went to the Urologist and he said that I had no cyst. He thought maybe I had varicocele (varicose vein in testicle) or epididymitis, but couldn’t be sure without an UltraSound. Since varicocele isn’t life/death situation and I’m taking antibiotics (which would cure epididymitis) , I decided to hold off the UltraSound until I can get insurance. He told me to start wearing brief underwear instead of boxers and to continue the antibiotics. I never told him about PE.

I’m now three weeks (this Sunday) from when the pain started and I finished my antibiotics last night. The pain has subsided a lot (especially in penis and ligs), though I still feel a soreness in both testicles from time to time, depending how I’ve been sitting. The briefs have really helped to alleviate the testicle pain.

I was just wondering if hanging would allow me to regulate the intensity a little better. IMO it’s probably the variation of intensity that created this mess. I would stretch and then use my second hand to really put all my muscles into it and God knows how many square pounds I was actually putting into the stretching - probably a lot since I lift weights regularly. Whereas hangers start out under 5 lbs and work up to 20 lbs, then 25 lbs, etc.., I may have stretched that whole week with much much more square pounds in force than I ever would have if hanging (even though for only 10-15 one-minute to one 1/2-minute stretches).

Regarding hanging: I’ve been worried about the discoloration as well. I also get worried when I read stuff like “if the head goes cold stop immediately as tissue will die if cold for x number of mins” etc.. Those kinds of things send pics of a gangrenous dick (meaning amputation) into my head and freak me out. Some people get nerve damage too - I’m not sure if it’s that they wrapped incorrectly or what, but that scares me too - thinking that if I don’t grasp the wrapping technique that I might do nerve damage.

However, hanging sounds like it would be much easier once you get the hang of it. I get tired having to exert these intensely forceful stretches over what seems like an eternity. I don’t know how people strech over 30 minutes (they must do it with a lot less intensity). After the injury I’m kind of scared about not knowing the appropriate intensity. I don’t want to reinjure myself after these last three weeks of hell. I probably won’t start again until a week or once the pain is completely gone. So I’m having to sit idle and watch my girth gains disappear - guess that’s my punishment for over-eagerness. :)

Sm,

A couple of things. First, try to resist the urge to increase the intensity of your exercises because you are seeing progress. Many people believe that increasing the intensity is specifically what causes your “newbie gains” to stop. Keep doing what you’ve been doing, which gave you your initial spurt of growth.

Second, it is not clear to me what the connection might be between your PE activities and your testicle pain. Perhaps your jelqing put some stress on your spermatic cord or some of the structures in your scrotum. Be extra careful at the beginning of your jelqing stroke that you’re not grabbing any tissues other than those that are part of your penis.

You say you felt some pain in your ligs. Is it possible you are confusing your ligs with something else, such as your spermatic cord? A lot of newbies can’t tell the different structures apart.

If you want to hang to get more intensity, I think you should first figure out whether you really need it. Have your gains stopped? I do not advise moving to more intense exercises just because your penis is conditioned. In my opinion, you should only consider them when your gains have stopped. Even then, your best bet may be to take a couple of months off from PE to let your tissues normalize. Then come back and try again, at low to moderate intensity.

You’re only a newbie once. Ride these newbie gains as far as they can take you. Gains become much tougher for most guys once the honeymoon (read, newbie period) is over.

Sage advice that. Make that honeymoon laaaaaaassst!

Thanks ModestoMan for your advice.

I had made great gains when I first started. I gained 1/4” the first 2 weeks and another 1/4” over the following two weeks. I started intense (for a beginner) and injured myself here and there, though nothing serious. Then I got no gains for over a month. I was doing the same routine and nothing was happening.

As I was better conditioned, I increased the intensity of and the number of jelqs. I continued with same intensity with the stretching (as this is where I had gotten an injury earlier). After a week or so, I then started to apply greater force on the stretching and over a period of week(s) I gained another 1/4”. I felt it was due to the greater intensity, so I wratched in up a bit and here I am regretting that decision.

This is probably where hanging is superior to stretching - it seems like it would be easier to really regulate precisely the exact intensity. I may not be aware when I’m throwing in another 5 lbs of square force on top of where I should be when stretching. With hanging you know exactly how much intensity is being applied.

You may be right about me confusing the ligs with the spermatic cord. Anytime I get soreness above my penis/below my abs I assume it’s my ligs, but I guess it could actually be my spermatic cord. I really can’t distinguish the two.

When I jelq I start at the very base of my penis and there have been times that I’ve felt some pain going down the side towards my testicles. Anytime this would happen I’d try to readjust my starting point to keep it from happening. Do you start at the very base or from further down the shaft?

I heard hanging will automatically give you greater girth at the base. Is this true? It this were the case I could probably start jelqing even further down the shaft (clearly avoiding spermatic cords) and it would still look full from top to base.

Has anyone out there made impressive gains hanging less than 5 hours a week? Please tell your schedule and gains and over how long a period. Thanks.

Mr. Nine, when you say 10 hours a week are you including the 10 minute breaks between hangings or are you saying 10 hours of actual hanging. I’m assuming if you take 10 minute breaks (to get cirulation going) between 10 minute sets you’d have to devote nearly 20 hours per week for 10 hours of actual hanging time. Is this what you meant?

Actual hanging time is what I mean in regards to hang time.

To hang safely it will indeed take you two hours to hang a one hour session. The ten minute rest period between the twenty minute sets is very import and can’t be rushed. This is why hanging is so time consuming; it is he biggest downfall of hanging and probably why most will not or can not stick with it long enough to see gains. I’m one of those fortunate few who have pretty much unlimited time for PE. I hang at home and at work. I PE almost continuously, 24-7 but still it is hard to get in over fifteen hours of actual hang time a week. The flesh is willing, but the skin is weak

Concerning manual stretching; it is very easy to over do this. People don’t realize just how much force can be applied. Go to Wal-Mart’s and buy a fish scale (less than five bucks) Then you will see that it is not inconceivable for a person, especially a weight lifter to pull up to forty pounds. Fortunately one can’t hold this tension very long. In my opinion hanging is much safer and much more productive, if you can afford the time and privacy it takes to do it right.

Good luck
BG