Why not progressive overload in PE?

I´ve read (I´ve posted some too…) PE-related posts here and at the PEforum for about two years now but despite all the insightful, well researched and plain great posts, there are still one thing I can´t understand. Here it is:

When it comes to PEing, is there no such thing as progressive overload in the bodybuilding sense of the word? What I´m talking about here is something like this: Say you have a routine of stretching your member. The longest it get in stretched out state is X. Now, according to progressive overload, the next workout, you´d try to stretch it just a little, tiny bit beyond X, your former max stretch. The same would go for jelqing I guess: Your member has a max mass and you´d want to get a little tiny bit beyond that max mass in you next workout, then in the next workout, you´d try to go beyond the new max mass and so on.

Now, it´s obvious that there is a correlation between time/effort and results - just look at Bib or DLD (or just read that great thread Hobby started). It also seems clear that you DON`T need to push your member beyond it´s limits length- and masswise at every workout.

My modest question is just: Why? Why shouldn´t we in every workout go for stretching/jelqing Willie a little longer/fuller than the last workout? Apart from the enhanced risk for injury, what´s wrong (in theory and practise) with progressive overload in PE?

Take care,
/sizemoore

IMHO the biggest reason progressive overload will not work in PE is because we are dealing with connective tissue for the most part rather than muscle tissue. Even the muscle tissue is generally classified as smooth muscle tissue which probably doesn’t benefit from periodization/progressive overload. The research done on progressive overload is mostly geared toward skeletal muscle tissue. The exception here is the PC muscle. After you have done a lot of PC squeezes and are at the max recommendations for them, you can carefully overload it by using a dry washcloth over your erect penis and lifting it until you reach say 50 reps, followed by wetting the corners one at a time- wetting a new corner each time after you reach your rep goal. Then you can wet the whole thing and work with that. I have, in the past, worked up to a moistened hand towel- but didn’t go beyond that. I think there is a point where common sense needs to take over in spite of one’s desire to achieve. Just my 2 cents worth.

2in2002,
you´re right that the principle of progressive overload is geared towards muscle tissue (mostly skeletal) for the most part, but it is also has a place in other situations, for instance aerobic sports where one´s progress does not solely come from growing muscle tissue, but to a large extent from a better use of your oxygen system.

What I´m talking about is pure adaption - that the only way ligs, chambers and tunica can get beyond their current max size is if you push them beyond. I just can´t understand how and why anything else would work - but it obviously does. Gah, I must be stuck in some mental lock-up here…;-)

Later all,
/sizemoore

You are right about the General Adaptation Syndrome working in PE. My theory is that jelking is kind of like aerobic exercise for the penis- and it is important for overall penile health. The stretching exercises stretch the skin and force it to adapt and create more skin area- whether this is through building more skin or thinning what we have I am not sure, haven’t looked at that yet. But the biggest thing I think is done in PE is the micro-trauma- essentially mini injuries- that we cause to the connective tissue. We put an overload on those tissues until they tear, then the tissues are forced to adapt.

Another thing I have been wondering about is whether jelking/pumping actually stresses the elastic connective tissue in the penis itself to the point of tearing those tissues, too. This would force adaptation in that connective tissue in the form of scar tissue in the shaft and thus contribute to permanent girth gains. Just 2 more cents worth :)

Sizemoore,

I think your theories are mainly correct.

I have adapted that thinking (both in weigthlifting and PE) and get decent gains. Hard to measure the force you put on the dick put I try to anyway.

Also I use to gain in 2-4 weeks spurts, and almost only do maintainance for one or several months.
Each time I go in to a new “gain period” I try to actually stretch the dick against a ruler, longer than before. Girth wise I use what it takes to get a fatter dick, like more intense squeezíng and bending, more workouts/day and so on.

Gained 1.5” x 1” this way. Most of it in three 2-4 week periods the latest 1.5 years.

/Pan

The main reason I see that it is not used is that it would be almost impossible to measure accurately (for length at least). I do try to bump it up a litle each time for girth. However if I lay off a day or two for rest, it seems to go back to pretty much my recent starting point (been stuck here for a long time). My length seems to have dropped a little also since I haven’t done much stretching lately. Really frustrating.

Thanks for the replies guys.
It seems reasonable that measuring the force/intensity is what makes prog. overload hard to apply in PE. Like you Pan, I have used these principles in weightlifting for a while now and it makes a world of difference; short, intense and focused workouts once or twice a week seems to be the key to progress for me. I, like so many others, have been working those weights on and off since my teen years with little or no results. Now I´m 30 and I am finally gaining lean muscle mass, getting stronger for every single workout. It´s a slow process but it works wonders for me. I just wish I could apply this to PE in some safe and logical way.

/sizemoore

Pan, are you saying that you would only PE during these 2-4 week gain periods and then take a month or so off? Did the growth periods simply happen each time you went back to PE, or had you been PEing constantly for the whole time and occasionally you would just hit a growth phase? I am having trouble understanding exactly what you mean. Also what was your routine during these periods?

Well, I do very dilligent (right word?) workouts for a number of weeks, then I dont have the motivation/energy/time for it and kind of drift into maintainance. Then after a couple of months I decide “hell… I need a bigger dick” and get in to a new heavy duty period and gain again.

I dont know if I could gain like crazy if I did this intense workouts constantly for a couple of months.

Maybe ther is 1/4” gain possible after a long brake, and then when that 1/4” is on the dick, maybe it needs to take it relatively cool for some time to “normalize” and after that it´s possible to gain even more. I´m sure this is different for different individuals.

One thing is sure, my total gains have come in a period (several actually) of totally less than three months. Gains are about 1.5”x1”, maybe more length, closer to 2” uncertain.
I feel very confident I´ll get another 1/2” before the end of this year.

/Pan