Why we don't gain from hanging

Hey all,

I’ve been hanging for almost 5 months now. I used to have an X4 Labs stretcher before for 4 months, with no result. I hate that stretcher,very uncomfortable.

After almost 5 months of hanging I’ve reached 16 lbs (adding 1-2 lbs every 1-2 weeks, started with 5 lbs). I could hang only 3 sets per day, 7-8 hours per week, when at least 10 hours needed to achieve good results. I finally got my fatigue at the end of the 3rd set while hanging 15lbs.However, I wasn’t able to hang even 7.5 lbs on my 4th set. It was very uncomfortable at the base of the penis and scrotum,kind of painful a bit. The pain went away after 1-2 hours,but I can still feel it when I press down with my fingers around the base of the penis.

I’ve read on Thunders that some guys suggest only 2x20 mins sets or 3x15mins sets a day.It didn’t make sense for BIB.

Yesterday,I contacted BIB and he had told that it was my big mistake running up in weight so fast,without increasing the number of sets first.

He advised me to go back to 7.5 -10 lbs and start increasing the number of sets till I reach fatigue.

I agree with Bib you jumped up in weight way too fast. Are you still feeling pain?

Sure I can. Do you want me to scour the forum for articles and experiments to prove my point? It’s common sense. Tissue, under constant stress and to level of deformation (i.e. fatigue), will adapt size and shape to accommodate said stress. The reason people say reach fatigue FIRST, before up’ing weight, is because high weight causes issues: skin burn, oxygen-deprivation, and other bad elements. Hanging does not require any sort of rest when done right.

That said, I have gone too heavy too quickly in the 2.5 years I’ve hung and have had to rest because my dick was mangled from extremely high weight (40lbs). So, in terms of fatigue and healthy hanging, there is no need for rest.

I have no pain at the base or in the scrotum, but my skin and penis tissues are pretty much still inflamed a lot.

I don’t have a consolidated log. My PE journal is a collection of text files containing daily details of the PE routines I’ve done, personal notes, etc. I’m not going to post them. I’d have to sort through everything, edit out personal stuff, and clarify things that only make sense to me. That would require way too much effort for something that wouldn’t be very useful to others. If the hanging portions were simply a spreadsheet of times and weights, I’d post it.

I started hanging at BTC (worked into it — had to stretch some skin to get there), and I think it’s the best position to initially focus on. BTC targets the suspensory lig and everything else above it. Earlier on, I felt the stretch at least a third of the way up to my belly button.

From there, I don’t know what to recommend. SO never appealed to me because, at least in my case, more structures seemed to support the load in that position. I couldn’t feel a good stretch from it even with a significant boost in weight. I got excellent results when I first switched to working the upper angles. Fulcrum hanging (and “twisted” fulcrum hanging at that) eeked out some more length.

If you’re no longer gaining from a given angle, change to something you haven’t worked before or focus the weight on a narrower range of tissue. Ulimately, you’ll have to become more specific. Bib put it best, “Divide and conquer.”

As an example, before my chronically bad vein* put an end to hanging I was targeting the sides using pulleys clamped to my desk. I’m guessing approximately 15 degrees up and 45-90 degrees, depending on amount of chair rotation, to the side. BPFSL had increasd a bit so a gain was on the way. That was immediately after a totally fruitless period of significant time invested trying BTC after a layoff. In other words, a return to hanging BTC didn’t pay off, but the more specific side angles were working.

Gaining becomes more difficult over time. I suspect each guy has a certain amount of potential, ranging from essentially none to a surprising amount, but once it has been realized in each area, or nearly so, you’ll have to focus effort on narrower and narrower ranges of tissue only to receive ever-decreasing returns. We don’t see PEers with 24” penises because gaining potential is not endless. Even if you hang all day every day, you won’t keep gaining forever. That’s the case with all PE methods.

That said, hanging produced well for me after other methods couldn’t.

*Hanging wasn’t to blame. I have always had problems with veins easily clogging. This one was directly under where the hanger attaches, and couldn’t be worked around. Believe me, I tried.

If you have articles and/or experiments that can prove that collagenous tissue can heal from a noticeable amount of tears at the very same time new tears are caused (because this is the point), show it, and I will be grateful. Articles I posted are backuping the contrary.

Aren’t they trying to prevent them from healing in the first place though?

Yes ironaddict your right. The theory is to deform the tissue not to heal them to a stronger state. Connective and muscular tissues do rebound in an attempt to heal stronger and can sometimes even heal shorter than before. Thats the reason why in weight lifting its important to balance opposing forces to keep the joints and posture in alignment.

Just a theory I hope it works! I’ve hanged before not utilizing riding the fatigue and gained over half an inch in 6 months but I attribute that to taking a decon break and switching from manual to hanging. Since then I haven’t gained from hanging for over a year. Hell just the change in strategy might work. I’ll keep ya’ll posted.

Ligaton—take a break man. Sounds like your in a healing state and you need to be there. Wait till all the inflammation is gone and then start off slow.

Longer, did you get my PM?

Very pragmatic. Excellent & clear advice about how & why to safely ride the fatigue is in that post.

I just want to make a comment on this—I have been told it is ideal to reach fatigue by the second set. Then, you can use less weight during subsequent sets. I think as long as you’re very cautious & pay attention during that second set, the subsequent sets are less of a tissue strain at least at the attachment point because you’re using less weight. How much less weight? You go by feel. Also, it’s even more ideal to do this both day & night if you’re conditioned enough to handle it. Personally, I warm up a second time before the second set to reach the point of fatigue with the minimum possible risk.

So, using lesser weight during most of your sets, made possible by reaching fatigue early can reduce some otherwise unnecessary stresses (e.g. at the attachment point).

On a sidenote, most people don’t have time to go far beyond a 3rd set, so maybe this is why it’s recommended to reach fatigue in the second set. Aside, if you don’t reach fatigue, maybe you’re just wasting time. However, it would be foolish to try & do high weight during the first set since you want to properly warm up and have a better feel for where you are today & how much weight you’ll actually need to get fatigue on set#2.

This is just my perspective & my way of understanding why we are supposed to reach fatigue early.

Tell me if I’m wrong but wouldn’t weight for a longer period of time be better then just 20 min of 3 or 5 sets?I figure it’s like a bungee strap the longer your body get use to it the more it compensation for the stress of weight. I don’t know it just seems logical to me, maybe I’m wrong.

I have just started hanging with 2.5 pounds at 3 X 15 minute sets with no fatigue or PI whatsoever. Should I increase the weight or the amount of sets I hang?

Getting used to = getting stronger. You don’t want to enstrenghten your ligaments, you want to break them. In a controlled manner. You should use the least weight possible to create fatigue. Then just do as many sets as you can while decreasing the amount of weight you use while still having fatigue.

Increase sets first until you feel you are running out of time and still cannot get fatigue, then up the weight. See my response to Trinity above.

Try doing a 20 minute set with the same weight. If that gives you no fatigue at all, then try adding 1/2 lb during your next set. Go in 1/2 lb increments and go by feel. Especially when you’re under 10lbs, AVOID adding more than 1/2lb at a time if possible. Personally, I used fishing weights/ duct tape/ and pieces of a metal hanger to create 1lb and 1/2lb weights (because I was unable to purchase them in a store). If you’re adding weight, don’t add additional sets. Generally, it’s best to only add 1-2lbs per week, and if you added weight, make sure to keep doing the same number of sets as the week before. If you find one day you can’t do as much weight as the previous day, or if you have to remove weight instead of adding weights during a series of sets, that’s great. It means you’re reaching fatigue. You’ll have to learn the difference between skin stretch and internal pulling. Your first few weeks of hanging will only be skin stretch. Once you’ve got some skin to work with, then you may need to adjust the weight (you’ll notice things feel different). Eventually, you’ll reach a point where you need to stretch your skin again. Do one thing at a time.. as bib would say “divide & conquer”.

Anyway, if one would like to reach fatigue earlier the best way would be maximizing sets:
marinera - Loading, lengthening, healing.
so the order of importance would be:

1) more sets;
2) more time;
3) more weight.