Finding your optimum vacuum setting.

At 5-7hg I still developed the dreaded foreskin donut near the glans. Since using tape/wrap I’ve been able to go higher without much incident of the donut. My conclusion has been that the optimum vacuum setting we should all be looking for is the least vacuum we can use without injury and the one where the penis length stretches the most. Otherwise are we really stretching anything to its limits? Does anyone agree with this? Vacuum to the point where there is no more discernable visual gains. It is still imperative that we reach this vacuum slowly as to not cause an on rush of fluid build up in the shaft skin.

Currently I’ve found this to be 12 hg ish.

Personally, my ideal level changes depending on how hard and how long I can maintain my erections in the tube. The more flaccid I am the greater the edema/donut. What I do is maintain 5-7” Hg until nine and a half minutes go by. I kegel once to check the rigidity then I pump to about 10” Hg if it feels right for the next thirty seconds.

Personally I do not seem to get the donut effect unless I stay in the tube for longer than 10 minutes each set.

As far as HG goes I have some discolouration from pumping up to 7.5HG back in November which did not disappear with a few weeks lay off.
I still get some red spotting from damaged capillaries at 6hg although mild.

So for me I would like to pump at higher HG as this gives me a better feeling of stretching my penis but I stay lower so as not to burst too many capillaries.

Muttley, Yea I keep kegeling all thru out as well as use some porn. Its difficult to tell if you have a real erection while in the tube as opposed to a pumped up one. I think I take about 4 mins to work up to 12hg and keep it there for the next 11 mins. I don’t seem to have any marks or damage (knock on wood). It does start to feel a little bit unbearable though but I tough it out.

BlueNun good call on your HG limit. That is my point really, finding the optimum setting so that you aren’t doing any damage. It’s very possible that means your penis inflates to its maximum easier than mine. Damage would just slow down gains or even reduce our measurements! I also hope you are slowly raising the vacuum. I also try to enter the tube while erect.

My opinion, you guys are fucking up if you pump at that high of a vacuum. You may not see damge right after a pump session, but believe me, it is there, slowly building. A lot of the vets have posted on their pumping experiences, why not learn from their mistakes, instead of making your own?

Amen, amen, amen to that, T.

Indeed, warning being heeded. I will reevaluate my hg setting. I have read Avocet ranges from 3-8 during his session. I am questioning the optimum setting. I am not advocating damaging the penis, but are we really putting the penis to optimum pressure unless the length is extended to the farthest it can go on the least setting? If one can achieve full extension of the penis at 6 hg, let it be so. Would it be that different from squeezing , uli ing , stretching, hanging the penis to its limits? The benefit is that you actually have a guage instead of guessing with your hands how hard you are squeezing and stretching etc. How can you be working the penis if the pumped penis is less in dimension that it would be thru a natural erection? That is what I am hoping to debate.

I agree. Your enthusiasm, although a good thing, can be your own undoing. Harder sessions are not always better sessions… in fact, I am finding out that gentle is the way to go for smooth, consistent gains.

I have followed avocet’s guidelines in "pumping 101"… it works. Start with smaller pressures, pay attention to what happens, and work up slowly. I know the temptation and impatience is always there, but it is your enemy sometimes, not your friend. You don’t want to distort half of your dick permanently and be the newest member of the "Dum Dum Hall of Fame" just because you were in a hurry. Keep a log, and record what you do every day after a session. Take the two minutes a day it takes after your session and record what you did. Do it religiously. You won’t remember everything a month from now unless you record it.

Pay attention to the results you get, how are you reacting? What are the feelings in your penis… not just the pressure on the gauge.

How does it feel hours later? Does it hang bigger, "loose and relaxed" for a while, or is it all "shrunk up?"
Do you feel little "tingles" throughout the day?

We have been discussing these little things over at sparky’s thread, here:

When I have made great gains, I…

Check it out! It will give you some ideas on other things to look for. Cueing in on these things has done me more good than just "watching the gauge." Many of us guys have been taught to ignore our feelings, not pay attention to them. Or we pay attention to the session, but not what happens throughout the day. There is some valuable gold to be mined here, if you do it. That is my experience so far.

Remember that with higher pressure(beyond 6 HG in my opinion) your penis uses more lymphatic fluid than blood to compensate for the pressure. You don`t want that, you want BLOOD in your penis. So stick to 4-6 hg and get the gains slowly and steady if that is the option. Btw I pump at max 6 HG and I had some really good gains the first month(almost an inch girth) and they seem to continue at the moment.

All the best,

Renholder

I do do that, but I have been doing PE for over 4 yrs and have a very well-conditioned cock. 3 - 5 HG is a sensible and effective range for men new to pumping; some even find 5 HG uncomfortable.

I have had no discernible damage thus far from my 12 hg misadventure. No bruising, no red spots etc. One aspect I noticed was shrinkage due to its need to heal some microtears I’m sure. I’ve kept away from pumping and doing minor stretches while it heals. I’ve been looking thru the forums, does anyone have a link to where I can see damaged penises that were over pumped?

Avocet You also mention that the HG people should use will differ from person to person. At 5 HG I get a slight pump but its less than what I’d have if I had an erection. At 7 HG the penis noticably jerks up .5 inch from 5 HG. The 12 HG stretch I used to surpass a previous mark I put on the tube. Do you see my point in using an HG that will stretch the penis to its limit? I know that 12 HG is probably an overestimation I am re-examing the lowest HG I need for the full expansion.

Don’t you find it painful at higher vacuum? Sometimes it hurts at 5 and always at 6 for me. I find 4 to be the most comfortable level, pumping at 5 on my last set.

Tunica expansion per each additional inch of vacuum diminishes much faster than skin expansion, so after some point (I believe it to be 5hg) you basically stretching mostly the skin and sucking in the lymph and risking busting the capillaries without much additional expansion of the tunica. Thus costs exceed the benefits.

Sparky91 - Oddly enough I had less lymphatic fluid retention in the skin when I did the 12 HG actually it wasn’t that odd since I was only in the tube for 15 minutes and only about 11 at 12 HG. I was doing 30 minute session with the 5-7 HG before. It was uncomfortable but not painful. Much of the discomfort I felt is due to my slight curvature trying to straighten out. Imagine doing erect bends for that long. I experienced some pain at 7 HG when I didn’t use tape near the top of the shaft to prevent the donut. With the tape I don’t experience the pain. The pain was as if fluid was rushing along the shaft to the top and stretching the skin there. I believe lower pressure and longer sessions would just serve to suck fluid into the skin and not work the tunica and ligs.

Anyways I’ll report back if I find a lower HG to attain the length I marked from the last session. I also had the best inflated glans after the 12 HG.

If it’s not as long at 5 hg as when erect, it almost sounds like you are pumping flaccid. Try pumping erect. Try to get a hard on and try to keep it (use some porn or whatever), while pumping at 4 or 5 hg. Now you have the internal pressure from the erection, PLUS the vacuum, working together at the same time. It’s like an additive effect, and stretches more without the danger of higher pressure.

I am going to throw my $.02 into this, but I definitely think the vets are the folks to listen to (like Avocet8). For your information, I have been pumping for about 6 months and have had modest gains.

YES!, listen to your own body, we are all different.

In my opinion, the best approach is using the most aggressive vaccuum pressure/time that DOES NOT cause any negative side effects. That is, no discololoration or purple spots after you are finished, no donut, no discomfort, and healthy (and hopefully improved) erections when you usually got them, as well as being able to get erect right after finishing a pump session.

For me, it just so happens that my most aggressive vaccuumpressure/time WITHOUT negative side effects is very similar to the newbie routine Avocet laid out*.

BUT — if it took more time or pressure for me, since we all have our own physiological makeups, I would more pressure. As long as there are no bad side effects, and in fact, improvements. But, I wouldn’t deviate from the newbie routine until I had truly given it the college try without results, or was unable to do it for some reason (like with 4 HG my penis always went flaccid).

Cdr.Blop
*As time has gone on, I have deviated from the original routine, but only after I got some experience and started getting some side effects. For the record, now my standard routine is:
warmup, light stretching, enter with erection for
8 minutes at 3 HG
2-3 Minute Jelq, enter with erection for
8 minutes at 4 HG
2-3 Minute Jelq, enter with erection for
8-15 minutes with 4HG
2-3 Minute Jelq, enter with erection for
6-15 minutes with 5 HG
Total TIT (Time in Tube) is between 30-46 minutes, and this is after 6 months of pumping.
The 8-5 and 6-15 minute ranges correspond to how strong my erections are in the tube. Also, for the final set I wrap below the head to avoid any donut.