Intro/History/Routine/Progress

That’s a great tip. Thank you.

My issue in this case is that I made my shims out of the wrong material. Silicone is just too grabby. I’m making new ones out of Lexan, so the issue should go away when I get them done.

AM session - same as it’s been for the last few days.

Ran into the skin grabbing issue a bit, but the third set was much better. Got to a hair over 19.9cm on the scale. Hardly any edema and no petechiae. I also realized that I’m having a measurement issue due to fogging in the inside of the cylinder. I though I was coming up way short, but then a droplet condensed enough to run down the tube, and it turns out I just wasn’t getting a clear view. Easily solved.

Finally got a lexan shim finished. What a difference! And what a pain to heat mold. The stuff cools off so fast that even at 350°, you have 5 seconds max to get it formed. But with the thinner, slicker shim, I had a great PM session and just barely got to the 20cm mark at the end of the third set. Barely any edema at all, no red spots, and I’m hardly feeling any fatigue. We’ll see how things go Monday after a couple rest days.

I’ve gone from barely hitting 7.75” to 8.2” LIT. I’m stoked about the progress. I’ve hit 8” BPEL post-session, but I haven’t been able to get a pre-session measurement in a while.

Hi Fixer,

I’m very interested in your shim idea, and a bit un clear as to how it works and where it’s oriented in the tube. Would you mind explaining a bit more in detail? Maybe a pic ?

I’m glad you saw gains it makes me want to try the design.

I’ll have to get a pic on Monday. But it’s pretty simple: it’s just a thin piece of plastic that’s cut to the same length as the inside of your tube and inserted to take up some of the volume. The width of the shim determines how much room it takes up. So a 2” tube with a 1/16” shim that’s cut to full circumference makes a 1 7/8” tube. If the shim is cut to half of the inside circumference, it makes it (roughly) 1 15/16”.

So if you’re like me, and can’t pack much of a 2” tube, you won’t be able to effectively target length. But even if I could find a 1 7/8” tube, I’d pack it too tightly and wouldn’t be able to gain girth. By custom fitting the tube with shims, I’ve been able to switch to a narrower shim as I pack more and more, while still targeting length at the same time.

As a bonus, the shim doesn’t seal against the side of the tube, so it doesn’t stop the vac pressure from getting to the thin areas if you’re thinner toward the base.

So far, my results have been great. I’ve gone from a 1/8x5 shim to 1/8x 3.25 and now to 1/16x3.25, doing my best to stay in the 70-80% packed range, and gaining length in tube at the same time. To put it in more quantified terms, I’ve gone from a volume of 19.81in³ to 24in³ in just a few weeks

I see. I think for me it would probably be a 3 inch full circumference around the base to allow more expansion for mid section and tip. Sound about right?

That would definitely work if you’re fully packing a 2.75”

I’m still missing the concept LOL

The concept is to work on both length and girth at the same time by packing the tube, but not too tightly. Too loose, and the pressure targets girth almost exclusively. Too tight, and it targets length but doesn’t have enough room for girth progress. By staying in the range of 70-80% packed, you should get balanced gains.

So if you’re fully packing a 2.75”, then moving up to a 3” and shimming it down would work because a 1/4” jump is too much at one time.

I see. I’m currently using a 2” tube. I was thinking shrinking the I.D. At the base would put more pressure towards the tip, sort of a clamped pump. Maybe way too much internal pressure.

It would work, but think of it more as restricting base expansion until the rest catches up. You can also stack shims where you have a full length shim to get that 70-80% pack, but stick the base shim under that one to further restrict the base.

So the base would be packed tight to restrict expansion, the rest would be packed lightly to allow expansion, and you’d still get a good pull for length.

I like it. Thanks!

AM session:
A few “Mandingo stretches”
100 jelqs
3 x 5 minute pump sets followed by 25 jelqs each
A few minutes of edging

Slow start today. First set was a bit of a struggle. Seemed my unit was a bit stiffer than usual, and not in a good way. By the end of the set, I was barely above 19cm and barely packed. Second set was better; started packing decently and got to 19.5. Things really loosened up on set 3. 19.8 cm and probably 90% packed. So that puts my corrected LIT at 8.1”. Not bad for a Monday morning.

PM session was much better. Got to a bit above 8.2” with a good pack. I might be ready to downsize my shim again by the end of this week. Might be decently packing the 2” tube bare by next week.

I need to figure out a good way to mold this lexan before I have to make the jump to my 2.25” cylinder, or find a better material.

Oven. 200 degrees