Rumble's Journey
Hello,
First, a little bit about me. I dabbled in PE around 2008 without much success. I tried manual exercise, and I bought a Bib Starter, which was too difficult to use between the settings and circulation issues.
Fast forward, I stumbled upon some article about extenders. I love anything that is backed by research because the experiment design is more rigorous than most anecdotes you’ll find on the forums. I know that research with extenders has flaws, including conflicts of interest, but the idea seemed plausible enough for me.
I made the decision to purchase an extender in October 2021. I started out slowly per the instructions. I went from 5.875" to 6.250" in one month-I was ecstatic; however, during months two and three, the results stalled, and I even felt "tight", like I was overdoing it. I think I overdid the tension and while I didn’t suffer any injury, it felt like I was "toughening" the tissue rather than stretching or expanding it.
I perused the forums and stumbled upon 5.5Squared’s post found here Hanging with FIRe. I really like the methodical approach and concepts behinds it, so I’ve decided this will be my approach going forward and wanted to document it to hold myself accountable.
I purchased a vac hanger and a heat pad to get started. I’ll be using micro plates for barbells for weight adjustments.
Measurements
Oct 27, 2021
BPFL: 13.5 cm <- I think this was BPFSL but I can’t remember, and the gain in Nov seems way too big
BPEL: 15 cm / 5.875"
BPEG: 5"
Nov 29, 2021
BPFSL: 15.5 cm
BPEL: 16 cm / 6.25"
BPEG: 4.75 to 5"
Jan 4, 2022
BPFSL: 16 cm
BPEL: 16 cm / 6.25"
BPEG: n/a
Jan 31, 2022
BPFSL: 16.5 cm
BPEL: 16 cm / 6.25"
BPEG: n/a
So I started a decon at the end of January and I’m restarting today, but this time with a vac hanger so I can measure load more precisely. I’d like to add that I did no exercise during the three week hiatus aside from edging and I didn’t experience any loss of size.
My routine going forward will be based on 5.5’s suggestion, with an aim to condition myself to vac hanging and increase weight in 1-2 weeks. My 0.1 mpa is ~2.3lbs and 0.17 mpa is ~3.7-4 pounds; if you don’t understand the terminology, please use the link I shared at the beginning. You’re supposed to warm up cold with a light weight to start, add heat and weight at 0.1 mpa and gradually increase the weight until 0.17 is achieved then remove heat and add more weight (25% usually) while your unit recovers in an extended state without the heat.
1st Workout
Hanging straight down while sitting
0-15 minutes: 18 ounces
15-45m: 36 ounces begin applying heat at minute 15
45-60m: 48 ounces remove heat at minute 45
Feb 17, 2022
Pre-BPFSL: 16.5 cm
Post-BPFSL: 17.0 cm
Strain: 3.03%
The hanger was extremely simple to use and comfortable; way better than my experience with a Bib Hanger. There was a little swelling and blueish glans, but no biggie; I used some tape for prevention. The feeling was a bit different than the extender I used. The extender felt like it stretched my unit whereas the hanger felt like it was pulling from the abdomen. I also used a wire cutter to shape a wire hanger for dry cleaning into an S-hook to add weight to the vac hanger. I plan on targeting 5 days a week for a one hour workout each of those days; if I miss a day, I’m not going to stress over it; it’s a marathon not a race. I will not do anything else in addition to hanging (e.g., no ADS).
My first question is: I noticed that I had a 17 cm BPFSL post hang, but the reading only lasted immediately after (within two to three minutes of removing the hanger and tape). After that it reverted to 16.5 cm. Is that common?
Thank you,
Rumble