Just wanted to thank the many contributors to this forum for a very informative thread. It’s clearly told me what to realistically expect, also what to do and what not.
About me - I turned 47, and even though I keep in excellent shape (6’2, 215lbs and six pack) and have never suffered from any dysfunction, hey, at some point in time I had to admit my erections weren’t as rock solid. So, especially after getting divorced -such things happen, and life is good- I wanted to kind of rejuvenate my penis some. Hence, before reading this forum, I got the Bath-mate Hercules pump. It had good reviews and I wanted to keep things basic.
I do not want to spend too much time doing it - I do work out for about 75 minutes every day, and 20 minutes will have to do for PE (I am even learning some new acronyms in here :-D). While it is an important part of my body, I want to keep things in balance and not obsess about it.
My experience thus far (3 weeks into it) is positive, especially after a bit of a weird first week. It seems that initially I overdid things, going for a decent pump for 30 minutes and doing kegels seemingly fatigued my resources down there, because things got a bit spongy erection quality wise. Once I did the 30 minute routine before my current partner came over, and while I could still slide it in with the old choke-the-base trick, and things built up from there, it was still a close thing and I’d rather not face that again. Mind you, she knew something different was up, because I saw her eyes open up wide in surprise, and she commented afterwards that I felt huge. And that, folks, is why we do this. :-D
After that I did things with more moderation, and things have been good, even though obviously I am still learning how I react to it. I am a bit hesitant to use it right before my girlfriend visits because of the close call I mentioned. Maybe a more moderate amount of time (5 or 10?), but haven’t experimented much. But it feels as if I am building up ability to get harder right after my main morning 20 minute session. I put it on when I take a shower (at home obviously) after the gym, set the timer for 20 minutes, and then shave and do all the stuff. I also let it hang lose, which was uncomfortable at first, but on the other hand I think it’s a good additional exercise. When I take a bath once or twice a week in the evening to relax, I use it again, so once or twice a week I’ll do 2 20 minute sessions a day. The pump effect seems to slowly but surely decrease through the day, but a visual check tells me it stays bigger than before I started this some weeks back. BTW the Bath-mate instructions merely state 3x5mins once a day, and say nothing about doing it hard or soft. I typically go in soft, and come out with a penis that feels semi-hard but hangs down semi-half-mast.
As to my girlfriend, she seems to be adjusting, and keeps wondering if I am taking something. She’s a smart girl. :-) She can’t yet take me for as long as she used to - she is a firecracker, but on the petite side.
How big was I and how big am I now? Honestly I have no clue, I do this by visuals and never felt compelled to hold a tape to my penis. All my girlfriends have called me from big to huge at some point, but then again we know they say things to flatter us on occasion. It does seem my girth filled the tube wall to wall from the get go, and the base of my dick looks like an accordion at the end of the session, so maybe I ought to have gone bigger, I’ll think about it over time, for now this seems more than enough of a workout. I have never had the balls getting-sucked-in thing happen, thank heavens, that sounds like something that would me me immediately trash the Bath-mate. :-P
In a nutshell: I am a happy Bath-mate customer. I can tell visually that after only 3 weeks things look more “authoritative” through the day, and don’t expect permanent outcomes in a day. Being a gym nut, I know the body reacts slowly but surely to the effort you invest into it. I don’t expect my penis to be any different. But it’s most certainly a part of my body where I’d tolerate no workout injuries (not that I enjoy them in general). But while I will tolerate soreness in my muscles, I don’t want to push things down there to that point, hence I expect slower progress. And I am OK if the effect are transitory, having the Bath-mate has also caused me to be finally diligent about doing my kegels, (I think it forces you to do them involuntarily as you walk around your place with the tube hanging) and that is a great thing in itself.
Again - thanks for sharing your experiences over time with the Bath-mate.
On the supplement side - I have always taken a top multivitamin, and add Tribulus Terrestris, Arginine, Lecithin, Pigmeum and Saw Palmetto.
