Lately I have been thinking a bit about how to improve my technique. There are many reasons why someone would pursue a better understanding in technique. These are the primary concerns (if you have any of these you should focus on learning technique before anything else, in my opinion):
1. The biggest concern is, "I will waste my time if I don't do the exercises right"
I think this is the main thought that pops into my head when I think of technique. It is the basis of a good workout that you are sure that what you are doing is actually having an effect on your body.
1a: If you have this concern I think the best way to go about dealing with it is to first take a break from PE (if you have been doing routine exercises) for a few days so that your penis returns to normal. This will ensure that any residual effects from possible "bad" technique is gone, giving you a clean slate to analyze how you are going about your exercises. You can then proceed to the other concerns.
2. "What if I am jelqing too hard? Will I overtrain and cause damage/be counterproductive?"
This is another one of my biggest worries. When this causes you to question your technique (and you have already taken a PE break to eliminate residual effects) I assume the best solution would be to work up very slowly. This is already advised in the jelq instructions on the forum. I personally am taking a break today (i also had one yesterday). When I do another exercise tomorrow it will be low intensity and, most likely, intentionally incomplete. I may stop half way to allow myself to judge the PIs, and then finish the workout later that night if things are looking positive. This brings me to my possible solution for this particular problem.
2a: When trying to develop technique, try cutting your routine into two shorter halves (one in the morning/afternoon, and another in the evening). This will give your penis time to return to "normal" after the initial half workout so you can examine it properly before continuing. Before beginning the second half, allow yourself a few moments to "play around" with your penis and see how it has responded to the first half. Take some notes on things like tenderness, redness, soreness, stiffness, numbness, or any other differences. After the second half make sure you also take some immediate notes (changes from post workout 1 and post workout 2). If you see a huge difference, you will be able to tell if its negative or positive and how to address it.
3. "What if small areas of bad technique will cause problems in future, ex. hard flaccid, turkey neck, baseball bat?"
Another concern on my mind when I focus my technique. How do you make sure you are getting a "good" rep that is even and natural? Are there practices I can adopt to encourage/facilitate good technique. YES THERE ARE!
3a: A possible way to avoid turkey neck (this may seem primitive) is to get an elastic band, and wrap it around the base of the shaft tight enough to hold the scrotum out of the way but not too tight that it constricts blood vessels (there may be better ways of getting the scrotum out of the way). A possible way to avoid the baseball bat is to use a stopwatch timer when doing jelq reps. Set a time for each rep (ex. 4 seconds) and stick to it, taking one second to switch hands or more if needed. By having a timer, you will notice when you have jelqed too fast and gotten all the way up to the glans too early as there will still be time left! This will bring more attention to bad technique and help you change. A good way to avoid the hard flaccid or post-workout compact is of course the traditional warming. Also, if you are having serious problems with hard flaccid you could incorporate warming in between jelq sets to make sure your penis doesn't get strained and stays in a "relaxed, warmed" state.
4. "What if focusing too much on technique will take my mind away from actually focusing on how I FEEL during the exercises?"
Another relevant concern... The best approach would most likely be to take things as slow as possible initially to make sure you get the technique right first. Once you know your technique is golden, you will have developped some extent of muscle memory and will have more freedom in your mind to focus on the sensations. Or, better yet, try to do both! Taking things slow and focusing will enhance your consciousness/awareness of what you're actually doing during the workouts, and this will translate into understanding why your penis feels how it does instead of just having a superficial understanding of what it feels like.
4a: Simply stated, slowwwwwwwww downnnnnnnnnnnn
___________________
So what is the big picture here?!
An easy recap!
When you worry about technique, remember to:
REST: your penis to get a fresh start
TEST: your workouts by taking a break and examining
INVEST: some preparation into ways you can help yourself stay focused, eg. the stopwatch
DIGEST: your workouts slowly and give yourself time to focus on what is happening, don't rush!
Well, those are my thoughts for the day haha! I'll let everybody know how my session goes tomorrow. I will adhere to these rules and try my best to record what I observed.
Cheers!
1. The biggest concern is, "I will waste my time if I don't do the exercises right"
I think this is the main thought that pops into my head when I think of technique. It is the basis of a good workout that you are sure that what you are doing is actually having an effect on your body.
1a: If you have this concern I think the best way to go about dealing with it is to first take a break from PE (if you have been doing routine exercises) for a few days so that your penis returns to normal. This will ensure that any residual effects from possible "bad" technique is gone, giving you a clean slate to analyze how you are going about your exercises. You can then proceed to the other concerns.
2. "What if I am jelqing too hard? Will I overtrain and cause damage/be counterproductive?"
This is another one of my biggest worries. When this causes you to question your technique (and you have already taken a PE break to eliminate residual effects) I assume the best solution would be to work up very slowly. This is already advised in the jelq instructions on the forum. I personally am taking a break today (i also had one yesterday). When I do another exercise tomorrow it will be low intensity and, most likely, intentionally incomplete. I may stop half way to allow myself to judge the PIs, and then finish the workout later that night if things are looking positive. This brings me to my possible solution for this particular problem.
2a: When trying to develop technique, try cutting your routine into two shorter halves (one in the morning/afternoon, and another in the evening). This will give your penis time to return to "normal" after the initial half workout so you can examine it properly before continuing. Before beginning the second half, allow yourself a few moments to "play around" with your penis and see how it has responded to the first half. Take some notes on things like tenderness, redness, soreness, stiffness, numbness, or any other differences. After the second half make sure you also take some immediate notes (changes from post workout 1 and post workout 2). If you see a huge difference, you will be able to tell if its negative or positive and how to address it.
3. "What if small areas of bad technique will cause problems in future, ex. hard flaccid, turkey neck, baseball bat?"
Another concern on my mind when I focus my technique. How do you make sure you are getting a "good" rep that is even and natural? Are there practices I can adopt to encourage/facilitate good technique. YES THERE ARE!
3a: A possible way to avoid turkey neck (this may seem primitive) is to get an elastic band, and wrap it around the base of the shaft tight enough to hold the scrotum out of the way but not too tight that it constricts blood vessels (there may be better ways of getting the scrotum out of the way). A possible way to avoid the baseball bat is to use a stopwatch timer when doing jelq reps. Set a time for each rep (ex. 4 seconds) and stick to it, taking one second to switch hands or more if needed. By having a timer, you will notice when you have jelqed too fast and gotten all the way up to the glans too early as there will still be time left! This will bring more attention to bad technique and help you change. A good way to avoid the hard flaccid or post-workout compact is of course the traditional warming. Also, if you are having serious problems with hard flaccid you could incorporate warming in between jelq sets to make sure your penis doesn't get strained and stays in a "relaxed, warmed" state.
4. "What if focusing too much on technique will take my mind away from actually focusing on how I FEEL during the exercises?"
Another relevant concern... The best approach would most likely be to take things as slow as possible initially to make sure you get the technique right first. Once you know your technique is golden, you will have developped some extent of muscle memory and will have more freedom in your mind to focus on the sensations. Or, better yet, try to do both! Taking things slow and focusing will enhance your consciousness/awareness of what you're actually doing during the workouts, and this will translate into understanding why your penis feels how it does instead of just having a superficial understanding of what it feels like.
4a: Simply stated, slowwwwwwwww downnnnnnnnnnnn
___________________
So what is the big picture here?!
An easy recap!
When you worry about technique, remember to:
REST: your penis to get a fresh start
TEST: your workouts by taking a break and examining
INVEST: some preparation into ways you can help yourself stay focused, eg. the stopwatch
DIGEST: your workouts slowly and give yourself time to focus on what is happening, don't rush!
Well, those are my thoughts for the day haha! I'll let everybody know how my session goes tomorrow. I will adhere to these rules and try my best to record what I observed.
Cheers!
