Define “Aggressive Cycling”

[Jack1104]

So here I am, 3 1/2 months since surgery, trying to make it so I can maximize my size.

I’ve seen many different definitions of aggressive cycling to achieve this. Every surgeon seems to have a slightly different definition. What are people doing to aggressively cycle? How many times a day and for how long? How many months or years after the surgery?

I know some posters believe that too many cycles can shorten the life of the implant. I’m not so sure about this since the titan website indicates that the valve is good for 6.5 million cycles. Tubing & connections give out before the valve.

Jack

[SteveSW]

This just my experience. My surgeon told me to inflate to the absolute max for at least an hour a day, to help maximize size over time. Most days I do 2 one-hour sessions, but never a day I don't do one session. For me, I don't count the hours I'm inflated for sex, since I don't inflate as much simply because the sensation is better than at max inflation. It's been 10 months, and I have gained 3/4" of an inch in length and a bit of girth. Some men report some size improvement up to 18 months following surgery. I am going to keep after it.

[newbie443]

I think it was Donnie that had a thread on this years ago. The important thing is to follow your doctors' instructions for cycling until released. This is when you are fully healed. Sometimes up to 3 months post op or longer. But some may be shorter. Then you can decide if you want to do long pump adding cycling or not. Some have done VED with cycling and reported faster results but again this is something you should ask your doctor about and decide if you want to try it or not. In both cases you are looking to feel stretching but not pain. I did not use VED. I just used 1-hour long pump adding cycling. And had gains out close to 2 years. What I did was inflate to max or until I felt stretching. I would wait a few minutes and add pumps. If I felt stretching, I would wait until that reduced before adding pumps. If I started to have pain, I would deflate. Now this is only after you have completed your doctor's instructions for cycling. Some doctors may advise you can start earlier but some will also say not to do this or VED so it is up to you. Just remember that pain is bad and if you have that to stop and deflate. Like using VED prior to surgery, you can do harm so be careful. Some have had good results with 2 thirty-minute sessions a day rather than one 1-hour session. But again, if you can do more without pain and want to it is up to you. Remember we are all different and so are doctors so what works for one or some of us might not be the right thing for others.

[Craigohbig]

This just my experience. My surgeon told me to inflate to the absolute max for at least an hour a day, to help maximize size over time. Most days I do 2 one-hour sessions, but never a day I don't do one session. For me, I don't count the hours I'm inflated for sex, since I don't inflate as much simply because the sensation is better than at max inflation. It's been 10 months, and I have gained 3/4" of an inch in length and a bit of girth. Some men report some size improvement up to 18 months following surgery. I am going to keep after it.

Are you maxed out until the bulb is flat and out of saline?

[SteveSW]

This just my experience. My surgeon told me to inflate to the absolute max for at least an hour a day, to help maximize size over time. Most days I do 2 one-hour sessions, but never a day I don't do one session. For me, I don't count the hours I'm inflated for sex, since I don't inflate as much simply because the sensation is better than at max inflation. It's been 10 months, and I have gained 3/4" of an inch in length and a bit of girth. Some men report some size improvement up to 18 months following surgery. I am going to keep after it.

Are you maxed out until the bulb is flat and out of saline?

In my case, maxed out is when the pump bulb is so hard, I can't compress it anymore. I have never had the bulb go flat, so I guess I've never used up all the saline.

[merrix]

Here is a scientific paper on cycling and length improvement post-op.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5000799/
Only Titans in the study. Length increases are impressive.
2.13 cm change on average after 24 months.
Participants cycling protocol was:
From week 6 till 6 months: Inflate daily till the point of discomfort for a short period of time.
From 6 months till 24 months: Inflate as hard as they could tolerate everyday for at least 1 h and not exceeding 2 h.

Regarding the study, I have referred to it several times in the past and my problem with it is that it does not compare final result with length immediately before surgery.
It compares post-op to 24 months later.
In my case, I was about 16.5 cm (6.5") before surgery, about 15.5 cm (6.1") after surgery and about 17.8 cm (7") now.
That would come up as a 2.2 cm (0.9") increase in this study.
My cycling protocol was very different though from the study.
I did pretty much the opposite...
The first few months: Twice per day till I could not take it anymore. About 30 minutes each time.
The first year: Plan as above but with some slack. Instead of 14*30 minutes per week, it was probably rather 10 times and definitely not 30 minutes each time.
The second year: A few times per week only. Always as hard as I could, time ranging from 5-30 minutes.
After that: Barely ever.

But - Using the implant is also "cycling". And I used it a lot. From a few weeks and onwards about 5-6 times per week for sex or masturbation. Implant doesn't give a shit about what you do with your erection. Reading a book (i.e. "cycling"), jerking off or fucking. In the first 1-2 years I did not inflate fully for sex or masturbation. But for the last few years I do most of the times. Which means still today, six years after surgery, I inflate fully a few times per week. I see no need for further inflation beyond that usage. To me it is a waste of time and a potential risk to shorten the time till revision is needed.
"Valve is good for X million cycles". Yeah right. In theory, on average, in a lab or whatever. But in real life, implants don't last millions of cycles.
And it's not only the valve that is stressed during inflation. The weak part in Titan seems to be the connection of the tubing to the pump. Those connection are taking a hit every time you inflate and deflate as well since you are moving things around and putting some decent pressure on things when inflating hard.
So I am a 100% believer in that the more you use your implant the less time it will last. On the other hand, this is a random event, and just like a car that is running 30,000 miles per year can go on without a breakdown for years and another car that is used 3,000 miles per year can have a massive breakdown - a guy who uses his implant once per week can need a revision after a year and someone who uses it twice per day can last 14 years.
But on average, using any mechanical device a lot will wear it down sooner than using it less. I don't think anyone can argue with that logic.
On the other hand, we got implanted to have sex. So I would never ever let that thought stop me from using my implant.
I am just saying that I am not going to read the news with a hardon one hour every morning for the rest of my life just because I think my dick might get 2 mm longer.
That's a shitty risk/reward ratio in my opinion.

Finally, regarding the study, I also think that measuring inflated immediately post-op is rather meaningless. Simply because you can't really fully inflate in the early days.
Hence, the stretched flaccid in the study is perhaps a better measurement. That is not impacted by how much you can/do inflate.
It does show less gain, which makes sense, but it's still an impressive 1.83 cm (0.7").

[Jack1104]

Here is some thinking outside the box-

When cycling, at the end of the session, I don’t deflate everything at once but rather do it gradually, in about four 25% phases. “On the way down,” so to speak, I bend the shaft in all directions just like we are instructed to “on the way up.” By then I am a little achy and more sensitive and it just seems like I am stretching the forming capsule and breaking up scar tissue. Then my penis rests until the next session (or sex). This is not scientific- I have no way of proving this, but for me I don’t see any down side. Just my two cents.

Jack