Reaching the end of a training cycle

[Potentialwalrus Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Potentialwalrus]

What are the indicators that you are reaching the end of a training cycle? Are they the same at negative PI's?

I've been having overall a fuller flaccid hang, and I believe my EQ is improved. For the first 2 weeks I was getting erections throughout the day, but this has some what faded. I also am getting a longer fatigued state these days.

When will I know it's time to take a week off?
I'm almost at one month

[incogneeetoe Moderator Member of the Month Sept 2017*Special Appreciated Moderator Nov. 2021* PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close incogneeetoe]

Big Al recommends 6 weeks then a break.

I generally go 3 months, then break.

I notice at about 2.5 months the fatigue kicks in. The penis is generally a little sore starting the daily routine. The overall feeling is kind of overused.

[petrpan Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close petrpan]

Big Al recommends 6 weeks then a break.

I generally go 3 months, then break.

I notice at about 2.5 months the fatigue kicks in. The penis is generally a little sore starting the daily routine. The overall feeling is kind of overused.

Hey incogneeetoe,
how long are your breaks usually?

[Ehhhm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ehhhm]

The penis is generally a little sore starting the daily routine. The overall feeling is kind of overused.

Ahhh, that is what i feel these days
But i still see gains, even more now when i am fatigued. I have been going on from January till now (start October), with just a few breaks because of other external circumstances. The breaks have been for up to 1 week long, besides the occasional 1 or 2 days off. If i were to take a break (feeling fatigued and hitting a plateau), how long should a break be?

The soreness is pronounced, but i work around it, like i would with DOMS from muscle training - respecting the body's signals, but work my way through them. Adding warmth and more massage. Is soreness alone (in your opinion) the PI that should induce a break, or should there be (as i would expect) other negative PI's like plateau or lowered EQ?

In short:
Are regular breaks a must?
Is soreness alone a reason for a break?
How long should a break be (days, weeks, months)?

[incogneeetoe Moderator Member of the Month Sept 2017*Special Appreciated Moderator Nov. 2021* PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close incogneeetoe]

Hey incogneeetoe,
how long are your breaks usually?

I find that one week is optimum.

I have taken a one month break, but felt that it was not needed.
I did a week completely off. Over the first 3-4 days I noticed changes right away. Morning wood, flaccid hang were all strong. Impressive, even. Then I did a week that was just a basic warm up with edging, and I could feel the difference a break made. I continued that and slowly added in a light maintenance routine over the last two weeks. But i felt that I could have gotten back in full PE after the first two weeks.

Sometimes I will do a two week break. One week off completely then a week just very mild PE. That seems to be good once a year.

[incogneeetoe Moderator Member of the Month Sept 2017*Special Appreciated Moderator Nov. 2021* PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close incogneeetoe]

The soreness is pronounced, but i work around it, like i would with DOMS from muscle training - respecting the body's signals, but work my way through them. Adding warmth and more massage. Is soreness alone (in your opinion) the PI that should induce a break, or should there be (as i would expect) other negative PI's like plateau or lowered EQ?

For me the soreness is the main indicator. If I get to that point, and you will know it, then I aim for a break. It is just like regular work and exercise. There are times that I work hard for a few months. There will be a point that I realize I am heading to "injury". If I know that I will have break time in a week or so, then I can keep going.

Have to be extra careful with the penis, of course. Always better to be safe then sorry. I have been at this for a few years, so I can recognize the general fatigue and be aware of it.

In short:
Are regular breaks a must?
Is soreness alone a reason for a break?
How long should a break be (days, weeks, months)?

I say regular breaks are indeed a must.
Soreness is an important reason to break.
As I have said, I think 1 week is a good way to start. Then maybe do a week (up to two) of maintenance before getting back into a good PE routine.

[Big Al AdministratorPEGym EditorMale Enhancement Coach Rep.PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Big Al]

When you at the peak of the cycle then you should begin preparing for your break. Your peak is where your exercise performance and EQ are at it's highest. This period is normally followed by a drop if activities are sustained past a certain level.

[Ehhhm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ehhhm]

I say regular breaks are indeed a must.
Soreness is an important reason to break.
As I have said, I think 1 week is a good way to start. Then maybe do a week (up to two) of maintenance before getting back into a good PE routine.

Okay, it is tempting to keep going, when you see gains.
But i have been doing this on "feeling" and intuition, and besides real breaks from external circumstances, i have a daily adjustment of my PE effort according to how i feel. So i often takes days in recovery mode or with little force/time. I must admit a full stop for 10-14 days scare me. Both the risk of loosing my gains, and the fear that i will not be able to get the habit back, and just not get back on full PE.
So far (- 9 months in) i have had success with the day-to-day fit, so full on breaks will be something i will think about when i hit plateaus or more negative PI's.

Thanks for your input!

[Ehhhm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ehhhm]

When you at the peak of the cycle then you should begin preparing for your break. Your peak is where your exercise performance and EQ are at it's highest. This period is normally followed by a drop if activities are sustained past a certain level.

Thanks for the explanation.
So far i have been riding close to the flame, fluctuating with a feeling of how much force and time i could handle at the given day. But trying to keep myself on PE daily. Perhaps i should plan for a 1 week break. I will try to find week, where it fits with external pressure, so i don't end up having trouble restarting - i have found that i loose some conditioning really fast.

[Big Al AdministratorPEGym EditorMale Enhancement Coach Rep.PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Big Al]

Thanks for the explanation.
So far i have been riding close to the flame, fluctuating with a feeling of how much force and time i could handle at the given day. But trying to keep myself on PE daily. Perhaps i should plan for a 1 week break. I will try to find week, where it fits with external pressure, so i don't end up having trouble restarting - i have found that i loose some conditioning really fast.

If I may ask- what's your physical conditioning like (outside of male enhancement training)?

[Ehhhm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ehhhm]

If I may ask- what's your physical conditioning like (outside of male enhancement training)?

You are asking about my fitness-level?
I'm fairly old (+60) but have trained some variation of powerlifting for years. I have been loosing momentum the last year, but i am still rather fit - my best lift is 550 lb's squat, which i did on regular basis up till 2017. From then i have been slacking to much to get past 450 lb. But it will come back, when i apply my self again and fight the laziness.
Right now i use a lot of mental energy to keep the PE on track. It is no fun, and a chore most days, with victories now and then, but not something i can use as a daily focus. If i was fixed on gains daily, i would use to much force, and be counterproductive in reality.

The loss of conditioning in PE i refer to is fatigue and pain, when i try to pick up, where i left of before a break. Hanging 8 lb at 2 x 30 minutes is suddenly to hard, and i will have to lower the weight and/or time significantly, and build up again. My threshold for this stuff really drops fast.

[Big Al AdministratorPEGym EditorMale Enhancement Coach Rep.PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Big Al]

You are asking about my fitness-level?
I'm fairly old (+60) but have trained some variation of powerlifting for years. I have been loosing momentum the last year, but i am still rather fit - my best lift is 550 lb's squat, which i did on regular basis up till 2017. From then i have been slacking to much to get past 450 lb. But it will come back, when i apply my self again and fight the laziness.
Right now i use a lot of mental energy to keep the PE on track. It is no fun, and a chore most days, with victories now and then, but not something i can use as a daily focus. If i was fixed on gains daily, i would use to much force, and be counterproductive in reality.

The loss of conditioning in PE i refer to is fatigue and pain, when i try to pick up, where i left of before a break. Hanging 8 lb at 2 x 30 minutes is suddenly to hard, and i will have to lower the weight and/or time significantly, and build up again. My threshold for this stuff really drops fast.

Resistance training is good but how's your cardio? EQ is fundamentally tied in with cardiovascular conditioning.

The importance of maintaining good health (esp. heart health) becomes more important as we age.

[Ehhhm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ehhhm]

Resistance training is good but how's your cardio? EQ is fundamentally tied in with cardiovascular conditioning.

The importance of maintaining good health (esp. heart health) becomes more important as we age.

Thanks for clarifying.

My treadmill cardio is not impressive, and having been overweight and still not where i want to be, i have a hard time running, but can easily do a brisk walk for several miles, or equivalent gardenwork. I monitor my blood pressure and heartbeat, and on average have a bp of 118 over 68 with a pulse, that has gotten up to just below 60 (when i was lifting more i had a resting heartbeat around 48). So all in all i think my cardiac condition is fair, but should still be improved.

My EQ is normally fine, but with intensive PE the frequency of spontaneous erections falls, and shortly after heavy hanging my EQ is lower, but i would expect that.

The TS asked about breaks, the PI's and the need for breaks. I followed up, because i have felt a lot of soreness in my penis day-to-day lately, and have cut my hanging sessions shorter because of early fatigue. I have, so far, thought it would be manageable without complete breaks, but on reading this tread, i will plan with a break - perhaps next week.

[Big Al AdministratorPEGym EditorMale Enhancement Coach Rep.PEGym Hero Find all posts View Profile Close Big Al]

Thanks for clarifying.

My treadmill cardio is not impressive, and having been overweight and still not where i want to be, i have a hard time running, but can easily do a brisk walk for several miles, or equivalent gardenwork. I monitor my blood pressure and heartbeat, and on average have a bp of 118 over 68 with a pulse, that has gotten up to just below 60 (when i was lifting more i had a resting heartbeat around 48). So all in all i think my cardiac condition is fair, but should still be improved.

My EQ is normally fine, but with intensive PE the frequency of spontaneous erections falls, and shortly after heavy hanging my EQ is lower, but i would expect that.

The TS asked about breaks, the PI's and the need for breaks. I followed up, because i have felt a lot of soreness in my penis day-to-day lately, and have cut my hanging sessions shorter because of early fatigue. I have, so far, thought it would be manageable without complete breaks, but on reading this tread, i will plan with a break - perhaps next week.

Even low impact cardio can be great if it brings the heart rate up.

If your penis is more than mildly sore after sessions then this isn't a good sign!

[Ehhhm Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ehhhm]

Even low impact cardio can be great if it brings the heart rate up.

If your penis is more than mildly sore after sessions then this isn't a good sign!

Thanks for your concern. Sounds a bit omnious, but the operative word here i guess is 'mildly?.

I try to stop session long before hurt, and from my training i'm usually very aware of the difference between discomfort, that can give gains, and pain, that can lead to injury.
I think i have found a factor that adds to the soreness, using a sleeve around my flaccid next day to avoid turtling. It easily bundles up, and the last days where i didn't use it, i don't feel soreness/fatigue so early in the sets. In my eagerness to keep the gains i'm apparently not giving my penis enough time to rest.

But i guess you suggest i should take a weeks break/pause, and see how it feels to start again?