The Penis (smooth) Muscle Theory

[remek Founder Find all posts View Profile Close remek]

I have always been curious how the penis works -- and if I could enlarge it. Along time ago, I was rather upset when I found out that the penis wasn't a muscle, and therefore it couldn't be enlarged. Thankfully, since then (due to this site and others), I have found out the truth -- penis enlargement is very real. It works, yet, no one seems to know exactly how.

I was rather dumbfounded when I learned that the penis truly is a muscle -- not completely muscle, and not a normal muscle -- but approximatelly 50 percent smooth muscle. Below are two posts of my notes and research about the smooth muscle of the penis.

Science is mysterious itself. Even scientific facts aren't always fact. So I presume that my recommendations could be wrong, but I believe in them. But I will always follow the evidence, at least to the best of my ability. My recommendations are also based on hours (and hours, and hours) of reading over PE forums, and scribbling down my own notes.

But more important (at least right now), do you disagree with me? I know you think decon breaks help, and I also know that you believe moving up in intensity is the best way to go. Or, at least that is what I am under the impression (from your posts and your journal). I'm all for discussion if you think I'm wrong. I think that is why Sparky created this thread. He, the thought provoker he is, wants to create more guidelines for men to follow.

Anyways, here is a reference for what you requested:

Originally Posted by pubmed
1: J Urol. 2004 Feb;171(2 Pt 1):771-4. Related Articles, Links

Sildenafil preserves intracorporeal smooth muscle after radical retropubic prostatectomy.

Schwartz EJ, Wong P, Graydon RJ.

Division of Urology, University of Connecticut Health Sciences Center, Farmington, USA.

link:PubMed Home

The important role of corpora cavernosal smooth muscle in potency has been known since Goldstein et al reported the first examination of erectile tissue. 8 Normal smooth muscle content and function are necessary for the initiation and maintenance of erection. 6 Published reports suggest that the average intracorporeal smooth muscle percent is between 40% and 50%. 9 Our unpublished data confirm this rate with the finding of an incidence of smooth muscle of about 49% in normal potent males in the general population. In contrast, patients with veno-occlusive dysfunction show a much lower percent on microscopic examination. A prior study suggested that these patients have a smooth muscle percent of 10% to 36%. 9 Concomitant intracorporeal fibrosis results in abnormal smooth muscle function, increased venous leakage and eventually impotence.

If you want the full article, PM me.

Personally (this is my opinion), I think the smooth muscle plays a monumental roll in penis enlargement. Healthy smooth muscle in the penis is required for an erection.

This is well documented in:

The penis as a vascular organ. The importance of corporal smooth muscle tone in the control of erection.

Christ GJ.

Urology Research Laboratory, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA.

The intrinsic biological complexity of penile erection and the multifaceted nature of erectile dysfunction are just beginning to be fully appreciated. This article describes how mechanistic studies of the local control of penile erection, with specific emphasis on the primary role of the corporal smooth muscle, contribute to the improved understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of erectile dysfunction.

link: PubMed Home

I only have this one in print, so I can't email it to you. However, if you would like to look at this 20-something page article (an exercise in itself to read ), then I would be willing to mail it to you.

But here is a tidbit:

Complete smooth muscle relaxation is both necessary and sufficient to elicit an erection.

In an essence, this article went over (in detail, down to the chemistry) the smooth muscle's role in the penis. The bottom line: smooth muscle is very, very important. Or, at least that is what I perceived it to be. The smooth muscle causes an erection (which is set off through chemical reactions) by completely relaxing. "Compression of the relaxed trabecular smooth muscle against the fibroelastic tunica albuginea causes the closure of the emissary veins," and thus results in an erection. If this smooth muscle is unable to completely relax, then an erection can't take place. . . . .

[remek Founder Find all posts View Profile Close remek]

Here are my current thoughts on the subject of smooth muscle:

• For the penis to enlarge, the smooth muscle (cells and sinusoid spaces) must enlarge too. This is how I think penis enlargement takes place. I don't have the time to go into complete detail right now, and I won't for the next 1-3 months (another reason I gave my quick opinion in this thread), but I do plan on doing more research and writing a few "Internet" articles on the subject.

• Because the penis is compromised of 50 percent smooth muscle, and smooth muscle has a lot of the basic properties of skeletal muscle (the biceps, triceps, and all the other commonly known muscles), we can presume that it might react to stress the same way normal muscle does. Which is a no brainer for us all! What are we doing here? Exercising! Moreover, nearly every single guideline we have is based off body-building/exercising/weightlifting concepts in one way or another! Think about it -- Bib, presumably one of the biggest gainers (if we accept his claims as facts), used a weightlifting concept known as "progressive overload." Peter Dick, another big gainer uses a common weightlifting program known as "muscle confusion" (in which he keeps the muscles guessing). And now, more recently (thanks to guys like you [xeno], Shiver, MX, Modesto, Wadzilla, and many more) we are now realizing cyclic training using deconditioning breaks helps us keep the penis in a responsive state. And cycylic training is a very popular weightlifting principle (if not the biggest).

• Albeit, this doesn't particularly mean we can attribute the growth to smooth muscle growth -- but regardless, if the penis grows, the smooth muscle must grow too. The article I quoted above stated: less smooth muscle = higher chance of ED. Obviously this isn't the case for us PEers. Most of us report harder erections.

• Also, It is well documented that smooth muscle can grow due to stress. I have a whole book on the subject, in fact. It is called [u]
  Hypertrophic Response in Smooth Muscle[u], by Charles L. Seidel and Normal W. Weisbrodt. It appears this book has numerous scholarly articles on the growth of smooth muscle. Link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/084...Fencoding=UTF8

• I also think this can explain why PE gains are permanent (for the most part), opposed to traditional muscular growth gains. Think about it like this: the smooth muscle in the penis is exercised when we jelq, stretch, and incorporate other exercises. These exercises take the penis (and the smooth muscle) beyond it's normal threshold. But what is the normal threshold? An erection. Masturbation, sex, anything that involves an erection is exercise too! It's typically just not enough to cause growth. Therefore, after the gains are cemented, and we retire all we need to do to keep the gains is have frequent erections -- in which the erections are enough exercise to keep the gains. It is also well documented that as men get older, and they use their penis less, the smaller it becomes. Note: I don't have a reference for this off-hand.

All that being said, I hope it's enough reference for you, at least for now You'll have to wait a few months until I get some more time to completely divulge into the research again -- something I do love. I'm not sure if I'm on the right path with my smooth muscle theory, but there is one thing for certain: Guys like you, sparkyx, Shiver, Modesto, me, and countless other scientific minded PEers will figure it all out, sooner or later.

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

This is how I think penis enlargement takes place. I don't have the time to go into complete detail right now, and I won't for the next 1-3 months (another reason I gave my quick opinion in this thread), but I do plan on doing more research and writing a few "Internet" articles on the subject.

How is it going with the more detailed article, have I missed it completely? Is it on it's way? Have you written any more articles about this theory?

[remek Founder Find all posts View Profile Close remek]

Dicko, you can find the latest smooth muscle article here: https://www.pegym.com/penis-enlargem...s/penis-muscle

I update it whenever I run into new information.

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

Thanks. OK, I just read it but I noticed you didn't seem to touch the subject of the connective tissues (tunica).

So basically what your saying is that smooth muscle is required for a healthy penis and when we gain penis size the smooth muscle must also increase because otherwise we would have weaker erections (like ED patient having less % of smooth muscle), which we know is not happening.

So far it sounds pretty solid, but I have some questions.

Do you think the smooth muscle is what "stretches out" the tunica and not the other way around? So, we enlarge the smooth muscle with exercises. The smooth muscle grows and in turn puts pressure on the tunica and stretches it out, which then translates to a gain?

Do you think stretching/hanging exercises the smooth muscle to grow?
What are your thought about megalophallus caused by priapism?

[remek Founder Find all posts View Profile Close remek]

Thanks. OK, I just read it but I noticed you didn't seem to touch the subject of the connective tissues (tunica).

Yea, the tunica already has enough glory in the PE community. My goal was to shine light on the lesser-discussed smooth muscle, which I think anatomically justifies PE more than anything else.

So basically what your saying is that smooth muscle is required for a healthy penis and when we gain penis size the smooth muscle must also increase because otherwise we would have weaker erections (like ED patient having less % of smooth muscle), which we know is not happening.

That's the theory. Of course, I could be way off... but it's likely that the smooth muscle plays some role in PE. The amount it plays has yet to be determined. My guess is that it's the most important aspect, anatomically speaking, in PE (more so than the tunica and the ligaments).

Do you think the smooth muscle is what "stretches out" the tunica and not the other way around? So, we enlarge the smooth muscle with exercises. The smooth muscle grows and in turn puts pressure on the tunica and stretches it out, which then translates to a gain?

Good question. I've thought about this quite a bit, and have debated myself on which grows first--the smooth muscle or the tunica. With my current knowledge, I've come to the conclusion that it's the smooth muscle that grows, and thus pushes the tunica out further.

Do you think stretching/hanging exercises the smooth muscle to grow?

Yes, I do. When we exercise our skeletal muscles (e.g. biceps), we're essentially just stretching them with different amounts of pressure. This stretching pressure is what makes the muscles grow. I presume that a similar process happens when we stretch our penises.

A justification for this theory, is that stretching and hanging makes the penis not only bigger but also harder... So the smooth muscle has to be affected in one way or the other.

What are your thought about megalophallus caused by priapism?

The last I checked (a few months ago), they didn't have a definite cause for it. They theorized that the megalophallus was due to the tunica being stretched to the max. I'm not sure if this is the case . . . It might be, but I believe the smooth muscle played a HUGE role in the process.

Think about it: The smooth muscle in the penis is "exercised" every time you get an erection. A priapism is a long-lasting, uncontrollable erection. A normal erection might not "exercise" the penis that much, but a 4 hour erection will... So much, in fact, that it "overworks" the penis. Sometimes this causes it to grow, other times it causes long-term ED. And both have happened as a result of a priapism.

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

Sparkyx, the guy behind the PI theory, claims erection quality (EQ) is the most important indication that you're doing things right. Basically, if you train right you'll get better EQ and then you'll gain, in theory. This fits in with your smooth muscle (SM) theory. You train right and make the SM grow, which means better EQ just as Sparkyx predicts. Since improved EQ comes before gains (PI theory) it may very well mean that you increase the SM first and then the SM stretches the tunica kind of like roots slowly breaking through concrete/tarmac (1). I didn't see the connection between Sparkyx's PI theory and your SM theory before.

About the megalophallus issue.

"Megalophallus probably resulted from permanent loss of elasticity of the tunica albuginea due to severe engorgement during the episode of priapism." (Link)

That is an assumption, but still. This supports the elasticity theory which I believe is fully compatible with your SM theory.

[remek Founder Find all posts View Profile Close remek]

Sparkyx, the guy behind the PI theory, claims erection quality (EQ) is the most important indication that you're doing things right. Basically, if you train right you'll get better EQ and then you'll gain, in theory. This fits in with your smooth muscle (SM) theory. You train right and make the SM grow, which means better EQ just as Sparkyx predicts. Since improved EQ comes before gains (PI theory) it may very well mean that you increase the SM first and then the SM stretches the tunica kind of like roots slowly breaking through concrete/tarmac (1). I didn't see the connection between Sparkyx's PI theory and your SM theory before.

Yea, my beliefs are dead-on with sparky's on EQ and PIs. Perhaps it's because of the connection to SM and PIs?

About the megalophallus issue.

"Megalophallus probably resulted from permanent loss of elasticity of the tunica albuginea due to severe engorgement during the episode of priapism." (Link)

That is an assumption, but still. This supports the elasticity theory which I believe is fully compatible with your SM theory.

Exactly. This was the study I was referring to in my previous post.

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

Seems like Wadzilla over at TP believes in SM + elasticity,

"I believe that the tunica can be coaxed to grow by the gradually increasing low-level pressure against it as the CC/CS is growing. Notice how a small weight in the center of a wooden shelf can, over time, drastically warp the board. But you cannot "instantly" bend that board; it would only break.

In other words, I don't believe that we can directly enlarge the tunica. But we can directly enlarge the CC/CS, which then indirectly stretches the tunica - very slowly - as the inner tissues grow." (Link)

There's some other interesting PE phenomenons that I wonder if SM theory can explain.

Becoming turtled (flaccid shrinks a bit and becomes hard) after an intense session. I think you know what I'm talking about here. Many people have experienced this including me (when I was a newbie).

What I call "break gains". You train for a month or so, measure. Nothing. Then you take a break for some weeks. You measure when the break is done and you measure bigger. Again, many experience this as well, including me.

Perhaps this delay is because it takes some time for the smooth muscle to grow and then it might take some more time for it to stretch out the tunica and this might happen during the break. How long does it take for the SM to enlarge after it has been effectively exercised? And I've read hyperplasia can happen in the SM, do you think it's that or hypertrophy that causing it to grow?

[remek Founder Find all posts View Profile Close remek]

Seems like Wadzilla over at TP believes in SM + elasticity,

"I believe that the tunica can be coaxed to grow by the gradually increasing low-level pressure against it as the CC/CS is growing. Notice how a small weight in the center of a wooden shelf can, over time, drastically warp the board. But you cannot "instantly" bend that board; it would only break.

In other words, I don't believe that we can directly enlarge the tunica. But we can directly enlarge the CC/CS, which then indirectly stretches the tunica - very slowly - as the inner tissues grow." (Link)

Yea, this sounds about right on with what I envision - except I presume we do directly enlarge the tunica to some degree.

I think the smooth muscle theory can explain - or at least suggest - why certain things happen regarding PE. Your examples are good ideas on how the smooth muscle theory can theorize about some of the PE "anomalies," such as turtling.

Another example is masturbation. We already know that an erection exercises the smooth muscle within the penis. Accordingly, masturbation, sex, or anything else that requires an erection is a form of penile exercising. This can be good for PE if done properly (i.e. ballooning) or bad for PE if done improperly (i.e. overtraining and then excessively masturbating on top of it).

[remek Founder Find all posts View Profile Close remek]

Dicko, please check your PMs.

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

I just checked the PM's

With my current knowledge, I've come to the conclusion that it's the smooth muscle that grows, and thus pushes the tunica out further.

Is that a part of the smooth muscle theory or should it be interpreted as your own personal conclusion? Because it would be cool to have a name on the "smooth muscle stretches the tunica" concept.

Also what are your thoughts about the limits of gains? It's hard to answer since we arent sure how PE works but it's a very fundamental question in PE, in my opinion.

[remek Founder Find all posts View Profile Close remek]

I just checked the PM's


Is that a part of the smooth muscle theory or should it be interpreted as your own personal conclusion? Because it would be cool to have a name on the "smooth muscle stretches the tunica" concept.

Both, I suppose. Ever since I started reading about the smooth muscle, it made more sense that the smooth muscle stretches the tunica (not vice versa).

Also what are your thoughts about the limits of gains? It's hard to answer since we arent sure how PE works but it's a very fundamental question in PE, in my opinion.

I steered away from the https://www.pegym.com/forums/general...nss-limit.html limit thread, hoping I escaped. It looks like I didn't, eh? I'll post my reply in that thread, since it's more appropriate.

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

Break gains is mysterious and poses some important questions.

Does gains happen instantly during the applied stress, like when you increase the length of a rubberband by stretching it (plastic deformation), and/or do gains happen during breaks after the applied stresses (actual growth)? The latter implies that we trigger some kind of growth mechanism that actually results in an increase of mass (similar to how the penis grows naturally?), how else could you get gains during a break, if that is what's happening?

Many of my gains have been break gains. Lets say you train for a month, measure at the end of that month (post-training measurement) and there's no increase. Then you take a break for a month and measure again after the break is over (post-break measurement) and find that you have gained. That's a break gain.

Now, the problem is that I used BPEL and you could argue that the post-training measurements was influenced by a lowered erection quality and that the gains was there already and only after a break did I get back my erection quality and noticed the gains. That would make it look as if you have gained during the break when you really haven't. Of course a BPFSL would rule out erection quality from the equation and so you would have a reliable measurement to use as a reference.

So, if we could prove that the BPFSL increases during a break I think it would tell us something very important about PE gains, and it's simple to test. Do you know of any BPFSL increases during breaks? Of course it's important that the measurement is very reliable.

I hope you understand my point.

[remek Founder Find all posts View Profile Close remek]

Break gains is mysterious and poses some important questions.

Does gains happen instantly during the applied stress, like when you increase the length of a rubberband by stretching it (plastic deformation), and/or do gains happen during breaks after the applied stresses (actual growth)? The latter implies that we trigger some kind of growth mechanism that actually results in an increase of mass (similar to how the penis grows naturally?), how else could you get gains during a break, if that is what's happening?

Dicko, I believe that for the most part, our penis grows from a combination of both. If all the tissues in the penis are to grow (which only makes sense), then we can assume that some of those tissues might be stretched right away (such as tunica, perhaps) while others will grow after rest (such as the smooth muscle, perhaps).

Many of my gains have been break gains. Lets say you train for a month, measure at the end of that month (post-training measurement) and there's no increase. Then you take a break for a month and measure again after the break is over (post-break measurement) and find that you have gained. That's a break gain.

Yea, I would say that most men experience break gains to some degree. Some men only gain on break.

Now, the problem is that I used BPEL and you could argue that the post-training measurements was influenced by a lowered erection quality and that the gains was there already and only after a break did I get back my erection quality and noticed the gains. That would make it look as if you have gained during the break when you really haven't. Of course a BPFSL would rule out erection quality from the equation and so you would have a reliable measurement to use as a reference.

So, if we could prove that the BPFSL increases during a break I think it would tell us something very important about PE gains, and it's simple to test. Do you know of any BPFSL increases during breaks? Of course it's important that the measurement is very reliable.

I hope you understand my point.

Dicko, you make an excellent point. That's a great observation, and perhaps the "break gains" aren't really break gains at all - perhaps it's just a matter of erection quality. I don't know of any particular cases of anyone reporting BPFSL increases during breaks - or even looking into it for that matter.

Either way, I think gains come from a combination of both break gains and PD gains - depending on the tissues that are being enlarged/stretched.