Time vs Tension

[V33S]

Hey everyone,
I am on another forum and someone mentioned the time vs tension aspect, I just wanted to get your point of view on it.

Do you feel that it is more beneficial to use higher tension for shorter periods of time, or lesser tension for longer periods of time? The guy on that forum argued that the ones who favour less tension for longer periods of time seem to be stuck at the CI3-CI4 range for several months/years, where as the guys who use high tension for shorter periods of time seem to produce greater results. I think it is important to note that no amount of tension should ever cause pain, but pain and discomfort seem to get blurred together sometimes and people almost shy away from discomfort as they correlate that with pain.

With me personally I would rather experience a shorter period of time with higher levels of discomfort, than to spend considerably longer times with no discomfort at all. I almost liken it to what I feel at the gym, in order to grow you must experience discomfort in what you're doing, otherwise it puts no strain on your muscles which in turn will not encourage them to grow.

[parsecskin]

There is a fine line between just right and too much tension. Not enough, and growth is slow. Too much, even without pain or discomfort, and you body goes into healing mode instead of mitosis mode and nothing happens. It just takes some experimentation to find out what works for you.
I use a TLC X and I do several 30-40 minute sessions daily with an external tugging strap with about a pound of tension and leave the device on with the pusher extended for the remainder of the 8 hours per day I wear it. It seems to be working well. At the end of the day my skin feels worked and sometimes a little red where the max tension was, but after some nightly moisturizing and rest, it's ready to go again in the morning. I seem to have been stuck at CI3.5 for a long time too. This is common, but I know I am still making progress because as time goes on i find it easier to get a good application of my device. It just takes time, you can't speed it up.

[Guest]

And I will add: it's never time vs tension as a stimulus. It's really only tension. You have to apply tension for a some amount of time, of course, in order for tension to stimulate your skin to do what it does, ie react to that tension, but it is tension that is the direct stimulus for growth, not time. I think that the use of devices, and the convenience that they can bring, caused some confusion over what is actually happening. Most guys who use devices do it because they are otherwise occupied with their day (work, etc). But the truth is, even when using a device you have to readjust it from time to time so that you stay in a "sweet spot" of tension (what parsecskin referred to), all of which really means that first there was tension, then it let off for whatever reason, so you apply tension again, and this lets off, etc.

So.......it's tension. However (and I hesitate to add this because it causes confusion), time does have an influence DURING tension. In other words, so-called "constant" tension (which is virtually impossible for us) has the opposite effect on skin. True constant tension causes your skin's reaction to stop dead in its tracks. But nobody has to worry about that because, like I said, we can't actually apply constant tension. The real sequence for us, then, is tension, reduction of tension (which happens one way or another), then tension again, then reduction, then ... etc. But I add this only for the guys actually interested in the science of it all. But nobody has to sweat this aspect of tugging, just apply tension, reapply tension, and so on, and you'll eventually see what you wanted to see.

[eminor7thfunk]

I can only fit 2 hrs per day at high tension. Usually use DTR with set screw; once in a while inflation but its harder to main without slipping etc. With my work and current slack skin, during work day is impractical. Sleep time is rest, as erections make tugging with a device not doable. I go high tension but not to pain, just discomfort. In my couple hours I probably reapply for better fit, and brief rest, about 5 times. Whether it is most effective or not, it's just what lifestyle I can fit. Maybe it will change as slack skin allows more options. I will get there when I get there. Sort have a "glacier" mentality about it. I wish could measure progress better. Keep on tugging.