The Penis Workout: Can You Really Make it Bigger?

Life is often cruel as we age: Shrinkage is real. But take heart if you notice your penis looking smaller than usual. As long as you have reasonable expectations and don't overdo it, there's no reason not to indulge in a few exercises to see if you can coax out that extra bit of length.

Where did it go?

Before explaining a few exercises that may help keep your penis in tip-top form, let's look at why the penis shrinks with age:

Use it or lose it. Your penis gets erect due to the smooth muscle and corpora cavernosa stretching and inflating as they fill with blood. If you go a long time without getting erect very often or at all, you can lose a centimeter or two in penis size.

Smoking damages blood vessels, including the ones responsible for carrying blood to the penis and making it hard. Over time, this can result in erections that are less firm and smaller in size.

Heart disease can cause changes in the lining of the blood vessels, resulting in reduced blood flow to erectile tissues.

Lower testosterone. Natural reductions in testosterone as we age can result in less frequent and less impressive erections.

Obesity. Another factor in smaller penis size as we age is weight gain. First of all, the more fat you carry in your lower abdomen, the smaller your penis appears. Beyond aesthetics, fat contains an enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen, which can lead to physically smaller penis size.

The penis workout

Penile exercises center on stretching techniques designed to safely cause microtears in the penis tissue, which then engorge with blood, making the penis appear larger over time as they heal. While you're not going to see a completely new appendage, a 2011 study looking at men who wore an extender or traction device, which employs the same methods on a more intense scale, found that they gained up to two-thirds of an inch after three months. Another penile extender study, published in 2009 in BJU International, indicated increases in length of the flaccid penis by about 32 percent and erectile function by up to 36 percent. That's not nothing.

While these findings are hardly conclusive, it's generally believed if you do these exercises safely and in moderation, there's usually no harm.

How to safely perform penis stretching exercises

Below are a few penile exercises to try. Be sure, though, to follow three basic rules:

• Exercise only when your penis is flaccid.
• Stop immediately if there is any pain or discomfort.
• Do not exercise more than once or twice a day.

Basic manual stretching

While seated, gently grip the head of your penis and stretch it upward for 10 seconds. Then pull it to the left, then to the right for 10 seconds each. Repeat after about five minutes once or twice a day.

Advanced manual stretching

Repeat the above exercise with one hand while using your other hand to encircle your penis at the base and apply pressure. When you pull left and right, use the hand at the base to apply pressure to the opposite side.

'Jelqing' the penis

Though the name jelqing might be odd, this technique is purported to increase penis size. Studies are mixed on the results, but the practice has caught on so much that there are purchasable devices built to do the exercise for you. If you're going the hands-on route, however, your steps will look like the following:

Apply some lube to your flaccid or semi-flaccid penis. Make a circle of your thumb and forefinger and grip your penis at the base with mild pressure. Slowly move your hand toward your penis head until you reach the tip, pushing the blood to the end. The sensation shouldn't ever be painful. If it is, ease off the pressure and take a break for a few days. Repeat for 20 to 30 minutes per day, once per day.

Dramatic gains in penis size from exercises are unlikely, but helping yourself to better blood flow to your penis is not a bad alternative.