Aaron Kemmer & Labor of Man

 

 

At some point in every man’s life, I presume that he wonders if he can change his penis. Many men think about it much more than others.

I’m curious by nature, so it always awed me how the magnificent organ between my leg works.  Several years ago, after a negative comment about my penis from an ex-girlfriend, I searched the Internet for ways to improve the seemingly unimprovable until my head was spinning from information overload. 

My research led me to a brigade of knowledge ranging from web sites selling “the secrets of male enhancement exercises” to self-imposed experts stating that “penile exercises don’t work because the penis doesn’t have any muscle in it.” 

The latter always stumped me. Even after my own account with penile exercising, I always wondered how it was possible to make the penis bigger and harder if it was indeed not muscular in nature.

How can we stretch and enlarge the tissue within our penis and not damage it? Not only that, how is it that exercising the penis elicits the same type of positive effects that exercising muscle does - size increase, more definition and an increase in hardness?

When I found my answer, I was awestruck . . .

An Organ of Muscle

When I was doing research for Exercising the Penis, I learned that the penis truly is a muscle. Not completely muscle. Not a normal muscle. But approximately 50 percent smooth muscle.

In February in 2004, authors Schwartz et al reported in the Journal of Urology the amount of smooth muscle in the penis: 

“Published reports suggest that the average penis smooth muscle percent is between 40% and 50%. “

What exactly is penile smooth muscle? Well, there are actually three types of muscle. 

The first, and by  far the most popular, is skeletal muscle.  If you’ve been to the gym, you’ve exercised skeletal muscle. Your biceps, chest and abs are the most coveted skeletal muscles.

The second, and arguably the most important, is cardiac muscle. It’s the muscle that keeps your heart beating.

The third, and the type found throughout your penis, is smooth muscle. It’s typically found in your organs, blood vessels, and other areas that host lots of blood.

Although the three muscles do have their distinct differences, they all are made of similar structures with proteins, actin and myosin leading the charge. 

Healthy Smooth Muscle is Essential for Healthy Erections

After pouring over a database of scientific articles and getting feedback from authorities like Dr. Cassill, I eventually came to realize that penile smooth muscle not only makes up 50 percent of the penis, it’s also the bread-and-butter of a man’s erection strength. As noted by Schwartz et al in the Journal of Urology article:

“Normal smooth muscle content and function are necessary for the initiation and maintenance of erection.”

In another article published in the Urologic Clinics of North America, author Dr. George J. Christ argued that the health of your penis muscle literally defines the health of your erection:

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

The Process of an Erection

The importance of the penis smooth muscle actually starts at stimulation. A touch of your partner’s hand. A gentle whisper to the ear. A video of naked Paris Hilton. Whatever gets the blood flowing.

Eventually, whether it takes milliseconds or minutes , your body sends blood to your nether regions. At this moment, your penis smooth muscle relaxes (unlike skeletal and cardiac muscle, smooth muscle spends the majority of it’s time in a contracted state). 

The all-important relaxation of your smooth muscle causes the tunica to press against the veins that would normally allow the blood to leave your penis.

With the muscle completely relaxed, the veins are essentially shut off and your penis is hard-and-ready for a good night (or at least a good minute) of love making.

The problem, however, is that the smooth muscle doesn’t always relax all the way - and erectile dysfunction often occurs. It could be due to your smooth muscle not being frequently used (use it or lose it, as the saying goes). It could also be due to overtraining, anxiety, your penis not getting enough blood flow, or a variety of other reasons.

Either way, one thing is certain: The penis does indeed have muscle in it. And just like exercising your arms causes it to grow bigger, harder, and more defined, countless anecdotal reports show that exercising your penis does the same.

Do you guys like posts like these? I have several more anatomy topics. A good article that goes over how you can use smooth muscle clues to guide your training is TGC theory.