For as long as he can remember, Jace, a 24-year-old in L.A., has been able to maintain an erection after he’s cum. “I can usually go two rounds,” he tells me. “Three, if I’m properly hydrated and eating well.”
Jace is of the rare breed who can go, cum and immediately go again. While most people with penises need a break to recharge after ejaculation — the average refractory period is around half an hour — his dick stays hard indefinitely. It doesn’t get over-sensitive afterwards, either. For him, time simply resets after he cums, and he returns to a fresh, energized state.
The gift of multiple orgasms is one Jace has always had, and he’s never needed to engage in extracurricular activities such as tantric sex or non-ejaculatory multiple orgasms, whose practitioners can climax without cumming to achieve continual, galaxy-brain-level orgasms.
On the other hand, Nick, Jace’s partner, has only experienced a handful of two-for-one trysts. “Once, I held out through sheer willpower,” he tells me. “Plus, the sex was really hot.”
My thorough, if informal, survey of men shows that Nick’s experience is by far the norm. A 2016 study discovered that only a handful of men have multiple orgasms on a regular basis — less than 10 percent of men in their 20s report them, and that number falls to less than seven percent after they turn 30. When it does happen, most men recall the rare time they could go again with fond reverence. “[It’s happened] only with one girl,” says redditor KidPix666. “I felt very comfortable and turned on in a totally non-self-conscious way. I’ve never had that before or since.”
Across the board, “really hot” sex (or, alternatively, sex with someone really hot), seems to confer immunity to refractory periods, if only for a night. But since “have hot sex” is advice no one needs, are there other ways to hack the refractory period and develop such eternal erections?
Christopher Blanc, a 52-year-old communications professor, claims he’s been able to crack the refractory period code. “After ejaculating, I stay hard for five, even ten minutes,” he tells me, explaining that he began “training” to do this in his mid-40s. His main source of instruction was the male sexual health site PEGym.
An abundance of forums exist on PEGym that are specifically tailored to helping guys keep pumping after ejaculation. Vitamin V — aka Viagra — is a popular suggestion, but for those seeking a more natural route, edging seems to work. Apparently, specific edging exercises such as “ballooning” — which is when one stimulates oneself near-climax and then backs off and performs kegels — can be especially effective at reducing refractory period times.
Blanc crafted a rigorous routine for himself using this advice. “I mostly did penis exercises that were aimed at increasing size, but they had the added benefit of improving stamina and staying power,” he says. “I do daily edging and a pelvic floor targeted yoga routine.” He also does something called a “kegel/reverse kegel” workout.
For the uninitiated, reverse kegels are aimed at relaxing pelvic floor muscles through visualization and deep breathing. These exercises are supposed to help the practitioner gain more control over their muscles and learn about their own body in the process. As is the case with any exercise, the key to unlocking the benefits is consistency.
Thus, Blanc had to be exceedingly patient when it came to seeing results. “I found that after a year or so of training, that every once in a while the erection wouldn’t fade away after ejaculation,” he tells me. “Now, about five years later, my erection will almost always remain at about 85 to 90 percent hard after ejaculation. And with minimal stimulation, it’ll jump back up to 95 percent.” At the ripe old age of 52, he now gets “steel hard” as soon as his wife says, “Do you want to…” and stays firm until well after the act is done.
Blanc also emphasizes the importance of overall health. “[I do] daily aerobic exercise,” he says. “I try to eat better. More leafy greens, less red meat. Well balanced. I have oatmeal, fruit and cheese for lunch Monday through Friday. And the key for me, although folks will pooh-pooh it, is tea. I drink a mixture of ginger, ginseng, ginkgo and green tea daily.”
If his overall regimen seems daunting, refractory period hackers might find a shortcut by heeding the latter point. Traditional Chinese medicine has long espoused the use of herbs to treat erectile dysfunction and stimulate the libido, and according to a 2017 study in the journal Translational Andrology and Urology, ginseng, Chinese ginseng and ginkgo all provide benefits toward sexual health. In particular, ginseng reduces oxidative stress in the penis, which can enhance erectile function. Chinese ginseng has similar properties. In one study done on rats, a ginkgo extract called EGb761 enhanced erections stimulated without physical touch and “increased dopamine contents in some parts of the brain.” Since our brains are our largest, most important sex organs, the release of critical pleasure chemicals can only help a person on their journey to multi-orgasmic glory.
Interestingly enough, though, even men who possess a near-endless pump seem to use their powers selectively. For those whose boners have staying power, additional horniness is just an optional by-product. As Jace admits, “I typically only go for one round. I can go for another, but it’s up to my partner. It all depends on the mood.”
Chris, a 20-year-old baker from Utah, agrees: “I find it no problem continuing if I’m with a steady partner I have a connection with, but it’s almost impossible if I don’t have an emotional connection with them.”
So while good genes and good health are important, the right incentive seems to matter most. As to what occasion merits multiple rounds? “I’ll just keep going until Nick cums,” says Jace.
To which, Nick merely shrugs and tells me, “It’s just common courtesy.”
Maz Do
Maz is a freelance writer living and working in New York. You can find her work in Huffpost and gal-dem magazine, among many others.
