Blog - Grip Gains

Reconciled Two-Phase Training Pattern (n=1) Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • July 9, 2026

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Grip Gains Year 1 - The Receipts 👀 Public

By Coach Grip Gains • July 9, 2026

77,705 sessions. 510 users. One year of Grip Gains, finally put under a microscope. Where people quit, who gains fastest, how often you actually need to train — we pulled the real numbers instead of guessing. One finding will change our official volume recommendations. Another proves the plateau you think you hit around month four isn't real.

The Great Eggening Members

By Coach Grip Gains • July 8, 2026

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On July 2, an athlete unlocked Gravity Gains without doing the training. One rep, seventy-seven times — and the ledger believed every word. On July 7, we recounted the entire platform. This is that story.

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🐸 Wrong Spring. Right Answer. A Frog Witnessed the Whole Thing. Members

By Coach Grip Gains • July 1, 2026

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I Replaced My $2,000 Training Device With a $35 Spring. I'm Not Going Back. Members

By Coach Grip Gains • June 28, 2026

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Kamikaze is the most effective session type in the system. The window is open while you're warm from climbing and closed before you get home. For the first time, you have a way to reach it.

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Gravity Gains: The Math Problem Nobody Solved Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • May 28, 2026

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Body composition is a math problem wrapped in a psychology problem. Most apps fail at both. Gravity Gains solves the math — the rest is up to you. First user Tristan documents what that actually looks like from the outside.

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Habit Tracking and Session Notes Are Now Live Members

By Coach Grip Gains • May 22, 2026

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Day One. Where to Start. Public

By Coach Grip Gains • May 15, 2026

The shortest path through the Grip Gains educational resources on day one — and why the athletes who do the reading first get results fastest.

May 2026 FAQ: CMF, Kamikaze, Warmup Protocol, and More Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • May 7, 2026

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Requires 60 sessions with any single gripper

Another month, another batch of sharp questions from the community. This one covers CMF interpretation, the Kamikaze framework, the new warmup protocol, Prime sequencing, and a new contact form policy worth reading before you submit your next question. Feature updates and hype at the bottom.

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Finger Injury Rehabilitation: A Practical Loading‑Based Protocol Public

By rtkaratekid • April 24, 2026

A decade of finger injuries, four lost years, and a protocol that resolved every one of them. Here is the full breakdown.

Kamikaze Goes Official, Excuses Get Denied: April 2026 FAQ Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • April 16, 2026

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Requires 200 total training sessions

Kamikaze mode is now official — and the community is already using it correctly. This month's FAQ covers why endurance performance drops are not noise (Grip Gains already accounts for this with a 12-step normalization pipeline that nearly broke Tristan), what actually happens to your metrics when you add a second gripper mid-program, the correct zone strategy for post-climbing Kamikaze sessions, the 2.85 ratio applied across all curve metrics, why Coach GG keeps prescribing power after climbing days, and how to unlock Prime 2.0.

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Kamakazi Mode: The Experiment You Couldn't Run Until Now Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • April 8, 2026

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Requires 120 sessions with any single gripper

Two months of post-climbing sessions at SkyHook Boulder broke Grip Gains entirely — rank 0, 25% of predicted performance, data so chaotic it had to be deleted. What followed was the biggest explosive jump in progress in my training history. Kamikazi Mode is the formal ability to run that experiment without consequences.

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April FAQ: The Painbox Isn't for Sale, Your Thumb Has Independent Anatomy, and You're Training the Wrong Zone Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • April 2, 2026

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Requires 60 sessions with any single gripper

CMF Target versus Progress Target demystified, a fundamental misconception about zone-specific gains corrected, the Painbox origin story, Prime now an in-app unlock with 2.0 included, a blunt answer on thumb anatomy, the kickbox pulley schematic for compact spaces, and community data confirming what glycogen depletion does to your force curve. Plus: there are worse things in the depths than Balrogs.

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Calorie Balance and the Force Curve: A Case Study Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • March 30, 2026

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Calorie balance and its impact on the force curve — a question from a user who noticed their endurance was desperate while strength felt like a rocket ship during a deficit. They answered it themselves. This post explains the physiology, then documents a complete case study from my own winter training data: a sustained caloric deficit, a CMF collapse, a 48-hour fast experiment, and a full month of recovery. The metrics told the story in real time. Here's how to read them.

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Less Sperging, More Gripping Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • March 17, 2026

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FAQ & Updates — March 2026

Coach GG settles the score on phantom metrics, chart mouseover addiction, and the eternal Tyranitar question. Plus: progress leaderboards get a major overhaul segmented by evolution status, a Crusher setup video is incoming, and the army delivers another round of hype. The eggs have questions. Some of them are even reasonable.

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You're Still a Charmander: GRG Phase 2 Launch and a Reality Check Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • March 4, 2026

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Requires 60 sessions with any single gripper

Gravity Gains Phase 2 is now live and fully operational. In this post we cover the unlock criteria, address whether FDS-dominant climbers should abandon Crusher training (spoiler: absolutely not), discuss the Micro rocket ship phenomenon and its hidden dangers, and explore why the force curve is the best psychological anchor you never knew you needed. Also: Oreos.

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Gravity Gains Phase 1: First Week In The Wild Members

By Coach Grip Gains • March 3, 2026

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Gravity Gains is live and the community response is in. We break down what the gravity-normalized leaderboard is revealing about force curve imbalances, walk through training strategies for addressing crusher:micro ratios, debunk hand dominance symmetry myths with real data, cover practical setup for daily weigh-ins and goal weight, and share a powerful user story about performance metrics and mental health.

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FAQ Updates: Spring Systems, Metric Conversions, and The Plateau Grind Members

By Coach Grip Gains • March 1, 2026

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FAQ Updates: Spring Systems, Metric Conversions, and The Plateau Grind - Spring system specifications for micro training (<10 lbs/inch excursion rate), the freedom units controversy, ideal crusher:micro ratio (2.85), and why experienced climbers grinding on flat plateaus is completely normal. Plus Gravity Gains Phase 2 status and custom exercise implementation strategy.

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Introducing Gravity Gains Public

By Coach Grip Gains • February 28, 2026

New Feature Training Body Composition This is not a diet app. It's Grip Gains for body composition — and it's already running in the background of your training data.

Ten years in the making, Gravity Gains separates real body composition changes from glycogen noise using a two-compartment energy model — available now to all Grip Gains users. The full system adds automatic calorie target correction via Kalman filter, minimum-friction logging, and weight-normalized leaderboards for users who track consistently.

No diet plans. No psychology of failure. No sub-menus. Just math.

Read the full post → 5 min read

FAQ Updates February 2026: Prime Status, Recovery Tools, and Community Wins Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • February 25, 2026

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Requires 60 sessions with any single gripper

This month's FAQ update addresses Prime gripper access and why we're waiting for proper educational material, data import functionality considerations, recovery management philosophy, and injury rehabilitation guidance. Plus: celebrating ridiculous community climbing breakthroughs including V4 to V8 progression in one season.

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Basics of Session Summary Statistics: A Guide For Newly Hatched Eggs Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • February 13, 2026

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Requires 60 sessions with any single gripper

You've unlocked session summary stats—now let's decode them. This guide breaks down CMF, Endurance Ceiling, rank, and percentiles so you understand exactly what the data means and how to use it for optimal training progression.

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You Shall Not Pass: A Case Study in Overtraining Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • February 10, 2026

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Requires 60 sessions with any single gripper

Volume leaderboard climber getting measurably weaker. Force curves declining. CMF collapsing. The diagnosis? The Balrog has awakened—chronic overtraining at 2x recommended volume year-round. See why a 43-year-old beats youth with precision programming, plus new volume visualization tools to keep your own Balrog at bay.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: the Grip Gains system makes overtraining paradoxically easier to accomplish.

The tools we've built are powerful. Used correctly, they enable unprecedented progress. Used incorrectly, they enable you to dig a hole faster and deeper than you ever could with inferior equipment and programming. What follows is exactly such a case.

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FAQ Update: February 2026 Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • February 9, 2026

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Requires 60 sessions with any single gripper

Community Questions Answered

This comprehensive FAQ addresses the most common questions from the Grip Gains community, including:

Why you should remove your force meter during training sets
How Coach GG adapts to incomplete sessions and test workouts
Understanding zone/weight mismatches in the timer
Optimal weekly training volume for grippers
Moonboard training and FDP development strategies
System messages, duplicate sessions, and graph design

Essential reading for understanding the sophisticated algorithms behind Coach GG's adaptive programming and how to optimize your training approach.

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HoG Shop Open: New Eggs, New Metrics, Commentary on the Clown Show Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • January 31, 2026

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Requires 120 total training sessions

Hand of God shop is open. New eggs incoming. Some spicy commentary on the state of mainstream climbing training. We shipped indoor logging, workout abort buttons, and revolutionary capacity leaderboards. Ben's extra spicy takes hidden behind NSFW toggle.

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The White Whale: A Grip Gains Development Horror Story Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • January 29, 2026

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Requires 240 total training sessions

Today we're pulling back the curtain on how the sausage gets made. The Grip Gains development process in all its unfiltered glory. We'll be documenting the complete lifecycle of a single feature from bug report to production deployment. Buckle up, eggs. This is going to be a ride.

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Winter Training Protocol: User Questions Answered Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • January 27, 2026

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Winter Training Protocol: User Questions Answered

Deep dive into recovery testing, monitoring trends vs. single sessions, and how to structure training when performance drops. Learn why climbing frequency stays constant, how to identify specific grip weaknesses, and the critical difference between a good session and genuine recovery.

Key topics: Recovery testing protocol, long-term vs. short-term performance metrics, avoiding overtraining, and upcoming app features based on user feedback.

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My Winter Training Protocol: Saturating Recovery Capacity Without Crossing Into Overtraining | Grip Gains Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • January 26, 2026

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Requires 120 sessions with any single gripper

At 43, I only have so many primo seasons left. This demands precision: fully saturating recovery capacity without crossing into overtraining. Traditional periodization is powerlifting folklore designed to amuse plateau'd athletes. What actually works? Understanding that recovery capacity is strictly limited—like getting a tan versus a third-degree burn, building bone versus fracturing your femur. The Grip Gains metrics suite enables what was previously impossible: training at the absolute edge without visiting the Balrog. My winter protocol reveals the sinusoidal pattern of push-recover-push that transforms intermediate plateau into elite performance. But it only works if you log honestly—gaming your data destroys everything.

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Pulley Efficiency, Data Quality, and Crusher Form Members

By Coach Grip Gains • January 23, 2026

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The recent pulley efficiency announcement sparked confusion. Here's the reality: calibrated pulleys are fine, but you need to understand that friction is non-linear and pulleys degrade over time. The CMF leaderboard is entertainment—people ARE cheating with uncalibrated high-friction setups, and there's no way to police it. The improvement leaderboards are what actually matter because they track your adaptation relative to your baseline. Stop obsessing over CMF rankings. Focus on calibrating your setup properly, training your complete force curve, and tracking capacity progress. The leaderboards exist for motivation, not validation. Your ability to send outdoor projects is the point.

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From 1RM to CMF: Why Terminology Matters in Isometric Training Exclusive

By Coach Grip Gains • January 22, 2026

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Requires 60 sessions with any single gripper

We've replaced 1RM with CMF (Consolidated Max Force) in the Grip Gains app. This isn't pedantic terminology—it's a fundamental shift in how we conceptualize isometric strength. Isometrics don't have reps; they're purely time-based and should always be understood through the force curve. CMF represents your x-axis intercept—a stable, ungameable metric derived from your complete force-duration relationship. Unlike peak force measurements that can be gamed with explosive pulls, CMF captures the sustained force capacity that actually matters for climbing. It's more stable between sessions, represents realistic climbing loads, and tracks both short-term and long-term adaptation with superior precision. Stop thinking in terms of single-rep maxes. Start thinking in terms of consolidated capacity across your entire force curve.

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