When I started climbing I was solidly mid — no particular talent, nothing that suggested the next 20 years would produce the most accomplished tick list in Nova Scotia climbing history.
What changed was systematic — two decades of controlled experimentation on training methodology, anatomy, and physiology that eventually resulted in strength that compounds instead of plateauing (and 43 year old carbon nanotube tendons — I'm not even sure it's possible for me to get injured by climbing holds anymore)
I took the hard route — sorted through a literal sea of bad training advice and junk science (it's WORSE now), made every training mistake, got "itis" in every tendon in the upper body (and some in the lower) and learned the hard lessons. The Hand of God grippers, the Grip Gains app, and the educational resources built around them are the shortcut I did not have. As one of our top guys recently put it:
Always appreciation for your dedication and awesome training platform. In a small way I'm saddened that this was not available 40 years ago when I started climbing. However, we are where we are.
40 years ago was the best time to start. The second best time is now. We built the system I wish I had 20 years ago when I started — and the one I will use for the next 20.
Know the way.
The educational resources are half the program. Skipping them is skipping training.
1. The GG Code
This brings us to the first resource: The GG Code.
Ten principles. The philosophical operating system underneath everything else. Before you understand the force curve, before you understand CMF, before you touch the app — read the GG Code.
It will change how you interpret everything that follows.
Log everything.
Good, bad, rank 0, blowouts. The system cannot tell you the truth if you only show it your highlights.
will prevent you from making the most common and most damaging mistake new users make.
Long game.
Gains are made on plateaus. The rocket ship is just where they become visible.
will prevent you from panicking when you hit your first plateau.
Try hard.
Seasons are finite. Train like it. RPE 10. Every set. The system prescribes the dose. You provide the intensity.
will make your very first session more productive than anything you've done in a gym.
It takes 2 minutes to read. It would have saved me 20 years.
2. The Onboarding Video
Watch this before your first session.
The onboarding video covers gripper setup, force curve construction, and the initial assessment protocol — the sequence that gives Coach GG the data it needs to start prescribing workouts that are actually calibrated to you.
The video also covers calibration. This matters more than most people initially appreciate. Pulley efficiency is non-linear across the load range — what the app prescribes and what actually loads your fingers are not the same number without proper calibration. Start calibrated. Re-calibrate regularly. The system's prescriptions are only as good as the data going in. (Full blog post on calibration here)
3. The Hand of God Academy
The Academy covers the finer points of using the grippers themselves — technique, setup, and execution details that don't fit cleanly in a written format. This is the content that closes the gap between understanding the system conceptually and executing it correctly under load.
You do not need to complete the Academy before your first session. You do need to work through it in the first few weeks.
Know the way.
The educational resources are half the program. Skipping them is skipping training.
4. The FAQ
Everything covered in the Academy videos and the blog is in the FAQ. Calibration, session sequencing, Kamikaze mode, CMF interpretation, Crusher setup, Micro mechanics. If it's a topic the system has addressed, it's there. Check the FAQ first. If your question isn't covered, or you need clarification on something that is, that's when to ask.
What Comes Next
The blog is where we go deep in the weeds on individual topics. Posts are locked according to your progress and will appear in your notification panel when you are ready for them.
After the GG Code and the onboarding video, run your first session. Metrics unlock at session 30. Between now and then, your only job is to show up, execute, and give it accurate numbers to work with.
Your data is the foundation everything else is built upon.
Know the Way. Train Complete. Evolve.
❤️ Coach Grip Gains