Grip Gains FAQ

The Grip Gains app is a comprehensive training system that implements the complete protocol I developed over a decade to break through my performance plateau. Unlike conventional training apps that function as digital logbooks with generic templates, this application embodies sophisticated mathematical models that analyze your performance data, prescribe individualized workouts, and continuously adapt to your progress.

The app handles all complexity behind the scenes, providing simple one-click training sessions while managing load prescription, volume, duration, and progression based on your individual force curve. It represents the digital evolution of the increasingly sophisticated algorithms I used to track every training session over 10 years.

Platform overview: Grip Gains App Launch Video

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The application operates through five integrated stages:

1. Training Setup: You select your emphasis and specify your training requirements.

2. Initial Assessment: The app constructs your starting force curve through baseline testing.

3. Intelligent Workouts: Sophisticated algorithms generate individualized workouts based on physiology principles and your current capacity. Every workout is automatically the hardest workout of your life.

4. Workout Feedback: After each session, you receive detailed metrics and performance analysis.

5. Adaptive Refinement: The system uses your historical session performance to continuously rebuild your force curve, ensuring optimal progression.

All prescriptions for load, and duration are individually based on your continuously refined metrics.

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This decision is fundamentally about training safety and system effectiveness. The app prescribes RPE 10 training protocols that require perfect ergonomics for safe execution. Standard training equipment lacks the precise biomechanical features necessary for this intensity of training over the long term.

As one Hand of God owner stated: "Long holds, RPE 10, and the Hand of God grippers are literally the secret weapon. It's the trinity of an ergonomic tool, a protocol that guarantees RPE 10, and the force curve that ensures targeted training creates a system far greater than the sum of its parts."

True RPE 10 training without the correct tool is flirting with injury, while an ergonomic tool without proper programming leads to stagnation. The integration isn't about exclusivity—it's about ensuring you can train at maximum intensity safely for years without injury setbacks.

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RPE 10 represents training at true maximum effort—the absolute hardest you can work in that moment. This differs fundamentally from the mainstream approach that oscillates between ineffective low-RPE junk volume and injury-prone heavy repeaters on non-ergonomic tools.

The conventional methodology creates what I call the "injury avoidance trap"—attempting to balance effective training with injury prevention, resulting in a grinding long-term plateau. This functions like Bulgarian weightlifting: it's a sorting mechanism that identifies genetic talent rather than developing it.

RPE 10 training with proper ergonomics breaks this paradigm. It allows you to train at maximum intensity consistently without the injury cycle. The app ensures every workout pushes your limits while the Hand of God grippers provide the biomechanical support to do so safely. This combination transforms average athletes into elite performers rather than simply identifying those who are naturally gifted.

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The app is designed exclusively for use with the Hand of God gripper system. Access is granted automatically within 24 to 48 hours of your grippers shipping. Sign up using the exact email associated with your gripper order — it is case sensitive.

Both the Crusher and Micro grippers integrate into the training system, each targeting specific muscle groups with optimal biomechanics. The app prescribes exercises across both devices to ensure comprehensive finger flexor development while minimizing training overlap.

The onboarding process will guide you through initial assessment with your grippers, allowing your new coach to get to know your capabilities and begin prescribing individualized workouts.

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While the principles covered in the Grip Gains series can inform your training approach with any equipment, I cannot ethically recommend applying the app's RPE 10 protocols to standard training tools. The intensity and volume prescribed by the system require the specific ergonomic features built into the Hand of God grippers.

Standard hangboards and friction edges cannot provide the pulley support, individual finger positioning, and friction-free gripping that make high-intensity training safe over the long term. Attempting RPE 10 training on conventional tools will likely result in the injury cycle that characterizes mainstream climbing training.

The Grip Gains educational content helps you understand the principles so you can make informed decisions about your training, but the complete integrated system requires the proper tools.

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The Grip Gains app is explicitly designed to hide complexity and provide accessible functionality:

User Experience: Simple one-click training sessions. All complexity is handled behind the scenes. You don't need to understand force curves, periodization theory, or exercise physiology to use the system effectively.

The Onboarding Process: When you first start using the application, there's an onboarding process where your new coach gets to know you. Initial assessment constructs your starting force curve. From there, the app prescribes everything.

What the App Handles:
- Load prescription
- Intensity management
- Recovery needs
- Progressive overload
- Adaptation tracking
- Exercise selection
- Workout sequencing

What You Do:
- Complete the prescribed workouts
- Follow the one-click instructions
- Trust the process

Educational Integration: The Grip Gains video series provides the principles and understanding. The app provides the implementation. You can be as involved in the theory as you want, but it's not required to benefit from the system.

This is the culmination of 10 years of spreadsheet evolution—taking immense complexity and making it accessible to anyone.

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The Hand of God grippers are a complete training system consisting of two devices: the Crusher and the Micro. Together, they target the primary finger flexors involved in climbing using three core principles: optimal stimulation, maximum ergonomics, and minimized overlap.

The Crusher: Targets flexor digitorum superficialis (FDS) using roller technology that provides complete pulley support during heavy training. This allows safe training at 200+ pounds with infinite volume and no pulley injury risk.

The Micro: Targets flexor digitorum profundus (FDP) by placing each phalanx of each finger in the perfectly ergonomic gripping position. It optimizes force vector placement based on your individual hand anatomy.

These grippers represent 10 years of development, over 1,000 design hours, and hundreds of prototypes, all overseen by a specialist hand surgeon. They embody the anatomical and biomechanical principles covered throughout the Grip Gains series.

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Hangboards suffer from fundamental design flaws that the Hand of God system explicitly addresses:

1. Friction Dependence: Friction edges cause excessive pain, impaired skin recovery, and suboptimal training from passive effort. The Hand of God uses friction-free roller designs that require active gripping—if you cannot maintain joint angle, the gripper releases from your hand.

2. Poor Ergonomics: Flat edges cannot accommodate individual finger length differences or place force vectors optimally. This leads to uneven loading, pulley injuries, and capsulitis from small hold training.

3. Muscle Overlap: Standard edges fail to isolate specific finger flexors. With friction edges, it's impossible to move force off the fingertips, meaning you only train the dominant flexor if you're already out of balance.

4. One-Size-Fits-All: Commercial gyms have more hangboard models than muscles in the forearm, yet none address individual hand morphology. The Hand of God system is custom-fitted to your specific anatomy, considering finger length, depth, and individual phalanx positioning.

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The Crusher and Micro target different anatomical systems with precision:

The Crusher (FDS Training):
- Targets flexor digitorum superficialis
- Uses large roller design.
- Provides complete pulley support during gripping
- Allows heavy training (200+ lbs) with no injury risk
- Enables infinite volume without pulley stress
- Trains all fingers simultaneously in a powerful grip

The Micro (FDP Training):
- Targets flexor digitorum profundus
- Uses small individual edges (less than 0.5 pad depth)
- Custom-fitted to each finger's individual anatomy
- Places force vectors at optimal positions per finger
- Resolves capsulitis and pulley injuries through proper positioning
- Allows true isolation of the climbing-critical FDP muscle

Together, they provide comprehensive finger flexor training while minimizing overlap and maximizing safety. The 10% discount when purchasing both grippers reflects their integrated design as a complete system.

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The grippers incorporate injury prevention and recovery directly into their design through several mechanisms:

Pulley Protection: The Crusher's roller design provides complete pulley support during heavy FDS training. Unlike friction edges where pulleys must resist skin friction forces, the rollers eliminate this stress entirely. It's impossible to get a pulley injury during Crusher training.

Capsulitis Resolution: The Micro's individualized positioning addresses the root cause of capsulitis from small hold training. By placing each phalanx in the optimal gripping position, joint stress is distributed correctly. Ben, Jen, Tristan and I have all resolved long-standing finger issues by using the Micro—recovery is literally built into the training.

Active Gripping Requirement: The friction-free design prevents passive holding and overgripping, which are major contributors to chronic finger strain. You must maintain proper joint angles or the gripper releases.

Ergonomic Force Distribution: Custom fitting ensures balanced loading across all fingers rather than overloading the middle and ring fingers as occurs with standard edges. This prevents the imbalances that lead to long-term injury patterns.

Multiple users have reported the rehab potential is as exciting as the training applications.

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Yes. The Hand of God grippers don't just vary hold size—they consider actual hand morphology and place force vectors in the exact best position for your individual anatomy.

The fitting process involves approximately 20 measurements per hand (5 measurements per finger across 4 fingers). These measurements capture:
- Individual finger lengths
- Finger segment (phalanx) proportions
- Finger depth and width
- Optimal joint angles for your hand structure

This data is processed through sophisticated algorithms to determine the precise geometry for your grippers. The Micro positions each finger segment at the optimal angle in half-crimp position, while the Crusher accounts for your grip span and force distribution patterns.

The human hand is the most complex anatomical structure in the body, and every aspect of the Hand of God design mirrors that complexity. This is why the product requires 30 individual parts per pair and took hundreds of prototypes to refine—true customization to human anatomy cannot be simplified.

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I've explored this extensively with community members, and the honest answer is that DIY construction presents significant challenges:

Complexity Factors:
- Hundreds of prototypes were required to refine the design
- 30 individual parts per pair
- 20 measured parameters per hand for proper fitting
- Sophisticated algorithms to process measurements
- Precision cutting and sanding of metal rods
- Print bed adhesion issues with 3D printing
- Assembly complexity even with proper parts

For those determined to try:
Some community members have successfully built simplified wooden versions for FDS training. The approach involves:
- Using ink stamps on fingertips to mark positioning
- Drilling/dremeling finger wells into wood
- Creating 0.5 pad depth edges with rounded contouring
- Sanding for smooth, rounded edges

However, these simplified versions cannot replicate the Micro's precision FDP training.

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While both grippers form the complete integrated system, your specific needs depend on your training goals and current limitations:

Complete System Benefits:
- Comprehensive FDS and FDP training
- Balanced finger flexor development
- Maximum adaptation potential
- Full integration with the Grip Gains app protocols

Individual Gripper Considerations:
If you have very even finger lengths and can train FDP effectively on standard equipment, the Crusher alone provides revolutionary FDS training that's impossible to replicate otherwise. However, most climbers have uneven fingers and will benefit enormously from the Micro's individualized FDP training.

The grippers were designed as a system from the ground up. The app prescribes workouts across both devices to ensure optimal progression. This represents a complete training system you can use and progress with for the rest of your life—the endgame gripper setup that will allow you to max level your character.

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The measurement process captures the precise geometry of your hand anatomy:

Measurement Approach:
Approximately 20 measurements per hand, with 5 measurements per finger across all 4 fingers. This captures:
- Overall finger length
- Individual phalanx (finger segment) lengths
- Finger depth/thickness
- Width dimensions
- Optimal joint angles in half-crimp position

Methodology Considerations:
The complexity of proper measurement is one reason DIY construction is challenging. Getting hand measurements correct is a significant undertaking, and incorrect measurements result in suboptimal training and potential injury risk.

When you order Hand of God grippers, detailed measurement instructions are provided to ensure your custom fitting captures all necessary parameters for optimal performance.

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For most people with typical hand anatomy, the same size gripper works fine for both hands. However, there are important considerations:

Design Philosophy:
The Hand of God grippers are designed with hand-specific geometry. By design, they can be optimized for left or right hand use, though most users don't require separate devices for each hand.

When Separate Grippers Matter:
- Congenital hand differences
- Significant injury history affecting one hand
- Extreme asymmetry in finger proportions

Standard Approach:
Unless you have clearly asymmetric hands, the measurement and fitting process creates grippers that work effectively for both hands. The custom fitting accounts for your individual anatomy but doesn't typically require left/right differentiation for most users.

If you have specific concerns about hand asymmetry, this can be addressed during the ordering process to ensure optimal fitting for your situation.

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I never wanted to make grippers—I wanted to send my projects. The decision to sell evolved through community engagement:

The Original Plan:
The Hand of God was developed for personal use. I happily trained on early versions with a few friends and saw incredible results. The Grip Gains series featured them incidentally because that's what I personally use. I downplayed the grippers because I wanted to focus on principles, not products.

Manufacturing Challenges:
Each gripper took almost a day to produce with my DIY approach. It wasn't economically viable, and I had no interest in becoming a manufacturer. I tried hard not to sell them.

The Turning Point:
Philip from Denmark reached out and persevered through several weeks of correspondence. His business proposal resonated with me—it was a gut feeling. He excels in all the areas where I have no experience or interest: scaling, manufacturing optimization, business operations.

The Partnership:
It's a perfect partnership. Philip handles the business aspects while I focus on design refinement and training methodology. Together, we can make this revolutionary training system accessible to the climbing community worldwide.

This way, I can return to focusing on what matters: sending boulders and developing the training science.

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The Hand of God system represents a fundamentally different approach to product development and training methodology:

Evolution vs. Design:
These grippers weren't designed—they were evolved under the selective pressures of high-intensity training over 10 years. Every ergonomic feature addresses specific biomechanical requirements identified through systematic analysis, testing, and iteration. Hundreds of prototypes, 1000+ design hours, constant refinement.

User-First Development:
I always hate when companies clearly don't use their own gear. I have hundreds of hard sessions on these grippers. The level of refinement is substantially underestimated.

Integration Over Isolation:
Most climbing products are individual tools sold separately. The Hand of God is a complete system: custom grippers + adaptive training app + comprehensive methodology. The components are engineered to function together, and separating them compromises both safety and results.

Results-Driven Philosophy:
The training was so effective that all my projects have been sent. Now I explore for new boulders and it feels like there's no limit going forward. The system transformed me from decade-long plateau to having one of the most accomplished ticklists in Nova Scotia history. That transformation is what I'm offering.

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My recommendations depend on whether you're working within the constraints of available equipment or seeking optimal training:

Available Alternatives (Suboptimal):
If you cannot access Hand of God grippers, the best compromises are:
- Rolling Thunder or similar rotating bar for FDP (if even fingers)
- rounded 30mm edge for FDS (if even fingers)
- Specialized unlevel edges (better than flat, still compromised)

Equipment I Don't Recommend:
- Guillotine-style grippers (flawed force curves, injury risk)
- Standard hangboards (all the problems outlined in Grip Gains 3-4)
- Pinch blocks (addressed in Grip Gains 5, coming with the 2026 series re-release)
- Passive grip tools that allow passive friction based hangs

DIY Approaches:
For those with fabrication skills, a simplified wooden FDS trainer using rounded edges and proper depth can be effective. However, replicating the Micro's precision for FDP training is extremely difficult without the custom fitting algorithms.

The Grip Gains series was designed to provide educational content people could apply immediately with available tools. However, the reality is that optimal training requires optimal tools—this is why the Hand of God system exists.

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Guillotine-style grippers (like Captains of Crush) have fundamental design flaws that make them poor choices for climbing-specific training:

Problem 1 - Poor Force Curve:
Constant closing force creates terrible stimulus distribution. The exercise is extremely hard at the start when fingers are extended, then becomes far too easy as you close the gripper and load moves toward tendon insertions. You end up with excessive difficulty recruiting proper muscles followed by recruitment of hand intrinsics as it gets too easy.

Problem 2 - ROM Issues:
The movement violates Principle #3 (minimize overlap) by transitioning from FDP-dominant at the start to FDS-dominant as fingers curl. This creates poor specificity for either muscle group.

Problem 3 - Uneven Loading:
Non-rotating bars fix the load bearing location based on initial hand position. For anyone with uneven fingers (shorter index and pinky), this results in overloading middle and ring fingers while underloading others.

Problem 4 - Injury Risk:
Massive loads sliding over palmar hand anatomy during heavy lifts and high volume creates significant injury potential for soft tissue structures in the palm.

While these devices can be improved with rotating bars, blockers, or limited ROM, all solutions involve tradeoffs that still leave them as poor options compared to properly designed tools.

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Training adaptation follows predictable physiological timelines, though individual variation exists:

Foundation Building (Months 1-3):
The first one to three months involve significant neural adaptation and technical learning with the new equipment. You'll experience relatively flat performance as your nervous system optimizes recruitment patterns.

The Rocket Ship (Months 3-6):
After the foundation is poured, a period of rapid progress is common. This is what we call the rocket ship – incredible beginner gains that can be 30 – 40% above baseline. This is where the force curve progression in the app becomes critical—ensuring continuous overload as you adapt.

Long-Term Transformation (Months 12+):
The "Evolved Pokemon Form" transformation—where previous projects become trivially easy—requires sustained systematic training. My own breakthrough from decade-long plateau took consistent application of the complete system over an extended period.

Important Context:
The app's onboarding process allows your new coach to get to know you. Feed the system quality data through quality sessions, and watch the magic happen. Results depend on consistency, proper execution, and trust in the process.

Unlike conventional training that grinds through genetic sorting, this system actually develops athletic capacity over time.

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Absolutely. The Hand of God is a complete training system that can take you from V2 all the way to V20:

Beginner Benefits:
- Proper movement patterns from the start
- No bad habits from poor ergonomics
- Injury prevention built into training
- Progressive overload through the app
- Systematic development rather than genetic sorting

The Adaptive System:
The Grip Gains app constructs your individual force curve regardless of starting level. Beginners simply start with lighter loads and shorter durations, progressing systematically as the app refines their curve.

Long-Term Investment:
This represents a training system you can use and progress with for the rest of your life. Starting with proper tools and protocols prevents the decade-long plateau that most climbers experience when using conventional equipment.

The Endgame Approach:
Rather than progressing through various suboptimal training tools and methods, beginners can start with the endgame gripper that will allow them to max level their character from day one. This is the Bulgarian weightlifting inverse—developing athletes rather than sorting them.

Start here: Day One. Where to Start. — the shortest path through the educational resources on day one.

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The storage locker represents a pivotal period in both my training development and personal climbing journey:

The Context:
In 2014, after completing medical residency, I moved for work and lost all access to climbing facilities. The only climbing I had was a clandestine moonboard set up inside a storage locker. Among friends, this became known as the "storage locker days"—a metaphor for serious dedication under austere conditions.

The Development Period:
This is where gripper development began in earnest. With no climbing gym, no outdoor boulders nearby, and just a small storage space, I was forced to innovate. I chased the dragon of isotonic grip training for five years. Ben calls it the Cambrian explosion of gripper machines—rapid iteration and experimentation under constrained conditions.

The Breakthrough:
Eventually I admitted defeat on isotonic gripper development, but hangboards were so obviously flawed. This is when I set about solving friction through rotating bars, then addressing finger length differences through custom positioning. The Hand of God system was born from necessity and obsession.

The Legacy:
That storage locker period proved that you don't need perfect conditions to achieve breakthrough results. You need proper principles, systematic thinking, and relentless refinement. The grippers represent that philosophy crystallized into physical form.

The Hand of God Story — the full origin story on video.

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This question addresses the fundamental transformation the system enables:

The Evolved Pokemon Form:
The breakthrough from decade-long plateau wasn't incremental improvement—it was a complete transformation where previous projects became trivially easy, quaint relics of a former performance level. This isn't about reaching a ceiling, it's about discovering your ceiling was artificially low.

Current Trajectory:
The training was so effective that all my projects have been sent. Now I explore for new boulders and it feels like there's no limit going forward. This isn't hyperbole—it's the natural result of removing the constraints that created the plateau in the first place.

The Iron Law Broken:
In Nova Scotia climbing history, no climber has ever transitioned from long-term intermediate plateau to hard climbing contributions. This represented an iron law across all sports: if you haven't achieved elite status in your first decade, you never will. I did the impossible by changing the system, not by trying harder within the broken system.

Individual Limits:
Ultimate performance ceilings are individual and multifactorial. But most climbers never approach their actual genetic limits—they plateau due to training methodology constraints. The V2 to V20 range isn't a promise, it's a representation of the system's scalability across the full performance spectrum.

The question isn't "what comes after V20"—it's "what becomes possible when you train optimally for years?"

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The complete Grip Gains educational series — Episodes 1 through 6 and the injury rehabilitation content — is being fully refilmed in 2026 to reflect the current state of the platform. Episode 5 covers thumb anatomy and pinch training and ships as part of that re-release.

Why the Refilm:
The original series was filmed on a whim while camping near the boulders, and the platform has evolved dramatically since. The re-release brings every episode up to the current state of the system without sacrificing the authentic connection to actual climbing that makes the series valuable.

In the Meantime:
Existing versions remain available while the updated series is in production. The core principles are covered in Episodes 1-4, and pinch training follows the same fundamental approach: optimal stimulation, maximum ergonomics, minimized overlap. If you have a pinch-focused project, you already understand enough to make informed training decisions.

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Training adaptation follows a specific timeline that you should understand:

The First 3 Months (Foundation Building):
GripGains users at this stage are just starting to feel more solid at their previously established level. You're building the foundation through consistent quality training. This period involves significant neural adaptation and learning optimal movement patterns with the grippers.

The Rocket Ship (Months 3-6):
The real gains—the transformation—comes after you've built a complete base. This is when the rocket ship launches. You've done the hard work of developing balanced capacity across your entire force curve. Now you get to reap the rewards.

For Those Still Struggling:
If your force curve isn't where you want it yet—that's okay. The people at the top of the leaderboard didn't get there overnight. They got there by showing up consistently and working the parts of training they didn't like. You have the same beginner gains available to you.

The Key to Success:
Train complete. Stay consistent. Work your entire force curve, not just the comfortable parts. The system works, but only if you feed it quality data through quality sessions across all training zones.

Timeline Reality:
Unlike conventional training that grinds through genetic sorting, this system actually develops athletic capacity over time. The transformation is real, but it requires patience and complete adherence to the protocol. Don't chase quick fixes—build the foundation properly and the results will follow.

This is just the beginning. Keep training complete, and your curve will transform.

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The Painbox is a spring-based resistance system of my own design — now available at handofgod.shop.

Assembled:
A fully assembled unit with a high-quality coated, preconditioned spring. The coating and preconditioning mean it holds calibration longer, and it ships calibrated for the first time right out of the box.

DIY Kit:
Also available on the site. You get a very expensive bare metal spring, and the entire preconditioning and calibration process is yours to solve.

Building From Scratch:
Spring excursion rate must be under 10 lbs/inch with starting force under 10 lbs for Micro training. Those are the specifications that matter. The rest is your problem to solve.

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Effective as of May 2026, questions that duplicate content already covered in the FAQ, existing blog posts, or Hand of God Academy videos will trigger a 30-day cooldown period on the contact form before a new submission is permitted.

Why This Policy Exists:
The educational resources — the FAQ, the Grip Gains blog, and the Academy video series — are half the program. Skipping them is skipping training. Submitting questions without consulting existing resources first creates unnecessary response overhead and slows development of new content and features.

Before Submitting a Question:
Search the FAQ. Read the relevant blog posts. Watch the Academy videos. The answers to most questions are already there in more detail than a contact form response can provide.

Grip Gains Code #9: Know the Way.

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Most commonly a password issue on your end. Even with password managers, there's a surprising rate of password mishaps.

If You Have Logged In Successfully Before:
Work through these steps in order:
- Hard refresh (Ctrl+Shift+R on desktop, force-close and reopen on mobile)
- Clear your cache and try again
- Use the password reset flow — this is the fix the majority of the time

We do push updates periodically and these can occasionally trigger a re-authentication requirement — but the steps above resolve it either way.

If You Have Never Successfully Logged In:
Three things account for nearly every case at first login:
- Wrong email. Are you using the exact email address you purchased your grippers with? A different domain means no account on our end. Check your gripper order confirmation and use that address.
- Password issues. Even at first login. Use the password reset flow to set a fresh password against the correct email address.
- Grippers haven't shipped yet. App access is tied to your order shipping. Your account won't be active until they're on their way. Check your order status — access unlocks when they ship.

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1 to 3 months from order to shipment. Every pair is made to order — here is where that time goes.

Your 20 anthropometric parameters are processed by hand and converted to final geometry through the Hand of God creator. A thousand-plus grippers of fit experience are built into this step — fit assessment and troubleshooting happen during order processing, not after delivery. If your anatomy raises questions, we contact you before anything gets made. The final geometry is inspected, sent for manufacturing, assembled by hand from 30 parts per pair, and passes multistep quality inspection before shipping.

App access is deliberately withheld until your grippers ship. You explore the platform when motivation is highest — grippers in hand, not somewhere in a queue. Access is granted automatically within 24 to 48 hours of shipment using the exact email from your Shopify order. It is case sensitive. The system has worked flawlessly to date: 100% of access issues have been a mistyped email.

Watch for the welcome email at shipment — it covers getting up and running with both the grippers and the app.

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We do not accept returns. Every order is custom made to your hand geometry — a returned gripper fits exactly one person on Earth. This is standard practice for made-to-order equipment; you will find the same policy on a Merrithew Pilates reformer.

What we do instead is work with you. If your gripper arrives defective or something is genuinely wrong, contact us and we resolve it. Fewer than 1% of customers across hundreds of grippers have ever needed this kind of support — and we stand behind every gripper regardless.

Measure carefully, ask questions before you order, and if something is wrong when it arrives: email us. We will make it right.

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Contact us and we will run a fit analysis. Fair warning: it almost always comes back clean.

Twenty measurements per hand and a thousand-plus grippers of experience make a true misfit rare. What feels wrong in the first sessions is almost never the geometry — it is your hands adapting to a style of training that exists nowhere else. Nothing has ever loaded your finger flexors in isolation at RPE 10 before. Give the adaptation some sessions before judging the fit, and if something still feels off, we will work through it with you.

As for your partner: the gripper fits exactly one anatomy. In your hands it is a Hand of God. In theirs it is just a gripper — the force vectors land wherever your geometry put them. Order them their own.

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Plan for the ceiling, scale to your level. A V14 climber training the Micro needs 70 lbs of resistance in 1 lb increments. The same climber on the Crusher needs 200 lbs in 1 lb increments — delivered through a horizontal plane of pull, which is mandatory. A dedicated novice around V4 can cut those numbers roughly in half.

Micro options: cable machine, weight stack, or the Painbox Micro. The Painbox — available assembled at handofgod.shop — is by far the simplest and most economical route.

Crusher options: pulley redirects with a weight stack, a cable machine, the Voltra direct drive system, or the Painbox Crusher. Same verdict: the Painbox is the simplest and cheapest way to get there.

Whatever you choose, it gets calibrated. Uncalibrated resistance is fiction with a number on it.

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Twelve minutes at the minimum: 3 minutes per hand, two hands, two grippers. The longest session runs 32 minutes.

The target is 100 sessions per year — roughly 36 hours of pure training time annually, or 0.7 hours a week. Call it 40 with transitions. Grip Gains is extremely taxing on the neuromuscular system, and that is exactly why it is this time-efficient: sessions saturate your recovery capacity, and more time under load would be damage, not stimulus.

If you cannot find 40 hours in a year, the limiting factor is not the program.

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None.

I train at the top of the Grip Gains leaderboard weights, in serious sub-zero temperatures, on grippers stored outdoors year round. I keep a pair in a dry bag stashed in the forest with no special precautions. They are fine. The grippers do not need your care.

Heat is the one exception. If you live in Arizona, do not leave them on the dash of a hot car — and do not train heavy on grippers that are overly hot.

Store them anywhere that is not an oven.

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What RPE 10 means will change as you progress. Early on, it is simply the point where the hold fails and the weight comes down. The protocol guarantees you get there — the app prescribes the dose, and your job is to not negotiate with it.

True RPE 10 is a spiritual experience. You will know when you have transcended. The pain box scene in Dune is a good approximation.

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None. The force generation in Hand of God training is much gentler than climbing itself.

If you can climb, you can train — and you probably should. Grip Gains exists to build tissue resilience that climbing alone does not provide, and that logic does not care how old you are.

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Grip Gains is a 40-hour-a-year commitment to min-max one stat: grip.

Finger flexors are the reason climbers dominate every grip-adjacent endeavour — traditional weight lifting simply does not target them. Seb's grip world records — two-inch pinch, key pinch, wrist wrench — were not built in a weight room. They were built on finger flexors.

If your sport relies on grip, and 40 hours a year to min-max that stat makes sense to you: welcome to Grip Gains.

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The force curve is the relationship between hold duration and weight — the mathematical backbone of everything the app does. One axis: how long you can hold. The other: how much weight you're holding. Every session you log contributes to building and refining this curve.

The curve has a characteristic shape: a linear portion where single pounds make a dramatic difference at heavy loads, and an exponential region where the load becomes sustainable indefinitely. The three training zones — Power, Strength, and Endurance — map to specific regions of this curve. CMF is derived from the x-intercept of the linear portion. Total Capacity is the area under it.

The app constructs your initial force curve through baseline testing and refines it continuously with every session you log. Every set is a data point. More data means more accurate prescriptions — which is exactly why logging all sessions honestly, including the bad ones, is non-negotiable.

For the complete technical breakdown: From 1RM to CMF: Why Terminology Matters in Isometric Training

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The force curve represents the mathematical formalization of individualized training prescription:

Conceptual Foundation: Your force curve is foundational to all climbing performance. Technique, temps, and body composition simply unload the hands and shift your curve point. At the end of the day – when all else is optimized only the force curve remains. Rather than training with arbitrary loads ("3 sets of 10 at 60% max"), the curve ensures every stimulus is optimally dosed for your current state.

Dynamic Adaptation: After each session, your performance data refines the curve. The mathematical models analyze not just whether you completed the workout, but how you performed relative to predictions. This feedback loop ensures continuous optimization.

Physiological Principles: The curve methodology implements training principles covered in Grip Gains 2: specificity, progressive overload, variation, and recovery management. The algorithms handle what would take a sophisticated coach years to learn about your individual response patterns.

Historical Evolution: This system evolved from increasingly sophisticated algorithms over 10 years. Each metric, each calculation, each decision rule was refined through real-world application. Nothing is theoretical—everything was tested under the selective pressures of actual training.

Practical Implementation: You don't need to understand the mathematics to benefit. Feed the system quality data through quality sessions, and the force curve automatically adapts to ensure optimal progression. The complexity serves you without requiring your attention.

From 1RM to CMF: Why Terminology Matters in Isometric Training covers the force curve framework in depth.

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The application provides an advanced suite of progress metrics that track both short-term and long-term adaptation. These are the same carefully evolved metrics I created over a decade of experimentation and refinement—everything was chosen because it proved useful in real-world training over extended periods.

After each workout, you receive immediate feedback on your session performance. The app then analyzes this data alongside your historical trends to provide comprehensive progress tracking. The metrics system identifies patterns, quantifies improvement, and ensures you're making measurable gains rather than experiencing normal statistical dispersion around a stable mean.

This data-driven approach removes the guesswork from training progression and provides objective evidence of the transformation from intermediate plateau to elite performance.

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The Prime is a highly specific gripper intended for advanced climbers looking for every advantage. If you are just starting out, there is no need to be training this.

Current Availability:
Prime 2.0 is an in-app unlock — coming soon. At 100 sessions on both Micro and Crusher you'll unlock the Prime exercise timer plus the 3D printing files and instructions, automatically, once the build-out ships

Skill Requirements:
As you've noted, the Prime requires basic 3D printing fabrication expertise to construct properly.

Integration with System:
It targets specific FPL training that will be covered in Grip Gains 5, part of the 2026 series re-release. Like all Hand of God equipment, it embodies the same principles: optimal stimulation, maximum ergonomics, and minimized overlap.

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Onboarding is your first 30 sessions on each gripper. The system spends them learning you — you spend them learning the system.

Every session feeds the model: quality executions at varied time intervals across the force-duration spectrum, from which the app constructs your force curve. Your entire focus in this phase is clean execution. Not chasing numbers, not reading graphs — there are no graphs yet. Execute well and the model learns your actual performance profile instead of your noise.

At session 30 you hatch. The advanced metrics suite unlocks — CMF, capacity graphs, performance trends — and your evolution journey begins.

Thirty sessions per gripper. Quality in, force curve out.

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The Grip Gains app implements sophisticated periodization automatically through its adaptive algorithms:

Built-In Periodization: Rather than following rigid mesocycle templates, the system continuously adjusts training stimulus based on your response. This provides the benefits of periodization (varied stimulus, recovery management, progressive overload) without the rigidity of predetermined cycles.

Force Curve Evolution: As your force curve rebuilds after each session, the app automatically manages intensity. The mathematical models handle periodization complexity behind the scenes.

The 10 years of program evolution that preceded the app involved extensive experimentation with periodization approaches. The current system represents the refined outcome of that process.

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Finger curls present interesting theoretical potential but significant practical limitations:

The Theoretical Appeal:
Isolated finger flexion through full range of motion could provide excellent hypertrophy stimulus if performed with proper loading and control.

The Practical Problem:
Finger curls are too awkward to train effectively with simple training tools. The exercise requires precise loading throughout the ROM, stable positioning, and comfortable grip on the resistance mechanism. Standard equipment fails to provide this.

My Assessment:
I find them too awkward to train effectively with current simple training tools. However, I can imagine a robotic setup that would make finger curls the holy grail of finger training—perhaps in the year 2125 we'll have the technology to implement them optimally.

For now, the Hand of God system provides superior practical implementation of the principles that make finger curls theoretically attractive: optimal loading position, specific muscle targeting, and proper ergonomics throughout the movement.

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Thumb and hand intrinsic training is covered in Grip Gains Episode 5 — arriving with the 2026 series re-release — but I can provide some preliminary guidance:

The Pinch Training Problem:
Pinch blocks are not recommended. As with other training tools, they fail to provide optimal stimulus, ergonomics, and specificity. Thumbs are basically impossible to train through climbing volume because you never get appropriate stimulus from most boulder problems.

Hand Intrinsics Training:
I use a 10cm roller with a 45-degree blocker for hand intrinsics and wrist flexion training. This provides proper loading without the friction and ergonomic issues of standard pinch blocks.

Thumb Adductor Specificity:
The thumb adductor requires direct targeted training that climbing volume cannot provide. The principles remain the same: optimal force vector positioning, minimal friction, maximal ergonomics.

Project-Specific Considerations:
If you have a wide pinch-focused project, Episode 5 will provide the detailed protocols and tool recommendations you need. The wait is worth it to understand the complete system rather than applying suboptimal approaches.

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Rice bucket training has a specific and limited role in a comprehensive training program:

What It Is:
Rice bucket training involves performing various hand and finger movements while submerged in a bucket of rice, providing resistance through the medium.

Appropriate Use:
Rice bucket work is a recovery tool, not a hypertrophy exercise. It provides:
- Active recovery stimulus
- Blood flow enhancement
- Gentle range of motion work
- Tendon and ligament conditioning

What It Cannot Do:
Rice bucket training does not provide sufficient resistance or specificity for meaningful forearm hypertrophy. The resistance is too low and too diffuse to drive the adaptations needed for climbing performance improvement.

Recommendation:
Use rice bucket work as supplementary recovery between heavy training sessions, not as a primary training modality. For actual forearm hypertrophy, you need the principles outlined in Grip Gains: optimal stimulation, proper loading, and specific targeting of relevant muscle groups.

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My perspective on EMG (electromyography) for training optimization is professionally informed but pragmatic:

Professional Context:
As someone who actually uses EMG to monitor nerve integrity during neurosurgery, I understand both its capabilities and limitations intimately. It's a powerful diagnostic tool in the proper context.

Training Application Skepticism:
I'm highly skeptical of the ability of EMG studies to answer interesting questions related to climbing performance. The controlled laboratory conditions, electrode placement variability, and complex movement patterns make direct application to training optimization questionable.

My Approach:
The Hand of God development was driven by anatomical principles, biomechanical analysis, and systematic iteration under real training conditions—not EMG data. Understanding muscle origins, insertions, and force vectors provides more actionable information than attempting to quantify activation patterns through surface electrodes.

Practical Priority:
Direct training feedback over thousands of sessions provides better optimization data than laboratory EMG studies. Your body tells you what works through performance adaptation, injury patterns, and long-term results. Listen to that signal.

The Grip Gains series emphasizes understanding functional anatomy and training principles rather than pursuing technological measurement solutions.

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I haven't provided extensive commentary on other training programs in the community discussions, focusing instead on principles and methodology. However, some observations emerge from the framework I've outlined:

The Industry Context:
Most commercial climbing training programs operate within the injury avoidance trap—attempting to balance effectiveness with safety using suboptimal equipment. This inherently limits what's possible regardless of program sophistication.

Tool-First vs. Program-First:
Many training programs are equipment-agnostic, providing programming that works with whatever tools you have available. This is pragmatic but fundamentally constrained. Optimal training requires optimal tools—you cannot program around equipment limitations indefinitely.

My Approach Difference:
The Grip Gains system is tools + programming + principles as an integrated whole. The app prescribes RPE 10 protocols that are unsafe on standard equipment. This isn't about being better than other programs—it's about operating in a different paradigm entirely.

Respect for Iteration:
Any training system that evolves through real-world application and systematic refinement has value. The key question is whether the underlying principles address the fundamental constraints that limit conventional approaches.

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The tendon health results have been exceptional, which validates the system's emphasis on proper ergonomics:

Personal Results:
I haven't had a tendon injury in the last decade of hard climbing (V10+). My training partners all have similar results—we've done mega volume cycles where we do 20 sets to failure daily for over a month without so much as a tweak.

Context Matters:
I'm over 40 years old with no performance-enhancing drugs, so my recovery capacity isn't anything special. These results on a high-intensity, high-volume protocol demonstrate that proper ergonomics eliminates the injury cycle that characterizes conventional training.

The Science:
The Hand of God training protocol builds healthy tendons on top of the strength gains. The ergonomic design ensures tendons receive appropriate loading stimulus without the damaging friction and poor force distribution of standard equipment.

This is the fundamental paradigm shift: you don't have to balance training effectiveness against injury risk when you have proper tools and protocols.

The complete injury rehabilitation protocol: Finger Injury Rehabilitation: A Practical Loading-Based Protocol

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The Hand of God system has proven remarkable for both injury prevention and active rehabilitation:

Documented Rehabilitation Success:
Ben, Jen, Tristan and I have all resolved long-standing finger issues by using the Micro. People are as excited by the rehab potential as the training applications. The system actually resolves capsulitis and pulley injuries—recovery is literally built into the training.

Mechanism of Recovery:
The Micro places each phalanx in the perfectly ergonomic gripping position. This proper positioning addresses the root cause of many finger injuries: poor force distribution and excessive stress concentration. Training with proper ergonomics allows tissues to adapt and heal rather than accumulating damage.

Pulley Protection:
The Crusher's complete pulley support makes pulley injuries impossible during training. For someone recovering from pulley issues, this allows maintaining FDS strength without re-injury risk during the healing process.

Progressive Loading:
The app's force curve methodology enables gradual progression from rehabilitation loads to training loads. The system adapts to your current capacity, making it suitable for returning from injury without the guesswork of load management.

Professional Guidance:
While the system provides excellent rehabilitation potential, serious injuries should involve consultation with medical professionals. The Hand of God tools can be part of a comprehensive recovery strategy overseen by appropriate practitioners.

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This is an important consideration that intersects with training methodology:

The Physical Reality:
Climbing performance involves moving your body weight on holds. Strength-to-weight ratio matters. However, this doesn't mean training should neglect absolute strength development or focus solely on weight manipulation.

The force curve is the whole story of climbing performance once all factors are optimized - weight gain or loss raises or lowers the entire curve.

Strength Development Priority:
The Hand of God system emphasizes maximal finger strength development. The Crusher allows training at 200+ pounds—well above body weight for most climbers. This absolute strength foundation translates to improved strength-to-weight ratio.

Intense Training Benefits:
Training at intense loads (RPE 10) provides stimulus that cannot be replicated at lower intensities. The ergonomic design makes this safe. Many climbers never develop this capacity because standard equipment cannot support it safely.

Integrated Approach:
Body composition management and strength development aren't mutually exclusive. The system optimizes the strength side of the equation with unprecedented effectiveness. Combined with reasonable body composition, this produces the transformation from plateau to elite performance.

Practical Application:
The app prescribes loads based on your individual force curve, which naturally scales with your body weight and strength. The system works across the full range of human body types.

Introducing Gravity Gains — body composition integrated with your force curve. Calorie Balance and the Force Curve: A Case Study — how caloric deficit preferentially destroys your endurance zone.

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