Spent the winter dialing in the above. I climbed 60 days on ice this winter, which is amazing in my eyes with a full time job. I was able to lead some WI5 with confidence and want to thank the community here for the help. Biggest thing I learned is grip strength improvement by doing heavy holds, similar to the chin up strength program but I would weigh my backpack and hold the tools from the rafters. I can do 1 arm holds on tools for about 30 seconds now vs 1-2 seconds before, two arm holds I can weight my bag with 40lbs and go about 70 seconds.
When swinging I lever the tool in my hand instead of gripping so it flows and almost snaps into the ice vs bashing. I pretend I have a feather in my hand, painting a canvas by flicking the paint off the tips and it seems to keep the grip strain down.
Thanks