In this episode, Dr. Tyler Nelson talks about a small but very effective change to make in your finger training protocol to help you get stronger and avoid injuries.

Last year, Tyler saw over 600 patients with finger injuries, and he believes that using unlevel edges that are bigger than what we’ve been told to use could have, in part, prevented those injuries while still making the climber stronger.

This interview was really fascinating to me. I didn’t even know what an unlevel edge could possibly look like, but Tension Climbing has created a board with them and it’s called the Whetstone Board.

Here’s part of the description of it from Tension:

The top jug on the Whetstone is something new. The edge profile was designed to promote a more “active” grip and reduce “over-wrapping” the wrist. A series of “ergo-bumps” was included to both improve the comfort of the grip and also to act as an edge that can be draped in an open-handed grip to more evenly distribute force between each finger as an aid for rehabilitating some finger tweaks.

This is not meant to be a Whetstone advertisement and I have zero affiliation with them, just fyi. But what Tyler is talking about in the episode are those “ergo-bumps” you see in the photo above.

As always, I learned a lot from this episode and now I kinda want to get a Whetstone board…

Tyler owns and operates Camp 4 Human Performance, a chiropractic sports medicine clinic and strength & conditioning business in Salt Lake City. While earning his doctoral degree, he completed a dual program Master’s degree in exercise science at the University Of Missouri. While in graduate school he worked with the University of Missouri athletics department and currently is employed through two colleges in Utah.

He is certified through the National Strength and Conditioning Association as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and spends any extra time in his life with his wife and 4 kids or trad climbing or bouldering.

You can find Tyler in Salt Lake City at his clinic or online, Camp 4 Human Performance, where he tests athletes, creates training programs, and treats all kinds of athletes for injuries.

• TBP 212: Dr. Tyler Nelson’s New Insights on the Limits of Fingerboard Training

• Personal website: camp4humanperformance.com