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Date: November 18th, 2015
AboutĀ Isabelle Faus
Isabelle Faus is a 22 year-old boulderer out of Boulder, CO. (Yes, I know that a lot of my guests are from Boulder, but there are just so many amazing climbers here!) IsabelleĀ climbed her firstĀ V14 in South Africa recently, and has done several V13’s, including Nuthin’ but Sunshine in a day. She also just started sport climbing and did her first 5.14a the other day. She’ll tell you all about her climbing, training, and diet in this episode.
What We Talked About
- Her bouldering career highlights
- How her coach as a child taught her so much about training
- Her weekly schedule for workouts and climbing
- Exactly what her workouts look like
- How she makes it work without sponsors
- How she stays injury-free
- Lots more
Related Links
- Isabelle on Instagram: @Fausey
Training Programs for You
- Check out ourĀ Route Climbing Training Program for route climbers of all abilities.
- Our other training programs: Training Programs Page.
FrictionLabs Discount
FrictionLabs (my favorite chalk company by far) is offering you a discount on their awesome chalk – woot!
Please Review The PodcastĀ on iTunes!
- Link to the TrainingBeta Podcast on iTunes isĀ HERE.
- Please give the podcast an honest review on iTunesĀ hereĀ to help the show reach more curious climbers around the world š
Photo Credit
Thomasina Pidgeon tookĀ this photo of Isabelle Faus in the Happies.
Transcript
Neely Quinn: Welcome to the TrainingBeta podcast, where I talk to climbers and trainers about how we can get a little better at our favorite sport. Iām your host, Neely Quinn, and today weāre on episode 35 with Isabelle Faus.
Isabelle is a 25-year old boulderer out of Boulder, Colorado and she has climbed V14, several V13s, one of which she did in a day (Nothing But Sunshine), but sheāll tell you all about that. I didnāt know who she was, unfortunately, until somebody told me about her recently and was like, āLook, you need to interview this girl; sheās crushing everything!ā We talk about how she doesnāt have any sponsors, which is extremely surprising to me but we have a little discourse about that, and she talks about her training and her climbing and how she approaches things. I hope you like it.
Before we get into the interview I want to let you know that FrictionLabs and TrainingBeta have partnered and they have awesome chalk. Iāve told you about it before, but their chalk really works.Iām a huge believer in it and if you go to www.frictionlabs.com/trainingbeta youāre going to find some discounts so that you can try it out yourself.
Other than that, I will say that I know in the last podcast episode I told you that we were moving to Denver. I just wanted to make a public announcement about the fact that I bailed on moving to Denver at the, literally, last second. We had the U-haul, we were at our storage unit, we had signed a lease and, this is not my proudest moment but, we/I just couldnāt do it. Boulder is home and itās where I want to be and itās where all my friends are and I love it here. So, I/we just decided that we need to stay here for at least another year and maybe forever, who knows? So, thatās whatās going on with that in case youāre wondering and I think thatās it so here is Isabelle. Enjoy the interview Ā
Neely Quinn: Alright, welcome to the show Isabelle. Thanks for all your patience with all these technical difficulties and thanks for being with me.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, no problem. Thanks for having me.
Neely Quinn: Yeah. For anybody who doesnāt know who you are, can you just give us a description of yourself?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah. Iām a climber. I was born in Wichita, Kansas and raised in Chicago. I came to Colorado when I was 17, about, and Iāve just been living here, climbing here and around for a few years now.
Neely Quinn: So youāre, I think youāre 22 or was that old?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, Iām 22. Yeah.
Neely Quinn: Okay. So youāre pretty much in Boulder full time now unless youāre out travelling, climbing?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, Iāve spent most of my time in Boulder, for sure.
Neely Quinn: Okay. So tell me about some of your climbing highlights.
Isabelle Faus: Well, I mean the most recent one is, like, the one that most people have heard about: La Mandala, in Africa. It was my first V14 so that was pretty cool and pretty exciting and really fun. Yeah, just really nice to be out in Africa and do something thatās really, like, people know about and is a classic boulder and a beautiful boulder.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, I mean thatās super impressive. How does it feel to be one of the few women on the planet who have climbed V14?
Isabelle Faus: Umm…a little weird I guess? I mean Iām kind of – it really doesnāt feel that much different to me. I guess Iām just climbing as hard as I can and trying to challenge myself and not really trying to compare myself to too many others that much, just because it makes it harder I think.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, Iām sure it does. I mean, do you/I know maybe this isnāt even a topic you want to talk about but I think itās interesting. I was just reading from another, you know like, really high level female climber who says that every time she puts up an FA or does something hard, people ask her for video proof of it. They donāt believe her because sheās a woman. Sometimes she even gets death threats from men. Just because? I donāt know why that would happen. Maybe theyāre jealous? Maybe – I donāt know. Do you ever have anything like that? Like any hostility from men about climbing so hard?
Isabelle Faus: Not at all. Ā Not really. Nothing like that. I mean, maybe, they seem a little like, āOh man!ā but maybe for just a second. Nothing really very serious. Iāve felt very supported by the men in my life and the men around here. I donāt know. I think that, also, too, I kind of go out of my way to make it known that Iām very honest and I like uncut footage and all of that kind of stuff, so I think maybe people kind of have a perception of me that Iām pretty honest. I donāt know who youāre talking about specifically but sometimes people just get these reputations for, you know, being liars or something, which is not what Iām saying at all but, you know, sometimes people pick up on/people in the climbing community can definitely be very bombarding towards specific people.
Neely Quinn: Right, yeah. So, we donāt have to talk about that anymore.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah.
Neely Quinn: Iād rather focus on the positive here, so tell me more about some of your climbing highlights.
Isabelle Faus: Climbing around here has been amazing. Once/I feel like I got a lot stronger once I just started climbing outside and doing exactly what I wanted to do. Not really necessarily thinking too far ahead about the training for specific goals but just trying to do little goals to build up to bigger things. Just to really be a part of going outside and being a boulderer and being a sport climber now, too. Iām getting into that more these days. Just being a part of the whole process of doing new things and repeating peopleās newer things and trying hard.
Neely Quinn: Are there anyā¦ Oh, go ahead.
Isabelle Faus: Itās like – yeah. I just feel like that kind of motivation has definitely helped me get stronger. I guess the harder boulders Iāve done, I did Nothing but Sunshine in a day at the beginning of the season, which I sure wasnāt expecting at all. I wasnāt even really planning on trying it that day, it just kind of worked out. Sometimes I think that when you put it out of your mind a little bit more and youāre just kind of focusing overall on getting better, thatās when I accomplish my biggest things. Itās when Iām just like, āOkay, no problem,ā just having fun with it and playing around.
Neely Quinn: Just no expectations.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah. Fewer expectations and not a plan, just take my opportunities as they come. Still being active but sometimes if I put boulders in a specific order or a specific list that I want to do, you just get caught up in it and you donāt have those random opportunities where something just works out and you get lucky.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, you have less pressure on yourself when you donāt have lists of boulders that you want to do in a certain order.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, exactly.
Neely Quinn: Thatās cool. So, youāve done quite a few V13s, or at least a few, right?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, a few. I think itās three now? I did Apocalypse as my first one, on Flagstaff Mountain here in Boulder. I did it on Christmas eve. I just kind of went up there in my free time when it was too cold or I had a little bit of energy but I didnāt want to go very far but I wanted to try something. Itās just a little home project that worked out. Then I did The Shining a few months ago, which is a really high, probably at 10 or 11,000 feet or something – and itās kind of a long boulder so you get out of breath really quickly. You hike so far to get there and that – the hiking and the trying hard really high up, I think thatās really helped the process of really trying a boulder like that. It definitely made me stronger.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, and did it make you more fit? Iām assuming.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah. I mean, when I first, like my very first time when I got to Colorado and really went climbing up at elevation every day and went hiking most days, I think thatās when I noticed the biggest change in my body and my strength. At least the quickest. The first month of being out here is crazy if you really commit to it and if youāre not already really skinny or something, youāre just – like, everybody comes here and just sheds weight their first month. Then it kind of goes slower after that. You donāt really notice it as much but the first month is pretty nice, thatās for sure.
Neely Quinn: Just because youāre so psyched to go out in the mountains and youāre hiking a lot.
Isabelle Faus: And youāre just expending so much energy. Youāre doing a whole day of doing things, you know? Itās not like youāre just going and doing your hour or two workout. Even if itās an intense workout itās just not the same as going out to the mountains and doing a whole day out there. The elements are exhausting and just everything about it is more intense.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, thatās what Alex Puccio said, too, is that when she first started losing weight it was because she was hiking all the time.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, exactly. I think the lifestyle of Colorado is way more. Itās real active, like youāre actually going out and doing things as opposed to just going into the gym and, you know, doing a workout.
Neely Quinn: Yeah. So what are you working on now?
Isabelle Faus: These days? I was going up to the park a lot and it just kind of snowed for a few days and it kind of ruined the whole Chaos season, so Iām down here now. Iām sport climbing a little bit. I did my first .14a the other day so I was pretty psyched about that.
Neely Quinn: Nice. Thatās awesome.
Isabelle Faus: Thanks, yeah.
Neely Quinn: Which one was it?
Isabelle Faus: Itās Prime Evil. Itās in Clear Creek. I guess people say itās a soft .14a or something but everybody logged it as .14a on their scorecard so I donāt really know what the deal is, but yeah. Itās an awesome climb. Itās power endurance. Itās probably shorter than some boulders Iāve done. Itās only 18 or 20 moves or something but it was nice to get a little higher off the ground and take some bigger falls.
Just the movement and the mode of sport climbing is different and I think it helps me improve my bouldering, and Iād like to be a really good sport climber, too. I donāt want to just focus on bouldering. I think now that Iāve really built up my power base itās a really good time to try and apply that to hard sport climbs.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, so do you have plans to go sport climb in other areas?
Isabelle Faus: I have plans to try hard climbs around here and I want to go to the Frankenjura and I want to go to the place in Norway, Flatanger. Iāve just heard, I mean, thereās just all these classic sport climbing areas that Iāve never been to. Iāve never been to Ceuse, Iāve never been to many areas in Spain so yeah – itās kind of always all on the list in my mind but specific plans to go somewhere abroad? Not really, not yet anyway.
Neely Quinn: Well, thereās plenty to do around here.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, exactly. Iām trying to get into the groove first, maybe do some Colorado classics and then spread out a little more.
Neely Quinn: So, tell me about the history of your climbing career a little bit. Like, when did you start? Have you always been a boulderer mostly, I mean, until now?
Isabelle Faus: Iāve kind of/I started in Chicago when I was 10 at climbing gyms. I grew up in the city, I wasnāt in the suburbs or anything, so I kind of just climbed at these really small, hole in the wall climbing gyms and I had great coaches. I had one coach for a couple of years at a gym called EAC and then I moved to Hidden Peak in Chicago, and itās – I donāt even know if itās still running but Dave Hudson was my coach for, like, five years I want to say. I spent five years doing training in the gym for sport climbing season and the ABS season so I kind of split my years between bouldering and climbing, and sport climbing, probably until I was 16, 15 or 16.
Then, I kind of started just focusing on bouldering. I didnāt really/I traveled a lot. I started going to Chattanooga for months and months at a time. I started homeschooling, too, so I really dictated my own schedule from after freshman year through the rest of high school. I just climbed a lot of places and thatās when I started to focus on bouldering, then Iāve done a few sport climbing stints since then. Iād say like twice Iāve done sport routes for two months or something pretty seriously but mostly I started as a gym kid. I started in the gym for five years and I did a lot of different types of training and I learned a lot from it, too, and basically since I was 16 I have just been climbing outside and traveling and trying to do that more.
Neely Quinn: So how old were you when you started?
Isabelle Faus: I was 10.
Neely Quinn: Okay. That is pretty lucky, and Iām assuming you started homeschooling because you wanted to climb?
Isabelle Faus: Not really. I went to a private school in Chicago and I couldnāt really afford it second year and Chicago schools, itās a brutal place to try to get into high school. You canāt go – itās like college in Chicago. You have to apply to all the high schools and blah, blah, blah, and if you donāt apply after freshman year youāre not allowed to go to those schools. You have to go for all four years so I kind of was just like, āWell, I guess Iāll just focus on climbing if Chicago high schools wonāt have me. Iāll just, you know, just go out and climb.ā
Neely Quinn: So were you living by yourself in Chattanooga or did your parents come with you?
Isabelle Faus: I lived with Jimmy and Kasia. Jimmy Webb and Kasia Pietras. I spent, altogether, probably a year staying with them over the course of two or three years split up, and I spent my summers away. I spent very little time in Chicago, which was pretty cool, actually.
Neely Quinn: Okay, so this is a very colorful childhood, by the way. Itās interesting and Iām sure it helped you become the climber that you are now.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah.
Neely Quinn: But the other thing that made you become the climber that you are now is all the training that youāre talking about, so tell me about – you just said you learned a lot from the different kinds of training that you did as a kid and then probably through now. Do you want to talk about that?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, I mean I basically went through five years of regimented training programs. Kasia came from that gym as well and Michaela Kiersch and Michael OāRourke are also from that gym. Basically, thereās just so many different ways to train your body. Power endurance, thereās power and power endurance, thereās endurance, and basically just focusing on all those different types of things and learning, basically, hundreds of exercises because my coach was obsessed with it and incredibly creative and playful, so everyday we had different workouts. Really intense, really different, I mean every day was different. We never did the same thing twice. We always kind of got to dictate a little bit of what we did, I think.
Itās hard to be specific about it because I just acquired all these skills from him and now I just know all these things about how to work my body and how to rest and how to, you know, that cardio is important and that you have to do your opposite muscles so you donāt injure yourself and warming up. Basically, all these little routines of things that I can do to kind of supplement my outdoor climbing. I think – I donāt know, Iām really into supersets. I just make a whole list. Iāll decide what I want to do, like I want to do cardio and abs and a little bit of legs or something, and then Iāll make a huge workout or something and all of these things that I know how to do is from that education that I got from my coach. I was just lucky to get that.
Neely Quinn: So a superset, is that like a HIT workout or something? What does that look like?
Isabelle Faus: Itās like – Iāll make, like: Iām going to jump rope for three minutes and then Iām going to do 15 push-ups and then Iām going to do 20 squats and then Iām going to do five different shoulder exercises with the weights, you know, and then Iām going to do lunges and then Iām going to do, you know, just blah, blah, blah. I make huge lists and I go all the way through them. I donāt rest, itās just like you go through it as fast as you can, kind of. I try not to – I want to do well on each exercise so Iāll take a breath or something, just a small little breather, but just something that kind of does cardio and gets you transitioning and moving around versus doing the same thing for an hour or something.
Iām not the kind of person who wants to go and run on the treadmill for 45 minutes. Iād rather do, if I have to be inside and do a workout Iād rather have my strength training and my cardio be at the same time, sort of. Iām getting a cardio workout but itās because Iām working all of these big muscles and different muscles at the same time.
Neely Quinn: Right, so then youāll go through this big list of exercises and then will you rest and then do it again? Or do you just do it once?
Isabelle Faus: It changes. It changes. Iām very, like, sometimes thereāll be a little bit of it and Iāll do 10 sets of it and Iāll rest for a little bit in between. Now I feel like, too, because of all the training that Iāve done, I donāt time things or really make it so specific because I know how to work my body and I know how to push it to failure and I know when it needs a few seconds rest and that kind of thing. Itās very, just not very regimented at all. I just kind of get energy to do something and I make a workout and I go through it, kind of, basically, differently every time. Itās never the same.
Neely Quinn: So it seems that youāre getting overall fitness and overall strength, and youāre not necessarily just working your climbing muscles specifically.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, I mean I kind of do that when I go out climbing because I go climbing so much. I go climbing every day that I can take it, every day that I can grab onto the wall, Iāll go. I kind of feel like I get most of my workout just from doing that kind of thing. If I feel like Iām missing a little bit of something, Iāll do that, but some days Iāll just jump rope as much as I can, for like an hour, you know? Iāll just try it and I wonāt do anything else, Iāll just jump rope because all I want to do is cardio. Iāve done something else for the rest of the day. I did all my pull-ups and my crimping and my abs kind of on the wall, you know?
Neely Quinn: Yeah.
Isabelle Faus: But I didnāt maybe hike very far that day or something, like the boulder was right out of the car so I felt like I needed to burn a little more energy or something so Iāll jump rope forever.
Neely Quinn: Thatās funny. After a long day at the park or something – oh, no. Those are not long days at the park, those are short approaches.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, those are short days when I go out and itāll take me – itās an out of the car kind of boulder. Itāll take two seconds to get there.
Neely Quinn: So, I have so many questions for you. When did you feel like you were – did you ever have really big leaps in your performance? Or did you do something in particular that made you really strong, or have you always just sort of gradually gotten stronger and stronger?
Isabelle Faus: I think itās been pretty gradual, honestly. I think the thing, probably in the last few years, that has gotten me stronger and stronger to the point where I can climb 8B+ is just climbing outside and being really focused, and really wanting to do these kinds of things. Not just being motivated on getting strong in the number and stuff but improving on my abilities and my strengths and my technique and my style, just trying new things and doing it outside. I really havenāt focused, really at all, on any sort of regiment or plan or anything in the last couple of years. Thatās the only thing Iāve really changed.
I always kind of had a little plan or structure in the back of my head as to how I wanted my weeks or my months to go or whatever, or my years, but kind of as soon as I dropped all that and just climbed outside and just focused on day to day, what I wanted to do. Like, what do I want to climb on today? I look at the weather and I kind of see or feel out what I want to do, personally, that day and just do that. Thatās, I think, where Iāve gotten my most improvement from.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, it sounds like youāve really had a change in, and we talked about this earlier, in your mental approach to things.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, I think I just got the opportunity as well. I always wanted to climb outside and have that be a part of my everyday life but I kind of guess I didnāt with working and trying to just be a part of a normal scheduled life. It makes it weird, I think, as a climber. I think you have to have nothing dictating anything at all. You have to have total freedom to be able to really go for it. I think Iāve finally just been able to get into a position where I really just have the opportunity to do whatever I want and take advantage of the days, you know? Instead of just sitting in Chicago or wherever in the rain.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, so thatās what I was going to ask you, too. Do you have a job?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, I clean houses. Itās an awesome job in Boulder. I work for myself, I make my own schedule, people I work for are amazing, itās pretty nice, yeah.
Neely Quinn: Thatās great. So, you can make it work, you just have to have your own business and your own schedule.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, exactly. I just really wanted to be a climber. I donāt make any money from climbing. I make zero dollars from climbing.
Neely Quinn: How is that possible? Have you just not sought it out?
Isabelle Faus: I have. Most of the bigger companies wonāt even respond most of the time, honestly.
Neely Quinn: What? Why?
Isabelle Faus: Some of the smaller companies that do just donāt have the money. I donāt know. I mean, I guess youād have to ask them that. Itās probably the amount of Instagram followers I have and that Iām not your typical image on Instagram and Facebook and stuff like that.
Neely Quinn: What do you mean by that?
Isabelle Faus: I mean, I think everybody – Iām a little more creative. When I put pictures on Instagram the motivation is to share what I like and what I see and just through my eyes more. I think most people use Instagram to depict themselves, in ways to see/to look at them instead of them looking out, I guess. I donāt know.
Neely Quinn: Thatās a big difference. You think that sponsors are not really into that?
Isabelle Faus: I can kind of understand it. I mean, when I go on Instagram and thereās, maybe not climbers, but some specific person I want to see on Instagram, most of the time I do want to see pictures of them on their Instagram. Itās not like thereās no pictures of me on my Instagram but itās not dominated by it, by any means. Itās just different. Itās not a homepage for Isabelle, you know? Itās just a creative outlet for me.
Neely Quinn: Well, that is so surprising that you have no sponsors, or no sponsors giving you money. Thatās just crazy to me. I feel like calling people right now and going, āWhy arenāt you sponsoring this girl?ā Is that something that you would take on if it was offered to you?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, if it was offered to me with a structure. I would do things for companies if they wanted me to do things like, you know, they were more personal or more specific? I donāt know. Iām open to sponsorship, obviously, but I think what some people expect sometimes is maybe not what Iām into so it would just – yeah, be a little weird.
Neely Quinn: Right. Alright, so what about comps? I just saw a video of you at some comp and I was wondering how much you compete and what do you think about it?
Isabelle Faus: I stopped competing entirely in the past few years, basically since Iāve been living in Colorado permanently. I competed when I was younger because it was my opportunity to actually do something in climbing, because I lived in the city. Then I kind of did it on and off. I always kind of did it on and off, even when I was younger. I did it for my first year and then I didnāt really want to do it, honestly, just because of some weird – like, I got disqualified at divisionals and I didnāt want to go back because I was over it.
I competed kind of on and off always and then now, I kind of did pretty well, finally. A few years ago I won the Dark Horse and I got third at Nationals. I won some other comps too, I think. I donāt even remember at this point but I just wasnāt really having that much fun with it and I just donāt see – when I think about being older and looking back, Iād rather spend my time accomplishing things outside. Thereās nothing wrong with the competitions, itās just hard for me to commit all of my time to them. I think in order to do well at them you really do have to go into the gym and really train for them and really get prepared. I just have so many other goals it makes that hard.
Neely Quinn: Right. You donāt really like training in the gym much.
Isabelle Faus: Itās not that I donāt like it, itās just that I did it for a really long time. I can do it occasionally and have fun but no, it would just be hard for me to live in Colorado and spend my days in the gym.
Neely Quinn: Yep. Alright, so letās talk about your schedule. I think people would really love to know what a week in your life looks like, in terms of training and climbing and all the activities that you do. Can you tell me: how often are you in the gym? How often are you going outside? How does that correspond with your work schedule?
Isabelle Faus: Basically, I can work in the mornings so that leaves my days completely free. Basically, after 11 or noon I can do whatever I want. I will go climbing as many days as my – Iāll start, maybe Iāll rest on Monday but if itās not a rest day that day, if I have energy that day Iāll probably climb for a few days. Maybe, if itās to a far away place, thatās all Iāll do. Iāll just go climb and not really think about any other kind of cross training. I do yoga every morning. Every weekday I do a 20-minute routine which, with a little ab workout and a little push-ups, and itās pretty light. Itās like one kind of hard set of abs or something but thatās it. Thatās every single day.
Climbing, Iāll go to the gym these days probably once a week. I like campusing. Thatās probably one of the more fun things I like about going to the gym is the campus board. You can do things like 1-4-7 or 1-5-8 or double-ups. Thereās all these different ways you can play with a campus board and itās a very standardized thing so itās like a nice marker of how you feel that day or how – I donāt really know if campusing really helps that much. It just probably helps you get better at campusing but itās a nice mark. It makes me feel good if I can go in and do 1-4-7 on both arms.
Neely Quinn: Thatās pretty awesome. Wait – how tall are you?
Isabelle Faus: I am 5ā 4 Ā½ā, not quite 5ā5ā but somewhere in between 5ā4ā and 5ā5ā.
Neely Quinn: Can you do 1-5-8?
Isabelle Faus: No, I canāt.
Neely Quinn: You mentioned that and I was like, āOh my god.ā
Isabelle Faus: Maybe one day. If I could get 1-5 I might be able to do 1-5-8 but I can hit up really high. I can even go up and hit 1-6 or 1-5 Ā½ but I canāt grab on for some reason. I can go far but I havenāt been able to grab on yet.
Neely Quinn: Do you have a positive ape?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, I have a +2 or +3, maybe, yeah.
Neely Quinn: Okay, so you go into the gym, and do you climb and then go campus board?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, sometimes I will. Iāll do a little warm-up. It just depends on my mood. Sometimes I just donāt want to put my climbing shoes on. I just want to go play around and do a little workout, like do some campusing and some – like, Iāll try and do, if I go to the gym for a session like that Iāll try and do some campus and Iāll try and do my one-arms and muscle-ups and handstands and levers, just different kind of party trick kind of things because even if they donāt help my climbing I think theyāre fun. Itās a nice thing to be able to do. Itās just fun movement.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, so you really donāt know if it helps your climbing or not?
Isabelle Faus: I donāt know. I think you can get stronger but I think, always, the things that help me at climbing and doing things outside is just climbing outside and climbing all the boulders. Thereās so many different elements of it.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, so do you take care of your shoulders? Do you do shoulder exercises?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, I warm-up religiously when I go climbing outside. I do lots of arm swings and types of stuff, things like – I donāt even know what theyāre called but I twist my arms forwards and backwards when theyāre straight out, kind of with my body in a T. Those are really good. I do band work occasionally, and Iāll take the light weights and do two-pounders and do my front arm raises and my side arm raises. I try and cover every muscle that I can think of because I donāt want to get injured. It helps me a lot. I think warming up and making sure my shoulders feel good, I climb better. A lot better.
Neely Quinn: And have you ever suffered from any injuries?
Isabelle Faus: Nothing debilitating, no. I pulled my hamstring, really dumb/in a really dumb way probably in January or February, or last January. I kind of had this <unclear> all day, I was kind of doing stuff on the computer and I kind of got up and just – it was a rest day anyway and I wanted to do a light workout, just to wake up my body. I was just going to do a little bit and I kind of finished my workout and I was going to stretch out a little. I slipped on the floor and pulled my hamstring. [laughs]
Neely Quinn: Oh no. That sucks.
Isabelle Faus: So, yeah. Donāt stretch on a wood floor with socks on if you donāt want to pull your hamstring. [laughs] Thatās basically – and I pulled my other hamstring a couple of years before, so thatās the only things Iāve really done. Iāve never had/Iāve never hurt my finger or my shoulder or my knee or anything.
Neely Quinn: Do you have any ideas about how to stay injury-free? Do you think itās because you do all these different activities? Do you take supplements? Do you think itās because you started climbing at a really early age?
Isabelle Faus: I think I really listen to my body and really try and just go through the basic steps of warming up and just doing the things that are annoying that you kind of donāt want to do. I kind of think it helps, but I think it helps more so that I listen to my body and Iām very careful, and I have a very strong understanding of how I move and what my muscles should feel like, you know? If it hurts, stop kind of thing. I donāt hurl myself at dangerous things. I really try and never lose focus.
Neely Quinn: Iām just going to interrupt here for a moment and let you know that FrictionLabs has sponsored this episode of the podcast, which I truly appreciate. I donāt solicit just any company to sponsor the podcast. I solicit companies that I actually use and whose products I really, really love like Armaid and FrictionLabs. FrictionLabs has a line of chalk – they have several different kinds – that I believe really, really works better than any other chalk Iāve ever used.
If you want to try it out yourself and see how the content of magnesium carbonate in their chalk is higher than other chalk companies you can do that by going to www.frictionlabs.com/trainingbeta and youāre going to find some really sweet discounts that theyāre giving just to you guys. Hopefully youāll enjoy it and hopefully youāll love their chalk as much as I do. Thatās it. Back to the interview now.
Neely Quinn: Another thing that I want to talk to you about is diet because, as a really strong climber, you must be doing something right. I would love to know your thoughts on diet and kind of what you eat.
Isabelle Faus: I think for climbers, we all kind of eat less than your typical American. Weāre not eating three huge meals a day. Weāre kind of just eating when weāre hungry and stopping when weāre full. I donāt really care if I eat a donut or a cookie or something because I know that Iām doing so much activity that it doesnāt really matter.
I try to get in all my nutrients. These days, if I want to eat pizza all day, itās fine. I probably wonāt gain that much weight but Iāll feel like crap so I try and just eat salads and try and not just eat bread and cheese all day and try and get in vegetables and fruits and natural sugars. I try and eat mostly healthy foods instead of getting my calories from refined foods and stuff. I try and do a variety as well.
I try not to overthink it or schedule it or something because sometimes I wake up in the morning and Iām starving and sometimes I wake up in the morning and I donāt want to have anything to do with food. I kind of just try and do the same thing with my climbing as I do with my eating, just do what kind of feels good and try not to feel guilty about anything or try and deprive myself because I feel guilty of anything. Itās really hard for me. Iāve never been the kind of person who can just starve myself because I like food a lot. For me, the hardest thing is trying not to just eat cookies because I know I can.
Neely Quinn: Right.
Isabelle Faus: So, yeah. Go ahead.
Neely Quinn: What are your thoughts on meat?
Isabelle Faus: I like meat. I eat – I try not to eat so much meat these days. I used to eat meat pretty regularly, like every other day or every day or something but now I just – for some reason, my body doesnāt really crave it as much for some reason and I feel like it almost makes me feel like a brick more than anything. If I eat meat, I like to eat a little meat every few days or something. Itās a more recent thing, within the past few months, even, that Iāve kind of just been turned off by a lot of red meat or any kind of meat just taste-wise, for some reason.
I think meat is good, protein is good, and I think we need all of the nutrients. I donāt think that we shouldnāt eat bread or something just because itās carbs or whatever. I think if youāre a person whoās expending so much energy, you need all the types of nutrients: dairy, meat, grain, all of it.
Neely Quinn: So what kinds of food do you bring to climbing areas when youāre out on big days?
Isabelle Faus: Well, this is probably going to sound bad, but I probably will stop at a coffee shop and get a cookie and a ham and cheese croissant or something. [laughs] Thatās, yeah – sometimes Iāll make sandwiches. A lot of times Iāll make a sandwich to bring with me, or fruits and stuff, but a lot of the time I wonāt even eat during the climbing day. Iāll eat breakfast and then Iām just so focused on climbing and doing it that Iām not even really thinking about eating. Iāll eat – thatās why I bring a cookie with me or something, because I feel like I get more from that little bit of sugar because itās doing something for me right away whereas Iāll eat a bowl of oatmeal or something in the morning so Iāll have my all day energy.
If Iām out in the park or something and weāre hiking for two hours before we get somewhere, Iāll bring something a little more substantial, but most of the time itās pretty simple, like, just a little sugar rush.
Neely Quinn: Do you use any protein powders or bars or anything?
Isabelle Faus: No. Iām pretty/I like the taste of some protein powders, like in milkshakes and stuff, but I donāt really notice the difference. I think itās better to just get your nutrients from food. For myself, I just notice it more instantaneously whereas Iāll experiment for long periods of time with vitamins and supplements or something but as soon as Iāll stop them – Iāll do them for six months or something and stop and feel no difference, whatsoever, so yeah. No, all the workout food, Iām not really into.
Neely Quinn: And then what about caffeine?
Isabelle Faus: I drink coffee. I try not to drink so much coffee. I got an extra-mini percolator so I donāt overdo it but yeah, I probably drink a couple shots of espresso every day with milk.
Neely Quinn: Do you notice any difference if you donāt have it versus if you do have it? In your climbing?
Isabelle Faus: I think most of the time I have it so itās hard to say but no, not really. I feel like I kind of push through those things. I feel like I can kind of put my body into robot-mode if Iām feeling tired or something. Even if I drink my coffee Iāll have my days where I feel tired so sometimes I donāt know if itās because I didnāt drink coffee that day or if itās just because Iām tired that day. I kind of just always try and try hard. Sometimes, even when I feel crappy, I have my best days because Iām just trying hard anyway.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, itās weird like that. What about water? How much water do you think you drink?
Isabelle Faus: I probably drink a couple, like, two liters of water a day, probably, or I try to. I try and drink a bunch of water in the morning and a bunch of water at night and I try and drink as much water throughout the day as I can remember to. Itās probably two glasses in the morning, two glasses at night, or probably like three glasses at night. Big glasses, you know, big cups of water and a bottle during the day or something.
Neely Quinn: Yeah. God, you have such a balanced approach to things. It seems like in every aspect of your life you just seem balanced and you listen to yourself on all things.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, I try to. I think because of not being able to go to school when I – in high school. I tried to go to high school, too. I went to all the schools and was like, āYou have to let me in. You canāt just let me not come to the neighborhood school,ā but I think it just kind of forced a different perspective on me. Iāve been really grateful for that perspective and just been really open to things. I donāt really take it so seriously because Iām just trying to have fun at the end of the day and be happy. I donāt think having the extra ab is going to make me feel that much happier, soā¦
Neely Quinn: Yeah, it seems like having that school situation might have humbled you a little bit, even.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, I think a lot of things in my life have been atypical and Iāve kind of gotten used to that and liked it more than trying to fit into the normal box of things. Itās very relieving and itās kind of hard sometimes, or it was. These days I donāt really think about it much but obviously thereās social status quos and everything, but it kind of gets a lot easier when you just let go of it all and donāt even think about any of it.
Neely Quinn: So this is going to be maybe a dumb question, because youāve said to me over and over that youāre not focusing on anything in particular and youāre just kind of doing what feels good, but where do you see yourself in five or 10 years in terms of climbing and life in general?
Isabelle Faus: I, hopefully, will be climbing harder and getting stronger and going into different things. I donāt want to just be a boulderer. I want to have lots of different skills in the mountains. I donāt even know how to ski or snowboard. Like, that should be something I do just beyond climbing. I want to push my limits as hard as they can go. Climbing V15 and 5.15 would be really cool and obviously, thatās a nice goal to set for myself, so I hope in five years Iām still working towards that goal or have achieved that goal. I hope that I have found a way to kind of be a part of the climbing community in a business way and start my own business somehow in the climbing community. That would be pretty cool, too.
Neely Quinn: Do you know what that might look like? Just out of curiosity.
Isabelle Faus: Iāve had so many ideas. The first thing that comes to my mind always is I love clothing and Iām always complaining about clothes and really liking things about other clothes. Iāve always been drawing little outfits on drawings forever, so – I donāt know anything about it but trying to start a clothing company would be a really cool thing to do, but I also like the idea of: thereās nowhere to stay in Boulder. If youāre a climber, you have to know people to come here. It would be nice if that wasnāt the case, if people could have a place where they could come and not have to pay a lot of money to climb in Boulder. Just community-type things. That would be an amazing place to have all sorts of, not only a climber hostel but a climbing shop and a place for people to do lots of things, like a community-type place would be really cool.
Neely Quinn: Yeah. All those are great. Please do them.
Isabelle Faus: I will try, for sure.
Neely Quinn: Alright, I have a couple last questions for you. I get a lot of questions from people like, āHow does so-and-so take care of their skin?ā like on your hands, and Iām wondering what you do for your skin because you climb outside a lot.
Isabelle Faus: I think Iām pretty lucky with my skin. It grows pretty quick and Iām light so I donāt put that much pressure, I think. I donāt rip my skin apart when I go out climbing. I donāt put any salves or anything on my hands. I mean, Iāve got lotion on my hands when I put lotion on my body but I donāt file my fingers if thereās weird bumps or flakes or skin peeling or something.
If I do get a split Iāll try and file it and take care of it and stuff, but I kind of just take my skin as it comes. If my skin feels good Iāll just try hard and not really think about it. If I get a split or some peeling Iāll try and take care of that as best as I can just by filing or putting on lotion or something but Iām not too obsessive.
Neely Quinn: So youāre not/you donāt wear gloves when youāre doing the dishes or taking a shower or anything like that?
Isabelle Faus: No, I donāt. I think some people/I think if your hands are drier, those are good things to do because water does/will dry your hands out. The more you wash your hands, itāll get worse. My hands stay pretty moist, I guess, not super wet or anything but theyāre constantly regenerating feeling. Itās not like anythingās just feeling like itās sitting there and drying out.
Neely Quinn: Cool. Thatās good. It sounds like you have some good genes for that but people will appreciate hearing that. One last question is about body weight. We sort of touched on it but itās kind of a big deal in the climbing community to be super skinny and what are your thoughts on that? I know you said youāre not the kind of person who can starve yourself but is it something that you wish you could do? Is it something you think would make a big difference in your climbing?
Isabelle Faus: I think, sure, if I had a really regimented diet, and it would take really low calories for me to keep losing weight, and I would have to be really hungry to lose weight at this point, but I think itās fine to a certain point. Climbing is a strength-to-weight ratio sport and I think weāre athletes. Most people, itās not a body image thing, youāre motivated by certain goals and I think people will push themselves to that unhealthy point but they always crash and burn. I think the people that are more successful just try and hover that line of being healthy and being not healthy because you have to. It makes a difference. You can look at any of the World Cup climbers and the ones who are the most cut are the ones who are on top of the podium.
Itās not really something I think you can ignore as a climber and say, āIt doesnāt matter,ā because it does, a lot. Every little pound of fat is going to make a difference so I think itās just dangerous in some people but I donāt see it as necessarily a bad thing. Like, some people will maybe not eat all day or something but I think if youāre just doing that a little bit, youāre not going to really hurt yourself.
I think we require way less food than people say we do. Most people who get talked about as being too skinny or something, I donāt get too worried about it because it seems so few and far in between that people actually, really hurt themselves by getting too skinny from climbing and the starvation thing.
Neely Quinn: When you first moved here, it seems like you said you did lose some weight.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, for sure. I was losing weight before that, now that I think about it. At my heaviest I was probably 125 pounds and now Iām like 104 pounds but that wasnāt all at once. That was probably over, like, a year that I lost that weight. It kind of just came off naturally. I never really noticed. I was at school at Massachusetts for a few semesters and thatās more so when I started just coming down slightly, really steadily, for a long time. Then, when I came to Colorado I was probably down to 113/114 by the time I got back to Colorado a few summers ago, and then after that summer Iāve been hovering between 102 pounds and 104 pounds most of the time when I step on the scale. The climbing in Colorado really pushed that last little bit but in the last year I havenāt lost any weight, I would say.
Neely Quinn: Did you find that when you were losing that weight that you were – do you think it affected your climbing?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, I mean obviously it does. I think itās a huge part of why Iāve gotten stronger, because Iām lighter and Iām able. My muscles are getting bigger, too. Iām kind of converting all of that in my muscles and getting more ripped and getting skinnier. I have more muscles and Iām skinnier so I know that/I think that is more of the difference. I think that if I just lost weight I maybe wouldnāt have been as strong of a, like, I wouldnāt have gotten as better but I think itās the mix of the muscles and the lightness.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, well itās interesting to hear your take on that. I know itās kind of a sensitive topic, soā¦
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, I think people are, just these days in general, itās like everybody gets ridiculed about their weight no matter what weight theyāre at, soā¦ [laughs]
Neely Quinn: Thatās true. Cool. I think thatās all my questions and thatās all the time I want to take from you but where can people find you online and social media and stuff?
Isabelle Faus: On Instagram Iām @fausey and Facebook Iām Isa Belle, no last name on there, but yeah, and at www.theisland.io I have an account on, which is probably the best website to use for climbing but nobodyās using it yet, so everyone should go start using that website.
Neely Quinn: Iāve never really understood what it was. Can you explain it really quick?
Isabelle Faus: Yeah. Itās a logging system and a media website. Itās similar to 8a in a way but it doesnāt have a scorecard, itās not motivated – itās a community website where you can come and share media and photos and you can add. They actually have this huge map and you can add boulders to the map. If youāve done something new you can put boulders on the map or a route, too. Itās a place to kind of put all your climbing needs in one spot instead of using all the different climbing websites. You can kind of get all of your information from the same place.
Neely Quinn: Awesome. Cool. Well, maybe more people will go to it now.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, that would be cool.
Neely Quinn: Well, thanks for your time and I really appreciate it. Good luck with all your, well, not your goals but your everyday climbing.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, I have goals for sure but I just try and keep them kind of subtle, in my mind.
Neely Quinn: Yeah, in the back, there, hidden away.
Isabelle Faus: Exactly.
Neely Quinn: Well, best of luck to you. Thanks again.
Isabelle Faus: Yeah, thank you Neely. Bye.
Neely Quinn: Bye.
Alright, thatās it. That was Isabelle Faus and hopefully youāll go follow her on Instagram and Facebook and maybe write a couple of letters to some companies in the climbing industry to tell them to sponsor this girl. I mean, sheās crushing it, sheās a super smart, cool girl, and I hate to see her go unsponsored but, alas.
Coming up on the podcast I have – you guys will be so excited. I have had no fewer than 25 requests for an interview with Tom Randall so I have him coming up, and then Steve McClure and hopefully Dave MacLeod, if I can finally get that to work. Sorry Iāve been promising an interview with him and it just never happens. Hopefully itāll happen this time and some other awesome interviews. Iām trying to get one out every week now so you guys can get your training fix.
As far as training goes, also remember that we always have training programs for you guys, particularly for you right now itās bouldering season here and a lot of other places. We have our bouldering strength and power program, which is a subscription program. You pay about $14, anywhere from $12-$15 a month, depending on how long you subscribe for. You get three unique workouts every week and those are created by Kris Peters, who is a trainer here in Boulder. Heās worked with a ton of different people and understands. He gets really creative with his workouts and keeps you on your toes and also keeps it efficient. Those workouts are pretty much no longer than two hours, ever, so that we can keep other things in our lives going like jobs and family. Check that out. Go to www.trainingbeta.com and at the top of the page you will see a tab for training programs. You will find it there along with all of our other programs.
So, thatās it for today. I will talk to you next week. In the meantime, climb hard, have fun out there, and train smart. Iāll talk to you soon.
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