I woke up this morning and my legs were still sore. The soreness is not from a heavy squat day. It is the remnants of my 500-mile backpacking trip on the Colorado Trail\u2014which I just concluded earlier in September. The soreness becomes immediately understandable when you consider that I am 64 years old and accept what hiking 12-20 miles a day for six weeks over some of the most rugged and remote terrain in this country does to a body. (continue below)<\/em><\/p>\n “During this adventure …I thought often of my FFP journey.\u00a0 <\/span>From my first Apex 10 as an obese and frustrated man… to a lifetime member who finally understood what it would take to be the ‘best version of myself.'”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It was during this adventure when I thought often of my FFP journey. From my first Apex 10 as an obese and frustrated man who had tried every conceivable \u201cdiet\u201d and exercise program, to a lifetime member who finally understood what it would take to be the \u201cbest version of myself.” I eventually learned that the hardest part of my body to train was the space between my ears. I could continue to engage in negative thoughts and talk about my past efforts and how I looked, or I could finally change my thinking to the positive and decide there was nothing I could not accomplish. I chose the latter.<\/p>\n I am a goal-oriented person. Set a goal.\u00a0<\/span>Accomplish the goal.\u00a0<\/span>It worked in my professional life, and even sometimes worked in my fitness life. But, until my FFP journey I did not truly understand the changes I would need to make, and how my mindset needed to change. So, after completing all the FFP phases, I set the goal to hike the Colorado Trail. I was an experienced backpacker, but never tackled a goal like what I was about to take on.\u00a0<\/span>It took months of planning and training. The training helped, but I soon learned that I would have to dig deeper than ever\u2014both physically and mentally\u2014to complete the trail.<\/p>\n My backpack weighed, depending on food and water needs, between 30 and 40 pounds. The weather could be hot, cold, rainy, and\/or windy. Hail and thunderstorms that shook me to the core tested my resolve more frequently than I expected. Lightning storms on high mountain passes, when you are tallest thing in the area, reveals one\u2019s true spiritual status. Legs burned on climbs and on the steepest parts I frequently needed to stop every 50-100 feet to catch my breath at altitudes ranging between 11,000 and 13,000 feet. It sometimes took an hour to go a mile when the incline was at a 16% grade.\u00a0<\/span>The fact that I have a pacemaker did not help matters. Downhills provided different challenges, including loose rockslides and trails that put my ankles and knees to their limits. (more after photos)<\/em><\/p>\n Did negative thoughts enter my mind? Hell, yes!\u00a0 <\/span>In the first two weeks I fought the demons of negativity. Thoughts of my easier life at home and questions about why I was doing this surfaced frequently. But, just like those early thoughts during Apex 10, Double Trouble etc., I pushed them out of my mind. I was not going to stop.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cBE RELENTLESS\u201d is what I wrote in the front of my journal, which I referenced every night.\u00a0<\/span>I received encouragement from FFP brothers and others, which helped immensely. However, the mental strength and positivity that I had developed during FFP is really what got me through the most physically and mentally demanding challenge I had ever faced. Fortunately, I suffered no serious injuries. I certainly lost significant weight\u2014including some muscle\u2014and my new goal is to get that muscle back without gaining back the fat. Just another goal\u2014without the complications of altitude!<\/p>\n Setting goals and overcoming the negative thinking is what led to my successful completion of the trail.\u00a0<\/span>I have FFP to thank for helping me get there.<\/p>\n Bill Powell<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n
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Bill Powell at the beginning and end of his Colorado trek<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fitfatherproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/Hikingtrailbackground-1024x768.jpg\")
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<\/p>\nThank you Bill. We are very proud to have been a part of your transformation and this special journey!<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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