My Freak of a Friend James

So… about an hour ago my friend James asked me to take him to gym to train. He hasn’t lifted a barbell in 5 years and he’s 21 now. And he pulled a 505lb deadlift…

He wants to lose some weight and get into powerlifting.

He’s 370-380 and if I had to guess around 30-32% bf at 6 foot 1

I have no idea where I can help him start at. I told him about the 5/3/1 program and eating real food as a start but I’m kind lost how to guide him along lol

Any ideas or help?

Point him to a powerlifting gym where he can get pointers from guys looking to lift heavy and support each other.

5/3/1 and real food would be a good start, and so would hooking up with like-minded powerlifters.

The “best” thing to do would be for him to aggressively lose fat, but I am of the opinion that any positive change will be beneficial to someone who has managed to get that heavy. If he changes nothing about his life other than becoming a person who trains regularly and with purpose, he will have taken a good step.

If he ever wants to be competitive as a powerlifter he will need to learn how to eat well and keep it up over time, or get ridiculously strong as a super heavyweight. And while your friend should be proud of possessing the strength he has, he should also keep in mind that a 505 deadlift is very strong…

…for a powerlifter who is over 200 pounds lighter than him. I’m not trying to bring him down by saying that, but it is easy for fat boys to walk into a commercial gym and walk out with a misguided notion that they are strong. Been there, done that.

But yes, barbells are good for both fat and skinny boys. No reason to put off training with them.

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Cover him in peanut butter and throw him to the dogs

Try this…

anyone else get Rick James tunes stuck in their head when they see the title of this thread?