My dad had a heart attack a few years ago and had to have open heart surgery and the whole nine yards. This was actually the event that caused me to start questioning conventional wisdom regarding everything from weightlifting to diet. You see, my dad lived by the book, especially w.r.t. heart attacks, cholesterol, eating "whole grain", all that shit. And he had an emergency quadruple bypass at 55.

Anyway, I'm slowly opening his mind to the idea that doctors don't always know what they are talking about (although some certainly do), and I think I could get him to start lifting. He's 59 now. Here's the problem: He has a pacemaker/defibrilator in his heart, which means he can't lift his arms fully over his head or the leads might pull out. Why the hell someone would do this to a 55 year old man is beyond my comprehension, but that's the medical system we have today.

Is there anyway to circumvent this (rather serious) limitation and still build a balanced barbell strength program? Obviously things like pressing and pull-ups are out, and I think he'd probably be unable to hold the bar for squats correctly.

My dad is the definition of skinny fat and I think he would have a much more enjoyable next 20-30 years if he got his body into shape. What can be done?