Rippetoe Programming for Fatties like me?

[NameIsDave]

Question first, context after…
For people who are obese (I currently weigh 322lbs @ 6’1” – and not from being a lifter or in any way athletic), is there some sort of progressive method to increase flexibility & balance in order to achieve proper form for squats & deadlift? Can squatting as low as I can “be” the stretch I use to improve my depth? Would doing so eventually help me achieve good form or simply reinforce a bad one? Without a good deadlift, I haven't even attempted the cleans yet.

If you've got time to read the Context, here it is…
As it stands now, I can’t properly squat to parallel without either rounding my back, coming up off my heels, splitting my groin in two or falling backwards (about 4 or 5 inches is the closest I get, before I start losing balance) and I can’t deadlift without either rounding my back or forcing my knees outside of my arms (and usually both)… which I assume means that until I can get the technique correct I won’t be able to correctly train the way you presribe.

I take it from what I’ve read (I’m only about a third of the way through Starting Strength) and viewed on videos on your site that your focus is on coaching athletes and other coaches/trainers and apparently not fatties like me. But as I lose weight (I’ve already lost 50 lbs in the last 11 weeks) with diet change and cardio 3-5 days a week, I’ve become a convert to your philosophy of using compound exercises with barbell to gain strength. I 'd like to train that way, but don't know how to get to a point where I can do it correctly.

The trainers at my gym have all but discouraged me from even attempting compound exercises at this point, and suggest that I focus on losing the weight through cardio and simply do variations of low weight/high rep split routines. I already know what you think about that from your book, but trying to convince them (imagine a fat novice trying to explain to muscular guy with 7% body fat that how he thinks I should train is wrongheaded) is challenging to say the least. As a novice, I’m left trying to figure out what advice is good, what is bad, and is merely gray area or irrelevant.

Three months ago, I couldn’t do 5 minutes on an elliptical machine without my ankles and back killing me and gasping for breath. By following a regimented program given to me by a trainer, I’m up to doing 20-25 minutes of intervals where I push up to 80 & 90 % of my max heart rate, and then another 30 at a steady 5 mph pace. Every week, I’m pushing myself harder and seeing the results. I want to do the same in strength training, but I’m discouraged because I feel like I’ve discovered what seems to be the best way “to” train (with your program), but my body may not be ready for it, and I don’t know what to do “to” prepare my body for it.

I’ve posted in the training forum and received a lot of good advice already, but what I’ve been doing is unstructured and it’s been too easy for me to lose focus… and I don’t know that I’m making any progress because I don’t really know how to measure it. Anyway, if’ you’ve read down this far, I appreciate it. I’m as long winded as I am fat… maybe I can work on that too.

A video of you coaching a obese novice into proper form is too much to ask probably. =) I'm only a few hours south from ya down in San Antonio, I'd volunteer!

[Mark Rippetoe]

Not a bad idea. When can you be here?

[Gunnhild Bruno]

I hope you guys make this happen. It would help a lot of us with clients, friends, family, etc.

[stuy119]

Along those same lines, what's the dietary program for someone who starts out fat (like myself)? Working my way up after an injury, but am over 25% BF, so from "A Clarification" GOMAD is out. Is there a specific diet plan for starting obese?

[John Bono]

Hi Coach,

I am in a similar situation to Dave here(45YO, 5'10" 290lbs). I had been on SS for about 5 months, prior to rupturing my achiles(currently ICNDTFP, surgery sched for 7/19, a topic for another thread), and have had no success reaching parallel in my squat. I've been coached, once by a pro powerlifter, and once by an SS coach, and every time I have squatted, I seem to hit a shelf that appears to be well above parallel. I have filmed virtually every set I have done in a squat since 3/27(current count 143 sets filmed), and have seen only marginal improvement.(Last form check thread here). While currently my goals are to rehab the bad leg while maintaining/improving strength everywhere else, I will be squatting again sometime between late September and mid October if everything goes ok w/surgery. This is something I am also keenly interested in.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Along those same lines, what's the dietary program for someone who starts out fat (like myself)? Working my way up after an injury, but am over 25% BF, so from "A Clarification" GOMAD is out. Is there a specific diet plan for starting obese?

I think this is dealt with in the article.

[Valhall]

I was 300lbs when I started training half a year ago (though my max weight has been 319lbs) at 6ft, since then lost 44lbs. This has been from strength training, however I also did 1 spinn class a week together with co workers as a social thing.

The first 3 months (and first 20lbs) was with just a regular body building program, but after that I found SS and switched to that and had continued success. GOMAD has been out of the question, but I have had some skimmed milk every day. At some point, where I am at now, weight loss has begun to crawl almost to a stop (but it is still going down), but every week I look slimmer in the mirror. To put it like this: I've lost 44lbs but I look like I've lost 66lbs, and this is due to the strength training. So if you get to that point where its slowing down, dont loose heart because its not really the weight that matters but muscle and fat. So measure that instead of weight, as they say muscle is heavier than fat.

Now to the flexibility thing. I also had trouble getting proper form as overweight, I was terribly stiff, but I've done some light stretching before and after training which has helped tremendously.

I'd love to see a video like this where Mark Rippetoe tackles the training of an overweight individual like you discussed, make it happen!

[SixSC]

A video of you coaching a obese novice into proper form

This would be really interesting. I'd love to see something that uses the SS DVD as a foundation and covers things that are different (or not) for obese people for each lift.

[NameIsDave]

Not a bad idea. When can you be here?

If you're serious, I could be there Saturday, July 16th or the 23rd the following week. I'd be honored to work with you.

[Mark Rippetoe]

I'm serious, but the next four weekends are out. First weekend in August would work.