Question on behalf of my father

[dmmcclair]

My dad has finally come around to recognizing that he needs to workout. It's been 30 years since he's been a fitness type, and he doesn't really know where to start. I'm going to be training him, but I have a few concerns.
1) vital stats:
6' 3" 262 lbs
Bf% unknown
Blood pressure: 153/90
Pack a day smoker
Regular drinker (not a problem drinker though, he and I are going to cut the alcohol for 30 days together, again neither of us are problem drinkers)
His diet is pretty decent but he binges on **** food once in a while, problem is he eats 1 meal a day.

2) arthritis in his wrists, bad right shoulder from a few decades ago because of car accidents, herniated l4 and l5 (or l3 and l4, can't remember) bad right hip, no flexibility to speak of, very strong but only for a short time.

3) his biggest fear is gaining weight, I have to show him that while working out he can lose weight while quitting smoking, yes, for those of you having concerns, I am trying to brain wash him, I want him to be healthy, I want him to quit smoking, but that's a fight I'll take up when he's seen some results.
Due to his injuries and his age, I'm seeking advice about the best course of action, please help.

 

[dmmcclair]

Also he is currently 53 years old.

 

[dmmcclair]

And he works at a desk, so light activity through out the day, I can figure out the diet side, thinking ill just out him on a recomp type diet but again, someone of his age, I don't really know where to start.

 

[napalm]

1. quit smoking
2. clean up the diet
3. get him moving, every day. each week make it a little longer/farther
a. just doing the above will take 20-25 lbs off
4. after a few months, talk to him about getting a trainer, if not, introduce a well thought out resistance training program, doesn't have to be anything fancy. machines are fine.
5. a couple months after this, he'll feel much better about himself and see progress...if he sticks to it. find a way to motivate him.

don't bite off too much too fast and he'll have a better chance of success.

good luck...

 

[dmmcclair]

I get that, I understand that it's baby steps, I'm trying to introduce him to a moderate exercise program now to get him started. He likes walking and already does that a lot, these last 10 pounds have been very difficult for him to lose and he wants to start lifting, the problem is, I'm concerned about his tendons and ligaments as well as his prior injuries, so I'm assuming asking him to load up and dead lift a full range of motion is a terrible idea. The squat would jack his back up and I don't want to put him through injuries.