HHealthyFatboys

The library

Articles for big guys

Long-form on the two things that decide whether training at this bodyweight works: how the lifts are set up for your leverages, and how much you are actually eating.

A heavyset man in a mustard t-shirt mid-deadlift with a plate-loaded barbell, back flat, in a warmly lit gymStrength

Heavy mechanics

Form and leverage built for your frame. Squat, bench and deadlift setups that respect a bigger body instead of fighting it.

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A big man in an orange t-shirt seen from behind on a mat, reaching into a deep seated side bend in a sunlit studioMobility

Big guy mobility

Range of motion without gymnast flexibility. Practical drills for shoulders, hips and ankles that actually fit your build.

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A heavyset man at a kitchen table eating a large plate of roast chicken, rice, greens and boiled eggsNutrition

Real fuel

Eating for strength, not restriction. High protein, high volume, zero shame about the size of the plate.

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A heavyset man in a deep goblet squat holding a dumbbell at his chest, knees tracking out over his toesStrength

Your knees are not the problem

Recreational runners have less knee arthritis than people who sit still. The advice to protect your knees by not using them has the evidence backwards.

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A heavyset man seen from behind, back to the camera, driving a loaded push sled down a turf laneConditioning

Conditioning your ankles agreed to

One hundred and fifty minutes a week, and nothing anywhere says they have to be spent running. A twelve-week ramp that survives contact with your ankles.

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A large man lifting a dumbbell off the end of a rack, relaxed and at ease on a busy gym floorGetting started

Walking into a gym for the first time

Not the programme — the logistics. What to wear, where to stand, what the equipment is called, and what actually happens if you use it wrong.

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A dim bedroom before dawn with gym clothes folded on a chair and trainers on the floor beside itRecovery

Sleep is a training variable

Sleep loss costs about 7.5% of performance, almost all of it in evening sessions — and the apnoea conversation big men are least likely to be offered.

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A wide leather lifting belt fastened at the waist of a heavyset lifter at a barbell, uniform width all the way roundEquipment

What a lifting belt actually does

A wall for your abs to push against, not a back brace. The measured numbers, and why the tapered nylon belt in most gyms is the wrong tool.

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A counter laid with the cheap protein column: trays of eggs, a whole raw chicken, dried beans, rice and milkNutrition

Protein per pound, ranked

Cost per 100 g of protein across nine staples. Dried beans are a fifth the price of ground beef, and protein bars are worse value than steak.

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Chalked hands gripping a loaded barbell, knuckles and forearm tendons standing outStrength

Grip is the thing that fails first

Your back can pull more than your hands can hold. Hook grip, mixed grip, why straps are a tool rather than cheating, and callus care nobody mentions.

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A heavyset man in a blue polo with his hands on a written list of questions, across a desk from a doctor writing beside a blood pressure cuffGetting started

How to have the conversation

What to ask a doctor before you start lifting heavy, what a blood-pressure reading actually depends on, and how to push back on "lose weight first."

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A heavyset lifter chalking his hands beside a loaded barbell, a whiteboard on the wall behind himStrength

When the numbers stop moving

Adding 2.5 kg a week is 50 kg in ten months. Telling a real plateau apart from under-recovery, and four ways to progress that are not the bar.

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A garage corner holding only a squat rack, a flat bench, a barbell and a stack of plates on a matEquipment

The smallest useful home gym

A bar, a rack, a bench and plates train everything worth training. What the weight rating on the box actually has to cover, and what to buy in what order.

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A barbell resting across the upper back of a heavyset lifter with a plate on each end, larger plates stacked on the rack pegs behind himRecovery

The week you do less on purpose

A planned week of lighter training, taken before your body forces the issue. The signs it is time, and why the people who skip them get hurt.

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Hungry after all that reading?

Six meal plans, three batch recipes each, and a prep schedule that survives a working week.

Browse Meal Plans The Prep Schedule