Great points! However, if he needs a belt, then IMO he's starting
too heavy. It's vital that the weight start off light and managable and without a belt to strengthen his body's core. I do see your cautious line of thinking, but it's easy to be lazy and get used to relying on a belt. Pulling < 135 lbs off the floor in order to get his form down in my opinion doesn't require any safety equipment. Running on this train of thought, if he was to utilize a belt moving up in weight, then once he takes it off, he has a
greater chance for injury since he's moving 'x' amount of weight with weakened supporting cast of muscles.
Over time, with an increase in weight progression, his body will be stronger and his risk of future injury will be diminished. All a belt does is it can help increase intra-abdominal pressure, as well as increase the force generated when deadlifting, but at the price of an destabalized core. What this basically is saying is that using a belt will allow him to use a much greater amount of weight..It's very tempting, and not a good idea. Maybe seeking out a physical trainer to oversee his form would be a good option as well.
For the time being, I'd recommend doing pullthroughs and hyperextensions as well as heavy abs work to strengthen his core muscles enough to where deadlifting will have little risk of injury provided he's lifting light and has good form.
I agree that deadlifting in general is very dangerous to any beginner who doesn't know what rep/set/whatever else he's doing. But if he starts off with minimal weight, then there won't be a problem. However, give him a belt and some wrist wraps, and that's just inviting him to throw another plate on each side!
I'm actually still debating whether or not to take him serious and if he's just trolling around?
Read through this article on deadlifting [jagsfan] and aquire a working knowledge at least of what a proper deadlift entails.
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