290 @ 5'10" ... ya i'd say he's a " tad " bit overweight !!
Tell your buddy to do dips for his chest instead of bench ... at his weight he should be able to build a better looking pec area doing dips then he would ever hope to get out of benchpressing . Dipping 290 will be a challenge !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I seldom bench any more and if i do , it's only when i'm on a cycle .... there are far more effective chest building exercises that don't stress the shoulder half as much .
When guys in the gym ask one another " how much can you bench ? " I return the question " how many dips can you do ? "
Switch your benchpress routine for dips and you'll soon figure out what i'm talking about and realize how weak you really are .