Crossfit DOES get results...no doubt. Not every cross fit gym has a nutrition plan to go with it though and the diet is going to just as important as the workout to lose that kind of weight that fast. The program I pasted is pretty comprehensive....it give a strict diet, a workout plan 5days a week, provides a video for EVERY day incase you don't know how to do certain exercises, and what supplements to take(even though I don't really agree with all of them). It essentially does exactly what you said...gets you up and running, no research involved. Its all done for you....and quite frankly it works. To be fair, if you go on the site there is also a cross fit version on this with diet plan and everything too. Either one would work...so would the cross fit I would imagine if they give him a good diet to follow.