Getbig Bodybuilding, Figure and Fitness Forums
Getbig Main Boards => Gossip & Opinions => Topic started by: pellius on January 21, 2014, 08:26:48 PM
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This is very long and far beyond the attention span of most getbiggers but for those who were fans of Tom Platz and the generation he was from where training and the mental and even spiritual aspects still played a very important role in their quest for greatness, may find this interesting and inspiring. Other than his quads I don't think Platz had great genetics for a top IFBB pros. He just wasn't put together nicely. But there were few as fiercely determined than he was and wring every ounce that he could out of mind body and spirit. When I saw the transformation he made in 1980, the biggest travesty ever in Olympia history and a true insult to Padilla and Platz, I became a fan and grew more as a fan the more I learned about him. I miss those days and the mind set of some of those bodybuilders.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tom Platz Talks Leg Training - Lara McGlashan-Volz
How Tom Platz Built Those Legs
Just starting out, I trained with Olympic lifters who taught me a reverence for the squat. They taught me that this is where life and death passes before your eyes, that this is the altar of weight lifting. But when I first came to Gold's in Venice the squat rack was cluttered and shoved in the back, an nobody used it. Sure, Arnold and Ed Corney used it in Pumping Iron, but that was more for show. When I started squatting a lot, people said I shouldn't because it would throw off my balance and symmetry. I did it anyway.
Because it was so taxing, I squatted only twice a month. It was like you were attempting something superhuman. To prepare for it, I'd get up at 5 a.m. and mentally talk to myself as encouragement and that helped make it easy in my mind. It never turned out that way, of course. It was always brutal, to the point where I'd go, "I think I felt the muscle tear off the bone. I think we should stop, Tony (Martinez)." And he's say, "You'll be okay. Rub it a little bit and you'll be fine." But I was good at talking myself into the idea of squatting, even though I knew the reality."
I'd put on my lifting shoes - I wore Adidas weightlifting shoes with a higher heel that tapered down to a thin sole - and they were part of my experience, physically and psychologically. I mean, would you go ice-skating without blades? Lifting shoes were that for me: an important piece of the puzzle that made my workout the experience that it was.
So I'd put on my shoes, grab my gear and drive from Malibu to Venice in my 1960 Corvette. As I pulled out of the garage the throaty rumble of the powerful engine would blend into my psyche and become part of my preparation as I drove. I'd purposely drive by the ocean to watch the waves smash powerfully against the rocks. If I thought about the workout too much, I'd get sweaty palms on the way to the gym and couldn't grip the steering wheel. Watching the ocean helped distract, and prepare me.
I'd pull into Gold's in Venice. It wasn't busy like it is today. There were only a few of us there, especially that early. And, of course, Tony would be there waiting for me, ready for the workout.
We'd go to the squat rack and I remember always stretching in front of the rack. I'd take the hurdler's position on the floor - one leg bent, the other straight - then lower my nose to my knee. As I stretched out I'd try to ease my mind, convince myself I was there to have fun, to just do one or two sets and call it quits. Sometimes we'd even cover the mirror with newspaper because I didn't want to see myself squat. I just wanted to feel it and experience it within my own being.
Of course this pre-workout time wasn't only about the stretching; it was also about emotionally and physically preparing for what was about to come. I'd touch the weights, the rack, the bar, and I'd have this almost religious reverence for them. I liked to use an old battered bar, slightly bent just enough so that it didn't roll off my shoulders when I was standing erect. I'd marked it with a plate, banged the plate on the collar so that I could remember which one it was, and I always wrapped a towel around the bar before I started my sets.
Done stretching, I'd put on my lifting belt - a little loose so that I could breathe - and Tony and I would warm up real slow. A set at 135 for 10 easy reps. Add another plate, nice and easy. Then we'd listen to Motown and we'd start progressing with the weight. Now 315. I'd leave space between the plates on purpose so when I came up from the squat, a real quick rep, the plates would jingle. The sound was very important to me. The music, the Motown and the plates jingling against one another - big, thick, 45-pound iron plates. That sound helped me time the reps and my movement. I liked to come up quickly with such speed that the bar would bend over my shoulders and the plates would crash together, and I relished that sensation! I'd do a quick 20 reps with 315 with all my senses focused.
One more 45 per side and Tony would put the collars on, knowing the exact space to get that sound. Tony would count off my reps . . . 10 . . . 20 . . . 30 - let's see how far we can go! When I'd get to the point where I couldn't do any more reps, Tony would say something like, "You OWN this exercise!" or "Go after it and GET IT!" He would conjure up six, eight, 10, 20 more reps out of me. Then I'd literally fall into the squat rack and jing! The plates would rattle and I'd fall to the floor. I'd take the belt off and all of a sudden I was gasping for air and I couldn't breathe. It felt like someone was driving knives into my legs, and my heart rate went through the roof. I couldn't see, I was sweating profusely, but eventually I'd come back.
(https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ6TP3B94keRKM7nVN6RHQVpHvJkZO1AKLYZWJkq8ss7QQ1krYB)
Sometimes it took me 20 minutes, but I always came back. When I could see properly again I'd go outside and breathe some fresh air, then come back in and say, "Okay, Tony, one more set!" And we'd go again.
On those days when I left the gym I was high. I thought, "I lived through this. I got through this. I can do anything in life." I'd keep my belt on loosely and walk to the car, thinking victory. I was one with my spirit and with God.
I trained legs every week, but the squats were so exhausting that I couldn't walk afterward and doing another exercise was simply out of the question. So I squatted twice a month and did other 'accessory' machine movements like leg extensions, leg curls, and hack squats on alternate weeks.
Leg Extensions
Back in the mid-80s this guy named Magic, who lived in a yellow school bus behind Gold's gym, made me a special lifting belt to strap myself into place onto the old leg extension at Gold's - the original one Joe Gold had made that Arnold, Draper, Zane, Corney and all of my mentor figures had used. I'd hurt my arm - I tore the biceps tendon off the bone - and although it had been repaired, hanging onto the leg extension machine put a lot of stress on my arm. The old machine was just a seat with no back and a bicycle chain attached to the weight stack. It was antiquated, even at that time, but I liked it because I felt Draper's fingerprints on it. A lot of people had no idea how to use the machine because it didn't have a back on it, but I knew. All I had to do was look at that machine and my legs grew.
I'd lock myself into the machine (using the belt Magic made), and hook my feet under the pad. I'd warm up with some light weight, like half a stack for a set of 10. Then I had this old, bent, beat-up pin that I'd put underneath the whole stack and hand a 100-pound plate off. Tony's job was to make sure that plate didn't fall of while I was doing my reps! Then I'd start: I'd pull this weight stack with the 100-pound plate as forcefully as I could up in the air, accelerating through the whole movement. Because the machine had to back, I'd lean forward, grab the back of the machine and at this point I was almost parallel to the floor! Then I'd lower the stack and plate back to the start, controlling its descent as I sat back up. A jackknife. Rep after rep, I'd feel the tension accumulating in my muscles. And when I dropped the weight at the bottom it'd bounce on the springs of the machine. I'd lift it again and my legs would light on fire. The intensity and the tension were indicative that growth was imminent. Separation, clarity, distinction, quality -- all the freaky stuff I lived for would be forthcoming.
I'd get 8-10 reps for the first 5 sets, then maybe 2-5 reps for the next 5. When I say 8-10 or 2-5,that's reps done on my own; I'm not counting the 15-20 forced reps -- baby reps, partial reps, negatives -- that Tony would assist me with. I'd raise the machine arm as high as I possibly could so that my quads were fully contracted. Then Tony would push down, in pulses almost, on the machine arm and I'd resist his pressure. He'd repeatedly push down,then let go, and I would bring it back up as high as I could. The weight would slowly get lower and lower because I was getting fatigued,and finally about 6 to 7 minutes later the set would be done. It was like a long, extended negative set with little pushes and pulls throughout. And that was just one set.
When the set was over I'd be in extreme pain, writhing around. And it was like an operation to get me out of that machine as a few guys unbuckled me and took the chains and straps off. Then I'd get up and hang onto the machine and gasp for air. But after a minute or two, Tony would look at me and say, "You ready? Let's go." And he'd lock me back into place again and I'd do 6-10 more sets.
Lying Leg Curls
I'd always do lying leg curls at the completion or our workout. We used the old Nautilus leg curl machine -- the one with a bicycle chain that made a ton of noise -- of course! Again, a very antiquated machine but the most effective one of all time, I believe. It's long gone but I still remember how it used to feel.
Because we did leg curls at the end of the workout, I was pretty tired and could only do like 1-4 sets, but I'd change it up to achieve failure. Sometimes I'd do 50 reps with moderate weight, or I'd use tons of weight for only 3 reps. The workouts depended on my mood and my level of exhaustion.
For the curls I'd do a number of reps on my own, then I'd have Tony grab my ankles and push down very, very slowly. I'd fight back the whole time and the negative part of the set might last a whole minute. Two sets like that and I was finished.
Hack Squats
Hack squats were very, very meaningful in terms of bringing out the sweep in my quads. Initially when I was developing my training protocol I tried to do hacks after my barbell squats. But because I could barely walk after squatting I had no strength to do them, so I did the hacks on alternate weeks, too.
In the machine, I was taught to put my heels together and point my toes out. That way you primarily squat on the lateral edge of your foot, putting tension on the vastus lateralis, which gives the thighs a sweep.
I'd do a warmup set with a few plates on each side to get my head on right -- of course leaving some space between the plates so they'd jingle and give me that sound I loved -- then I'd do hack squats until I couldn't do any more. Sometimes I'd have four 45-pound plates on each side for 8-10 reps. Other times I'd have a quarter or a dime on their for 50 reps. The weight didn't matter. I'd go for that mental connection to my body and my legs. I wanted to feel and grow that tension to the point where I knew it was going to be effective in the muscles becoming larger, more striated or more substantial.
I'd do several reps on my own, then I'd have Tony push down on the machine while I'd do partial reps. Or sometimes I'd have Tony sit on the machine, hang onto it and pull, and I'd do baby reps, partial reps, isometrics and negatives. Whatever it took to completely exhaust the muscles to the point of absolute failure -- then go beyond that into the red zone. We'd do a total of about 6-10 sets of hack squats.
Calf Raises
We would actually go to World Gym down the street to do calves. That's where Arnold and Frank and a lot of other guys were training at the time, and since our hard, focused work was through we could spare a little energy and joke around there. Plus they had better calf machines!
We'd change our routine a lot and sometimes we'd do standing calf raises. I'd have Tony and a couple of other guys hanging off the machine, and I'd be holding the weight as high as I could for as long as I could. Other times I'd do as many reps as I could for one set and call it a day. We also did seated calf raises. I'd have as many as 15 100-pound plates stacked on there. I'd do my reps then have Tony push slightly, pumping it with baby movements until I couldn't sustain the tension.
One time the seated calf machine actually broke! It shot me out of the machine like a bullet. Joe Gold was freaking out and yelling at everybody and I'm like, "What happened?" This was two weeks before the Olympia in 1981 and after a few moments my ankle started to swell up. I iced it and it was okay, but it was still a little swollen. If you look closely at the '81 Olympia photos you'll notice a difference in my ankles. One looks swollen. That's what it's from.
Intensity
I wasn't the most genetically gifted bodybuilder, but my attitude prevailed. I attribute my physical success to my dedication and my training. It really started in Michigan, the craziness. In college, we'd plan a yearly squat-off to see who could do the most reps. We'd plan it for a whole year and I dreaded it for a whole year. I remember when the day came I did 225 for 10 minutes without stopping at all. I don't remember how many reps it was, but I do remember vowing never to do that again! But I just went there. It was part of my mentality.
When I first moved to California I actually trained with Arnold for a while. I figured if his training system worked for him and Franco, it should work for me, too. But it didn't! I got smaller and fatter training with Arnold. He trained twice a day, six days a week, sometimes seven, and used lots of sets and decent weight. I got depressed because I was shrinking and took a few weeks off. When I came back I decided to train four days a week, and I grew. Arnold responded to high frequency and high volume; I responded better to less volume and frequency but much higher intensity and heavy weights. Later I realized I was doing a primitive form of periodization, working both types of muscle fibers. But back then all I knew is that I was growing!
I did, however, borrow the idea of extending my sets beyond the standard from Mike Mentzer. I'd watched him and his partner training on the leg extension machine one day: Mike would lift the weight to the top then his partner would push down slowly as Mike would resist. So I tried it and Oh My God! I felt like I'd never trained before! My quads were burning and my muscles were firing and I simply had to incorporate this concept into my training.
I discussed it with my training partner Tony and we came up with our own version of that kind of extended set. We incorporated their ideas with some of my powerlifting background where you'd do partial reps in a power rack. We came up with a set that included negatives, forced reps, partner-assisted reps, isometrics -- everything came into play in the course of one single set. We moved the weight until physically, absolutely, neither one of us could move it any more. The longer the set, the harder it became and the more I knew it would work. Of course, there was a huge benefit-to-risk ratio. I had to ask myself, "How far do I want to push a contraction before it becomes detrimental?" I was willing to toy around in that red zone.
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Nice find! Thx
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Awesome article
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Wow! You guys read it? The whole thing? Impressive.
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The Tom Platz Wig.
Big J walked through the putrid streets of Chinatown, the nauseating stench of dead cats and chickens blended obscenely with the cheap perfume of slanty eyed transvestite hookers. And every few feet a choking cloud of carbon monoxide drenched cigarette smoke exhaled by the busted faces of oriental slaves who spent twenty hours a day slaving over the slop known as Chinese Food and the other four playing Mahjong and picking the lice out of their pubes. In the midst of all this colourful confusion, Big J saw it in a store front window. A man's blonde wig; medium length and parted to the side with a hint of sideburn. Big J entered the shop and was met by a toothless gook who looked about a hundred and ten years old. He wanted fifty bucks for the wig and Big J countered with ten. After some loud bickering the old man said twenty and the two men shook hands. Big J walked back out into the mean streets of Chinatown with a lilt in his step. Excitedly, he entered the Dragon's Chef Authentic Mandarin Cuisine restaurant and stole into the Men's Room. The rancid odor of decades old urine didn't bother him as clumsily pulled his new prize out of it's plain brown wrapping and placed it upon his head. He looked into the mirror and froze. Tom Platz was looking back.
Big J wasn't always so big. As a child Big J-or Jonathan, as he was then known- was neither here nor there. Neither bully nor victim. A nobody who slid through through cracks. Teachers forgot his name and girls didn't know he existed. When he was fourteen all that changed. He discovered a rusty old set of weights as he played at the town dump. He dragged it home to his basement and began instinctively pressing the barbell up and down over his head, and curling it like his dad's prison friends used to talk about. He saved his paper route money and soon purchased a copy of Joe Weider's Bodybuilding System from the local bookstore. He added more exercises to his repetoire of muscle pumping movements: barbell rows, bench presses, flyes, crunches, triceps extensions and Squats. While his buddies at school seemed to focus on bench pressing and curling, Jonathan found he responded quickly to the squats. His thighs bulged bigger with every leg workout, and soon his friends were having to lift the barbell and rest it on Jonathan's shoulders. His upper body development was mediocre at best, yet his legs, or "quads" as he was soon calling them were exceptional. Jonathan changed his name to Big J and devoted his life to bodybuilding. He did it all: the gyms, the muscle mags, the supplements; the eventual introduction to orals and the graduation to the needle. His legs blew up like tree trunks and stretched the limit of his pants.
Then he found himself in the city. It looked promising at first. But then plans fell apart like houses of cards in that unforgiving wind called Reality. First he bombed in a couple of contests. The plans to own a gym crumpled. The hopes of owning a supplement store were dashed. Big J found himself hustling a couple of quick bucks in men's rooms in the back of porn theaters. A setback he called it. Hard times became Big J's companions. He was 25 then 35 then 40 but swore he felt like18. It wasn't over. He needed an angle, he told himself. And he found it. That day. In Chinatown. He found it.
The Tom Platz Wig.
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This just inspire me I am going to do some hardcore squats next leg day
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very nice....thanks!
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We want more Tom Platz Wig!
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"Magic" is Magic Schwartz. Long time friend. Good dude. Hell raiser, a real one.
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The old machine was just a seat with no back and a bicycle chain attached to the weight stack. It was antiquated, even at that time, but I liked it because I felt Draper's fingerprints on it.
:-X
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Wow! You guys read it? The whole thing? Impressive.
I didn't read but I bet he somehow forgot to mention the GH he got his hands on in his days as professional....
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He's a 2nd hand car salesman now. Hope this helps :/
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Wow! You guys read it? The whole thing? Impressive.
Huge Platz fan! No homo because I'm also a huge fan of the naked female body.
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Cool stuff. I've been training legs twice a week again and this really gives me a ton of motivation. 8)
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I train legs every day for a change.
one set of extension to failure followed by one set of hack squat to failure.
Decent quad mass added.
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"Magic" is Magic Schwartz. Long time friend. Good dude. Hell raiser, a real one.
Tom, do you still have contact? What became of all the footage he shot of Platz?
THE BEEF
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good read
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Cool stuff. I've been training legs twice a week again and this really gives me a ton of motivation. 8)
2X DAMN,,seen your upper body'great'legs need 2x?i do them hard like platz lite in terms movements /volume ,if I did 2 wk they probably would look stupid relative to upper body.platz was freak no doubt.
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2X DAMN,,seen your upper body'great'legs need 2x?i do them hard like platz lite in terms movements /volume ,if I did 2 wk they probably would look stupid relative to upper body.platz was freak no doubt.
Yeah, man. I've been doing lots of the stepper when I workout and it blows up the calves. Haven't trained them directly in years, really no need other than stepper and stretching. And getting the legs pumped twice a week feels great. Squat once, then just a light workout.
I'll admit, I still have trouble getting in the gym on leg day and getting amped up versus something like arm day. But once the blood is flowing it's easy to get sucked into the workout. Sounds like Platz got right into the fucking zone. It's been a long time since I've had workouts where I was in a trance like that lol
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I`m ready to hit the gym again,and I just got back a couple of hours ago.
Inspiring stuff that psyches me up bigtime.
We still have an old Nautilus Leg Curl machine at our gym,but for some reason,my hamstrings are not Plastzesque! :D
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I`m ready to hit the gym again,and I just got back a couple of hours ago.
Inspiring stuff that psyches me up bigtime.
We still have an old Nautilus Leg Curl machine at our gym,but for some reason,my hamstrings are not Plastzesque! :D
If you ham curl on the Nautilus machine, they will come. 8)
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Yeah, man. I've been doing lots of the stepper when I workout and it blows up the calves. Haven't trained them directly in years, really no need other than stepper and stretching. And getting the legs pumped twice a week feels great. Squat once, then just a light workout.
I'll admit, I still have trouble getting in the gym on leg day and getting amped up versus something like arm day. But once the blood is flowing it's easy to get sucked into the workout. Sounds like Platz got right into the fucking zone. It's been a long time since I've had workouts where I was in a trance like that lol
I FIGURED U DID LIGHT/HEAVY DAY 8)
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If you ham curl on the Nautilus machine, they will come. 8)
Thank you sir,I`m never gonna` quit in my quest for sexy ass hammies!! :D
(no homo) ???
:D
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Thank you sir,I`m never gonna` quit in my quest for sexy ass hammies!! :D
(no homo) ???
:D
You know these endeavors mean nothing without a full glute spread. 8)
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excellent thread!
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.
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Wow! You guys read it? The whole thing? Impressive.
HaHa Yes I did. I've always liked Platz. He has an interesting take on things :)
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Thank you sir,I`m never gonna` quit in my quest for sexy ass hammies!! :D
(no homo) ???
:D
sldl are my favorite for hams dbell/bar ..I do rear leg curls like 21's at times like biceps//
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1981 Mr. O
(in my opinion) anyway
WOOOSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH
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You know these endeavors mean nothing without a full glute spread. 8)
Dat`s what I`m tryin` to say homeslice!
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sldl are my favorite for hams dbell/bar ..I do rear leg curls like 21's at times like biceps//
I love SLD`s,I get sore hams everytime I do the fucking things no matter how frequently do them.
NJ,try doing a full rep on the leg curl,followed by a half rep,followed again by a full rep,and so on.......
Thank me later,or kill me later.....you decide! :D
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1981 Mr. O
(in my opinion) anyway
WOOOSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I think Padilla should have won,but anyone other than Franco to be sure.
One of the "sports" biggest travestys ever.
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Wow! You guys read it? The whole thing? Impressive.
When I read it,I read it in my head silently,but my lips were moving as I sounded out the words! LOL :D
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Epic 5 posts in a row fucking MELTDOWN!!
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Not many could hang with Tom Platz when it came to his leg workouts. He squat workouts are legendary.
During my prime, my intensity level was 80-90% of what Platz did. I can remember feeling very nervous on leg day before my workouts. I easily had the best legs in the gym. My best weight/reps are as follows:
At 180lbs, all natural...
225 lbs = 60 reps (try this sometime... it's literally an "out of body" experience)
315 = 35 reps
405 = 18 reps
495 = 10 reps
575 = 5 reps
I never attempted a single.
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I love SLD`s,I get sore hams everytime I do the fucking things no matter how frequently do them.
NJ,try doing a full rep on the leg curl,followed by a half rep,followed again by a full rep,and so on.......
Thank me later,or kill me later.....you decide! :D
I'VE DONE IT..partials like bicep curls top to mid point /bottom to mid/then full reps it kills
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Excellent Article you posted Pellius.
Thanks.
Tom Platz Mr Olympia 1980.
Worst result ever at a Olympia.
Danny Padilla was awesome also.
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there is something bizarre fetish like about such big legs
was he ever married or at least seen with women?
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THAT IS NOT TOM PLATZ! That is his lesbian sister. Don't do this to me. Take this picture down.
* breaks down in tears while cutting myself *
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Not many could hang with Tom Platz when it came to his leg workouts. He squat workouts are legendary.
During my prime, my intensity level was 80-90% of what Platz did. I can remember feeling very nervous on leg day before my workouts. I easily had the best legs in the gym. My best weight/reps are as follows:
At 180lbs, all natural...
225 lbs = 60 reps (try this sometime... it's literally an "out of body" experience)
315 = 35 reps
405 = 18 reps
495 = 10 reps
575 = 5 reps
I never attempted a single.
GEEZUS,that`s insane!!
Props.
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I'VE DONE IT..partials like bicep curls top to mid point /bottom to mid/then full reps it kills
Yup,that shit hurts.
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"Magic" is Magic Schwartz. Long time friend. Good dude. Hell raiser, a real one.
Is that Terry Funk in the 3rd pic?
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Not many could hang with Tom Platz when it came to his leg workouts. He squat workouts are legendary.
During my prime, my intensity level was 80-90% of what Platz did. I can remember feeling very nervous on leg day before my workouts. I easily had the best legs in the gym. My best weight/reps are as follows:
At 180lbs, all natural...
225 lbs = 60 reps (try this sometime... it's literally an "out of body" experience)
315 = 35 reps
405 = 18 reps
495 = 10 reps
575 = 5 reps
I never attempted a single.
Haha yeah bro, not many know the feeling of being nervous about your upcoming leg day. And the greatest sense of relief when your last set is done because you don't have to endure that physical pain for another 6 days. 8)
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Dat`s what I`s tryin` to say homeslice!
"Homesclice"? Has anybody even used that term since 1991? and you were too old then too then to use it. Nothing more embarrassing than an old guy trying to talk like the younger generations.
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"Homesclice"? Has anybody even used that term since 1991? and you were too old then too then to use it. Nothing more embarrassing than an old guy trying to talk like the younger generations.
Hey go kick rocks, kid.
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(http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=515145.0;attach=551892)
Tom is looking decidedly like a flat chested grandmother in her early fifties with a blond bob haircut and a silk Hawaiian blouse on. Like all champions in the age of drugs (albeit less dependent that the current crop of crap chumps), his genetics came from a syringe.
Age and testicular atrophy weigh heavily upon us all, but perhaps more so on former greats like Mr. Platz.
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I've recently lost track of Tom. Very very good guy.
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1981 Mr. O
(in my opinion) anyway
WOOOSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH
tom is a legendary icon but I think this is shopped? His thighs n calves look disproportionately longer n larger than they should be?
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(http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=515145.0;attach=551892)
Tom is looking decidedly like a flat chested grandmother in her early fifties with a blond bob haircut and a silk Hawaiian blouse on. Like all champions in the age of drugs (albeit less dependent that the current crop of crap chumps), his genetics came from a syringe.
Age and testicular atrophy weigh heavily upon us all, but perhaps more so on former greats like Mr. Platz.
STOP IT! This is NOT Tom Platz! It's his lesbian sister. She is in fact wearing a silk Hawaiian blouse here. I know. I live in Hawaii. I know my Hawaiian blouses. Tom would never wear a blouse of any ethnicity. It's his sister! She once had a relationship with Ellen Degenerates.
This is Tom Platz. He's living the dream.
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lqZkGBvFfT8/T-YLgP_RKvI/AAAAAAAAFbg/exXq-rWPJnY/s1600/Tom%2BPlatz%2B%285%29.jpg)
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Tom Platz was a legend
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Tom Platz was a legend
X2
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The golden eagle 8)
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Not many could hang with Tom Platz when it came to his leg workouts. He squat workouts are legendary.
During my prime, my intensity level was 80-90% of what Platz did. I can remember feeling very nervous on leg day before my workouts. I easily had the best legs in the gym. My best weight/reps are as follows:
At 180lbs, all natural...
225 lbs = 60 reps (try this sometime... it's literally an "out of body" experience)
315 = 35 reps
405 = 18 reps
495 = 10 reps
575 = 5 reps
I never attempted a single.
Excellent, sir! I salute you!
Some of mine:
SQUATS-
300 lbs. 50 reps.
225 lbs. 100 reps.
Four set session:
1st set 515 lbs. 20 reps.
2nd set 535 lbs. 20 reps.
3rd set 585 lbs. 5 reps.
4th set 515 lbs. 20 reps.
Inverted leg press (the best kind) 700 lbs. 50 reps.
Leg extensions (broke the machine) 750+ lbs. 10 reps.
Leg curls 350 lbs. 10 reps.
Bench press - Fuggetaboutit. I sucked at bench and barely got 350 lbs. for one rep. ;D
Bodyweight for these was between 225 lbs. and 250 lbs. at a height of 6' 1" or so. I never did a single on the squat but have had it estimated by a couple of coaches to have been at least 700 lbs. Leg training was what made me big and strong. Now I am just a regular guy. Dammit! ;D
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Excellent, sir! I salute you!
Some of mine:
SQUATS-
300 lbs. 50 reps.
225 lbs. 100 reps.
Four set session:
1st set 515 lbs. 20 reps.
2nd set 535 lbs. 20 reps.
3rd set 585 lbs. 5 reps.
4th set 515 lbs. 20 reps.
Inverted leg press (the best kind) 700 lbs. 50 reps.
Leg extensions (broke the machine) 750+ lbs. 10 reps.
Leg curls 350 lbs. 10 reps.
Bench press - Fuggetaboutit. I sucked at bench and barely got 350 lbs. for one rep. ;D
Bodyweight for these was between 225 lbs. and 250 lbs. at a height of 6' 1" or so. I never did a single on the squat but have had it estimated by a couple of coaches to have been at least 700 lbs. Leg training was what made me big and strong. Now I am just a regular guy. Dammit! ;D
20 reps with over 500 lbs! Is this all below parallel? What kind of quads have you developed? I couldn't even hold 500lbs on my shoulders without being crushed.
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tom platz only squatted twice a month
i guess the golden eagle was a more like a little chicken
bok bok!
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20 reps with over 500 lbs! Is this all below parallel? What kind of quads have you developed? I couldn't even hold 500lbs on my shoulders without being crushed.
All reps were done to parallel or just below or they didn't count. My thighs were 28". I had some powerlifting friends that convinced me that the squat (via tales of J.C. Hise) would turn me into a man. It did.
This was done over 30 years ago. Two or three years ago I was still capable of sets of 20 to 30 with up to 350 lbs (usually 320 lbs). The leg extension on my home gym can only hold 225 lbs so I worked up to a single set of 100 reps with that weight.
Per my doctors, those days are now gone. I am going to be 57 years old soon. I have to be more careful now. I'm convinced the squat did make me shrink a bit faster height wise! Dammit!
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Squatting will change your whole mind set. I remember squatting every week, and really trying to give it my best. Felt like I could walk through walls and take a bullet without stopping.
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Platz was inspirational for sure, look up his "squat marathon" on YouTube, insane intensity!
My squat "war story" isn't about me (my best was only 225 for 15 ass to the floor, pause reps--I know not impressive to most guys here :-/ but in the college wrestling room at Lehigh University assistant coach Kerry McCoy (national champ, 2 time Olympian in freestyle wrestling--heavyweight) decided to show everyone they were slacking and not pushing their strength and conditioning to the limit. He used the squat as his example, and did 50 reps with 405 lbs. Never saw anyone come close to that, hell 50 reps with one plate (135 lbs) is impressive to me!
I might post this in its own thread just cuz I've always been curious how many others have performed this or similar squat records. Impressed the hell out our wrestling team for sure. ;-)
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When Tom talks about wearing weightlifting shoes,has anyone else worn these for squating,and if so,is there any difference compared to raising your heels up on a board.
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Not many could hang with Tom Platz when it came to his leg workouts. He squat workouts are legendary.
During my prime, my intensity level was 80-90% of what Platz did. I can remember feeling very nervous on leg day before my workouts. I easily had the best legs in the gym. My best weight/reps are as follows:
At 180lbs, all natural...
225 lbs = 60 reps (try this sometime... it's literally an "out of body" experience)
315 = 35 reps
405 = 18 reps
495 = 10 reps
575 = 5 reps
I never attempted a single.
LOL, I only thought I got nervous before my leg workouts!! When I knew of the pain, nauseau, aching pump, big weights and inability to walk afterwards I would get nervous. Always did my leg workouts and built tree trunks, but always had some nerves each week.
Thought I was the only one LOL. :D
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All reps were done to parallel or just below or they didn't count. My thighs were 28". I had some powerlifting friends that convinced me that the squat (via tales of J.C. Hise) would turn me into a man. It did.
This was done over 30 years ago. Two or three years ago I was still capable of sets of 20 to 30 with up to 350 lbs (usually 320 lbs). The leg extension on my home gym can only hold 225 lbs so I worked up to a single set of 100 reps with that weight.
Per my doctors, those days are now gone. I am going to be 57 years old soon. I have to be more careful now. I'm convinced the squat did make me shrink a bit faster height wise! Dammit!
So you, as a natural, did more than Tom Platz, a juiced bodybuilder who had some of the strongest legs ever?
Riiiiiight ::)
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When someone says "below parallel" in 9 cases out of 10 it really means 5 inches above.
You really have to see it before you can judge the claim.
I can hardly even hit parallel due to poor flexibility, have to have a board under my heels to get below. I can sink it as low as I can get and would get red lighted at an IPF meet.
Most don't know what below parallel means.
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He looked as shit, lucky to make top 5 Mr O, no symmetry.
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When someone says "below parallel" in 9 cases out of 10 it really means 5 inches above.
You really have to see it before you can judge the claim.
I can hardly even hit parallel due to poor flexibility, really have to have a board under my heels to get below. I can sink it as low as I can get and would get red lighted at an IPF meet.
Most don't know what below parallel means.
Lol bro I was just gonna start a thread that said this. I've seen people's "parallel." True parallel is damn hard to do. Ass to grass is like 3" below true parallel. That's why I never get excited when I hear people's squat claims. Manhandling 315 A2G slow and controlled is way way more impressive to me than a 5 or 6 plate half squat.
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Platz aint got nuthin on 405 for 50 rep squatting "Kerry McCoy" ::)
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That's nothing, at 155lbs Drug Free I would squat
315 x 8000
405 x 5000
675 x 2000
then 765 for 999 reps superset with leg presses with 20 plates a side
Sadly the batteries ran out on my camera before every session
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So you, as a natural, did more than Tom Platz, a juiced bodybuilder who had some of the strongest legs ever?
Riiiiiight ::)
Not a problem. I understand your disbelief all too well. I noticed you and others didn't seem to have a "problem" with my wimpy bench press pronouncement. ;D
But what I said I did, I actually did and again, I have no problem with you saying, "no way". It's odd that outside power lifters no one ever asked me how much I could squat or deadlift, it's always been "how much can you bench?" And I answered that honestly too. I sucked at bench pressing.
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Lee Priest bought up all Platz used trunks. Lee hangs them on the wall close to his bed in easy sniffing range...
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Lee Priest bought up all Platz used trunks. Lee hangs them on the wall close to his bed in easy sniffing range...
Damn! So he's the one who horded them all.
Bitch!
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Damn! So he's the one who horded them all.
Bitch!
Yes, what chance do po' folks like us have of ever experiencing the nirvana of Golden Eagle Manties?