Tom Platz' leg routine

[sgt. d]

32 sets for thighs is a bit much.


Over training.

Milos you do 300,000 exercises just for one bodypart. 

[onlyme]

about how many sets did platz do on leg day, total?

I didn't count but it was a good hour at least.

[dzulboy]

32 sets for thighs is a bit much.


Over training.

yeah his legs look underdeveloped 

[JOHN MATRIX]

u gotta love platz, had average genetics and yet became one of the most famous bbers of all time through sheer willpower YESSSS MORE!! KILL ME!!!!!
brutal intensity.

[Swedish Viking]

about how many sets did platz do on leg day, total?

not including calves, 6 to absolute max 10

[MarvinEderFan]

onlyme, what were the most impressive lifting feats you saw platz perform? on squats, etc

[Van_Bilderass]

comeon man you don't honestly believe he was doing 8-12 sets when he was doing reps of 15-20 do you? like i said earlier i had an old "Powerlifter Video" from 11-12 years ago with a segment on Tom on it and the guy did ONE set of squats with 335 for 40 below parallel with a close stance and then some extensions and that's it, the 8-12 sets were for when he did 3's and 5's which he would do on occasion.

I remember an MD article about a decade ago where he said he did 2 "death sets" of squats and that was it. He had a yearly plan, lowered the reps as the months went by and actually went to a max single at the end of the year. Towards the end of the year he stopped leg training for a month and only rode his bike. "This is when the legs come out" he said.

For recovery after leg workouts he drank expensive cognac and had a cigar. 

[Meso_z]

onlyme, what were the most impressive lifting feats you saw platz perform? on squats, etc

I would like to hear that too..

And squadfather do you still have the video? if you could post the clip on youtube it would be great....

[The Squadfather]

I would like to hear that too..

And squadfather do you still have the video? if you could post the clip on youtube it would be great....

i wish i still had it, it was a VHS tape that's how old it was but i haven't been able to find it, Powerlifter Video used to advertise in Powerlifting USA years ago and on this one Tom trains legs at Gold's Venice and the whole gym was literally cheering Tom on watching him do that set.

[onlyme]

onlyme, what were the most impressive lifting feats you saw platz perform? on squats, etc

To be honest I really didn't look around that much when I was training.  the times I mostly saw guys lift was when I was sitting around or walking to get a drink.  The guy I trained with back then was Ron Depolito and he was on me all the time.  There was hardly any talking or sitting around.  He would do his set and I would have to immediately do mine.  I really didn't then and still now hardly pay attention to others in the gym.  There are certain things I remember though vividly and the standing calf thing is one of them cause I was sitting right next to the machine.  I seen him squat plenty of times but really don't remember that he did anything special in ways of weight or I probably would remember.  Like when Bertil Fox came in the gym and bench 500 with no warmup or anything.  I remember that as did probably everyone there especially Kal Skylak (?sp).  Since he was going around telling everyone who that was. 

[pkaz]

about how many sets did platz do on leg day, total?

The only time Platz was doing two sets of squats was years after his legs were massive and he was trying to bring his upper body up. 8 to 10 sets of squats was the norm. But remember the first 5 to 6 six sets were basically warm ups to get to a heavier weight. Going all out was on the last few sets only.  I trained with Platz a few times  in World Gym in the early 80s and he did a lot of sets and the last few were to failure and beyond. He was extreme.  Onlyme was there also..

[The Squadfather]

The only time Platz was doing two sets of squats was years after his legs were massive and he was trying to bring his upper body up. 8 to 10 sets of squats was the norm. But remember the first 5 to 6 six sets were basically warm ups to get to a heavier weight. Going all out was on the last few sets only.  I trained with Platz a few times  in World Gym in the early 80s and he did a lot of sets and the last few were to failure and beyond. He was extreme.  Onlyme was there also..

not flaming at all but do you have any pics or any more stories?

[YoungBlood]

In an interview I have with Platz, they asked him how many sets he did and there were two answers....

On Day One, he did around 10-12 sets, including warm-ups.
On Day Two, he did 6-8 sets, NOT including warm-ups.

Why he included warm-ups on total set amount one day and not another is beyond me.

[MAXX]

yeah, i've read that warmups are important but stretching a lot causes injury.
Arnold's encyc said Platza did 15 min of stretching before lifting.  I actually stretched a lot yesterday before doing legs... turned out, after 2 sets of squats my hamstrings were burning so bad I had to move on to leg extensions then come back to hacks after they cooled down.

say what? hahaha stupid

[Van_Bilderass]

say what? hahaha stupid

Well, this depends on which expert you ask. Many say it's harmful if done to extremes as stability is inversely related to flexibility. Being too flexible would predispose you to injury. Then there were a few studies showing athletes who stretched had a higher rate of injury.

Edit. Here's one article after a quick search:

6/21/04
No bending or twisting
By Emily Sohn

Can't touch your toes? Don't sweat it. For decades, flexibility has been considered a key element of fitness. From the professional football field to the local health club, trainers have advocated stretching as part of a regular workout. But new research is showing that stretching does not prevent injuries or make you any less sore the next day. On top of that, it doesn't appear to improve performance.



Stretching might, in fact, cause more problems than it solves, say a growing number of researchers. This is especially true for women, who tend to suffer from knee, ankle, and other soft-tissue injuries far more often than men do. Extra flexibility might be to blame. "It is so hard to believe that stretching could somehow be the enemy," says exercise physiologist Stacy Ingraham of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. "But there has never been any science that actually put stretching into the athletic world."

Indeed, a recent review underscores how little support there is for the value of pulling, reaching, and twisting. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found only six studies designed to isolate the effects of stretching, and none showed a link between stretching more and getting hurt less, says lead researcher Stephen Thacker. In fact, says Ingraham, more-pliable muscles might cause more injuries than they prevent, especially if you stretch before you exercise. Baseball players are notorious for stretching before games, Ingraham says, yet they tear muscles and ligaments all the time. "One study showed that marathon runners who stretched had a higher rate of injuries than those that didn't," says fitness expert Jay Blahnik, author of Full-Body Flexibility .

But why? One explanation is that stretching muscle fibers makes them less stable and less able to resist the jarring impact of running or jumping. Stretching may hinder performance because a stretched muscle can't produce the same kind of force as an unstretched one. And as muscle fibers lengthen, it takes longer for the brain's messages to tell the muscles to move.

Rather than stretching, Blahnik and other experts encourage people to warm up by jogging slowly, lightly swinging a golf club, or doing whatever else they need to do to achieve the range of motion required for their activity. Strengthening and conditioning exercises are also helpful, Ingraham says, because fatigue and muscle weakness cause most injuries. The only reason stretching feels so good, she says, is that it results in tiny tears in the muscle fibers. The body then releases hormones that mask the pain.

Flexibility might even help explain why women are up to 10 times as likely as men to tear the anterior cruciate ligament in their knees, and four times as likely to have serious ankle sprains, among other injuries, Ingraham says. She studies a hormone called relaxin, which increases flexibility in women. Unlike men, women have receptors for the hormone in their ACL s and in their pubic ligaments. Levels of the hormone change throughout a woman's monthly cycle. In a study of 28 women over three months, Ingraham found, participants were more likely to get injured when levels of relaxin were highest. Stretching might have the same effect, she says.

Not all experts agree that stretching is all bad all the time. Light stretching is OK as part of a cool-down after a workout, Blahnik says, because it won't affect performance and won't cause injury. The key is to do stretches that stay within your normal range of motion. Most important of all, Thacker says, is that people keep moving. "We strongly believe that we want to have people exercising. We just don't want people going out and getting hurt.

[pkaz]

not flaming at all but do you have any pics or any more stories?

Squad,

I do not have any pictures as Joe Gold, who owned World Gym back then would not allow cameras in his gym (unless you were doing profession photo shoots). I met Platz in early 1979 when I was training at World. I trained there through the early and mid 80s and met and had the opportunity to work out with a number of the top guys from that era. Back then the training environment was a mix of professionism and enjoyment as opposed to business today.

As for Platz, he was one of the most intense BB I have ever meet. He trained a body part until he could not move the weight anymore. This include partials and then just rocking the weight. He did this with everthing. I used to spot him on laying leg raises where he would do as many as he could and then have me hold his legs while he tried to raise them. This would go on for 20 to 40 seconds. He did a lot of sets but backed off hitting legs so hard when they totally overpowered his upper body. Then he primarily did maintenance exercises and hit his upper body harder but still occasionally blasting legs a couple times a month.

[onlyme]

Squad,

I do not have any pictures as Joe Gold, who owned World Gym back then would not allow cameras in his gym (unless you were doing profession photo shoots). I met Platz in early 1979 when I was training at World. I trained there through the early and mid 80s and met and had the opportunity to work out with a number of the top guys from that era. Back then the training environment was a mix of professionism and enjoyment as opposed to business today.

As for Platz, he was one of the most intense BB I have ever meet. He trained a body part until he could not move the weight anymore. This include partials and then just rocking the weight. He did this with everthing. I used to spot him on laying leg raises where he would do as many as he could and then have me hold his legs while he tried to raise them. This would go on for 20 to 40 seconds. He did a lot of sets but backed off hitting legs so hard when they totally overpowered his upper body. Then he primarily did maintenance exercises and hit his upper body harder but still occasionally blasting legs a couple times a month.

Exactly.  NO cameras allowed in the gym.. Tony was the enforcer of this rule bigtime.  I saw him push some tourists who came down the stairs it was awesome.  Pkaz did you train at Worlds in the morning.  I trained every morning with Ron Depolito, did you know him.  He was a guy who provided the girls for the parties the guys had sometimes.  He drove a pink corvette at one time.  I heard he lost a leg and blamed the steroids on it.

[pkaz]

Exactly.  NO cameras allowed in the gym.. Tony was the enforcer of this rule bigtime.  I saw him push some tourists who came down the stairs it was awesome.  Pkaz did you train at Worlds in the morning.  I trained every morning with Ron Depolito, did you know him.  He was a guy who provided the girls for the parties the guys had sometimes.  He drove a pink corvette at one time.  I heard he lost a leg and blamed the steroids on it.

Keith,

I used to train in the afternoons between 2:00 and 5:00 PM except on Saturdays. And yes I knew Ron. You and I exchanged PM's about Ron in 2006. I knew Ron very very well. I was introduced to Ron by his cousin. I used to visit him at his Venice apartment and there was always a different gal exiting as I arrived... His owned a Gym in LA for awhile called LA City Gym but he lost it when he went to jail for "suppling those girls"....  He was an interesting guy to say the least..

[Disgusted]

Now we know why there are so few pics of Platz training. Good job Joe Gold. 

[onlyme]

Keith,

I used to train in the afternoons between 2:00 and 5:00 PM except on Saturdays. And yes I knew Ron. You and I exchanged PM's about Ron in 2006. I knew Ron very very well. I was introduced to Ron by his cousin. I used to visit him at his Venice apartment and there was always a different gal exiting as I arrived... His owned a Gym in LA for awhile called LA City Gym but he lost it when he went to jail for "suppling those girls"....  He was an interesting guy to say the least..

Yes I remember sorry.  He was introduced to me by Rose and Dan Keller.  did you know them.  Very beautiful red head with huge boobs.  He Bodybuilded but not sure if he competed.  It was fun back then.

[Max_Rep]

Where did you get that routine?  I worked with Platz for a while(he mentored me for 4-6 mos or so) and he told me he really didn't do more than 2 sets per exercise.

I watched him train all summer in 1981 and he ALWAYS did 4 or more sets (sometimes many more) per exercise.

[Max_Rep]

In an interview I have with Platz, they asked him how many sets he did and there were two answers....

On Day One, he did around 10-12 sets, including warm-ups.
On Day Two, he did 6-8 sets, NOT including warm-ups.

Why he included warm-ups on total set amount one day and not another is beyond me.

Because he didn't go in thinking "I'm going to do 4 sets there, 2 there, three there." He trained an exercise until he felt done. Then he'd move onto the next. He trained like a man possessed. I’ve never seen anyone even come close to Tom’s intensity… he made EVERYONE look like slackers. On many exercises it seemed like set after set after set. 

[pellius]

.

[MAXX]

I watched him train all summer in 1981 and he ALWAYS did 4 or more sets (sometimes many more) per exercise.

cool im going to start doing 8 set squats to now 

[Max_Rep]

cool im going to start doing 8 set squats to now 

So you took my post as a recommendation?  Good interpretation.  I was simply pointing out that the guy that said Platz only did 2 sets of an exercise was incorrect or maybe even more accurate would be that maybe after 1981 he changed his entire training strategy.