When people speak about leg development, one among the primary names that pops up is Tom Platz. He’s famously often known as “Quadzilla” due to his astonishingly developed leg muscles and insane leg workout routine.
Despite never really being at the highest of his sport, Tom saw some notable success and have become widely popular for his intense leg training. For many who are dedicated enough and possibly just a little crazy, I’ll use this text to interrupt down Tom Platz’s leg workout, exploring its advantages, exercises, and ceaselessly asked questions.
Table of Contents
- Tom Platz’s Leg Workout
- Who’s Tom Platz (Quadzilla)?
- Advantages of Tom Platz’s Leg Workout
- Often Asked Questions
- Final Thoughts
Tom Platz’s Leg Workout
If you should have one of the best lower body, you will have to coach just like the monster Tom Platz is. This comprehensive workout will work every muscle within the legs to grow them.
It’s value mentioning that even should you did this workout every leg day, you might not still see the identical results that Tom Platz saw. There are other things to think about, like genetics, lifestyle, nutrition, and other contributing aspects.
Along with your expectations more realistic, let’s break down the workout.
- Back Squat: 8-12 sets x 5-20 reps
- Hack Squat: 5 sets x 10-15 reps
- Leg Extension: 5-8 sets x 10-15 reps
- Leg Curl: 6-10 sets x 10-15 reps
- Standing Calf Raise: 3-4 sets x 10-15 reps
- Seated Calf Raise: 3-4 sets x 10-15 reps
1. Back Squats
In the case of compound movements, back squats are amongst one of the best for constructing overall strength and improving muscle engagement. They permit for heavier loads, construct quads and glutes, and strengthen stabilizer muscles.
The beauty of back squats is you can change the emphasis on which muscles are being focused by changing your stance and foot placement.
Tom Platz is an enormous advocate for a shoulder-width stance, with knees above the toes.¹ This permits for an increased range of motion and really prompts the quads.
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Arrange a barbell in a squat rack at or just under shoulder height and cargo it with an appropriate weight that challenges you but doesn’t cause you to interrupt form.
- Stand under the bar, feet shoulder-width apart, and grip the bar with each hands a bit wider than shoulder-width.
- Lift the bar from the rack and take a pair steps back to make sure you will have space.
- Keeping your chest up and tightening the core, lower your body by bending your knees and on the hips; imagine you are sitting back in a chair.
- To squat like Tom Platz, you’ll squat right down to the very bottom, also often known as ass to grass. In case you cannot, go down until your thighs are parallel to the bottom and even barely lower. Try to not let your knees push past your toes.
- Pause at the underside briefly after which push through your heels to return to the starting position, fully extending your hips and knees.
2. Hack Squats
Machine hack squats are an incredible exercise for torching the legs without worrying about stabilizing your upper body. In truth, Tom has been quoted as saying, “Hack squats are all you would like.”²
Hack squats make moving more weight at the next volume easier and use foot positions you would not often use with free weights. Tom would put his heels together like a duck, which puts more of the emphasis on the Vastus Lateralis, aka teardrop muscle.
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Position yourself in a hack squat machine, placing your shoulders under the pads, and your heels together identified like a duck.
- Unlock the machine and slowly lower the platform by bending your knees; make sure that to maintain your chest up and back straight.
- To get those Tom Platz quads, you’ll want to go down as little as possible, maintaining control throughout the movement.
- Push through your heels to start straightening your legs and return to the starting position, avoiding locking out your knees at the highest.
3. Leg Extension
Unlike compound movements that work multiple muscle groups, a leg extension machine helps you isolate the quads, resulting in larger, chiseled muscles. Tom Platz starts his leg extensions by going lighter but using more higher reps until failure.³
As you add more weight, concentrate on kicking high and fully contracting the quad muscles, keeping the strain the entire time.
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Sit on a leg extension machine together with your back flat against the backrest and your feet hooked under the padded bar.
- Adjust the machine so the padded bar rests comfortably against your lower legs near your ankles.
- Grab the handles on each side of the seat for stability, brace your core, and make sure that your toes are pointing in the identical direction.
- Extend your legs by straightening your knees and lifting the burden until your legs are fully prolonged.
- Tom says to overexaggerate this part and take a look at to kick even higher.
4. Leg Curls
Hamstring curls, especially the laying down version, are incredibly effective at isolating the hamstrings, especially the sartorius. Shockingly, Tom doesn’t really focus rather a lot on hamstring training.
Initially, he began with a lighter weight, going slowly and getting a full contraction. Eventually, he worked into forced reps for the last couple of sets, which implies that you just train them until failure after which get your workout partner to assist lift the burden.
Like quad extensions, foot placement plays a very important role in hamstring development.
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Lie down on the leg curl machine together with your knees barely off the sting of the bench and the padded bar against the back of your legs, closer to your ankles.
- Grasp the handles for stability and brace your core.
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Bend your knees to curve the burden towards your glutes, contracting your hamstrings.
- Within the above video, Tom kicks it back so hard that the pad hits his hamstrings.
Hold the contraction briefly, then slowly lower the burden to the starting position.
- If you will have a partner, do the last couple of sets with forced reps.
5. Standing Calf Raises
Standing calf raises work your gastrocnemius and soleus, that are the upper and lower calf muscles. To get essentially the most out of this exercise, go heavy and get an excellent stretch within the calves between sets.
Tom says he had essentially the most success training his calves twice weekly at the tip of the workout. Slowly and progressively, he would increase the burden, together with his goal simply to hold the burden in the center position.⁴
Step-by-Step Guide:
- Stand upright on a calf raise machine or a raised platform together with your shoulders back, and core engaged.
- Place the balls of your feet on the platform’s edge, allowing your heels to hold off.
- Hold onto the handles to assist with balance and stability.
- Rise onto your toes by extending your ankles as high as possible.
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Hold the contraction briefly at the highest, then lower your heels below the platform’s level.
- Once per week, step by step increase the burden and just hold in the center position to work the calves like Tom Platz.
6. Seated Calf Raises
Depending on foot placement, the seated calf raises goal more of the soleus’s development. Similar to the standing calf raises, Tom had one of the best success constructing the burden slowly and progressively, with the goal of holding the burden in the center position.
Specializing in a robust contraction at the highest of every rep will still result in significant gains for most individuals.
Step-by-Step Guide:
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Sit on a calf raise machine together with your feet flat on the platform and your knees bent at a 90-degree angle.
- Ensure that your feet are pointed in the identical direction, because the angle of your feet can change the main focus of the muscles targeted.
Hold the contraction briefly, then slowly lower the burden to the starting position.
- Once per week, step by step increase the burden and just hold in the center position to work the calves like Tom Platz.
Who’s Tom Platz (Quadzilla)?
Thomas Steven Platz, also known as “The Quadfather or Golden Eagle,” during his heyday left a mark on the bodybuilding world throughout the Nineteen Eighties. As an IFBB skilled, he took the stage in seven Mr. Olympia competitions, achieving a good third-place finish in 1981.
He also claimed the distinguished title of Mr. Universe in 1980. Despite his popularity amongst fans and notable successes, Platz never quite reached the highest of the game.
Most individuals attribute his failure to achieve this to the incontrovertible fact that while he had an incredible physique, his lower body was much larger than his upper body. His legacy lies in his legendary dedication and near insanity to training his legs, earning him a repute as one of the iconic figures in bodybuilding history.
Unlike lots of his competitors, Tom Platz remains to be involved in bodybuilding and is a highly sought-after coach. So, despite being in his late 60s, Tom continues to coach frequently, and his legs would still put most individuals to shame.
Advantages of Tom Platz’s Leg Workout
1. Comprehensive Leg Development
Platz’s workout targets all the key muscle groups within the legs, ensuring balanced and proportionate growth. By starting with back squats, a compound lift, you goal multiple muscle groups, like quads, glutes, hamstring, and calves, while having higher energy levels and more focus.
As you tire, you turn to isolation movements at high volumes to focus on specific muscle groups and reduce the danger of injury.
2. Increased Strength and Muscle Definition
Platz’s routine builds functional strength and muscle size by incorporating compound movements like squats and hack squats and having a various rep range. The wide rep range targets the muscle groups and fibers in a different way, making your muscles more well-rounded while resulting in significant strength gains.
Isolation exercises akin to leg extensions and leg curls help carve out detailed muscle definition, which may significantly improve the aesthetics of the legs.
Often Asked Questions
How big were Tom Platz’s legs?
As you will have learned throughout this text, Tom Platz’s leg size was legendary in bodybuilding. During his prime, his thighs reportedly measured around 32 inches in circumference.
Tom Platz had an incredible physique, but his massive legs were the defining feature of his physique, earning him the nickname “Quadzilla” and making him the guy people speak about as one among the best leg trainers in bodybuilding history.
How often did Tom Platz train legs?
Platz trained his legs twice per week, a workout regimen that some may consider extreme, even amongst skilled bodybuilders. This dedication to leg training was unparalleled, and he often pushed himself to the limit within the pursuit of perfection in his lower body development.
For most individuals, I’d recommend starting with one leg workout per week, and as your recovery improves, start implementing one other leg day every week.
Did Tom Platz win any Mr. Olympias?
Unfortunately, no. Tom Platz competed in several Mr. Olympia competitions throughout the Nineteen Eighties, together with his highest placement being third in 1981. Proportions are considered a very important a part of bodybuilding, and while his physique was incredible, many considered his proportions to be off.
Making it difficult for Tom ever to have a probability of placing higher than third. Despite not securing the highest spot, Platz’s influence and legacy endure, inspiring generations of bodybuilders to strive for greatness in leg training.
How will you modify the Tom Platz Workout?
A leg workout like this will be daunting and doubtless an excessive amount of to handle should you’re a beginner. You possibly can modify the Tom Platz leg workout to fit your needs by adjusting weights and reps, various which leg exercises you utilize, changing training frequency, incorporating supersets or circuits, adding plyometric or stability exercises, and utilizing tempo variations.
Final Thoughts
Beyond his physical achievements, Tom Platz’s legacy doesn’t stop at what he did on stage. He’s an incredible influence as a motivator, teacher, and icon of what leg development can seem like once you push yourself to the limit. Whether you are a seasoned competitor or a novice gym-goer, incorporating elements of Tom Platz’s leg workouts into your training regimen can result in greater gains and a deeper appreciation for bodybuilding.
If you should increase your muscle mass and overall physique, take a look at this text in regards to the man, myth, and legend Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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