Tom Platz Leg Workout: How to Get Bigger Quads

In bodybuilding circles, it’s a well-known fact that the king of legs, specifically quads, is no doubt the legendary Tom Platz. Branch Warren is also an honorable mention who somatotropin hormone has built some pretty insane legs. Men like Platz and Warren are who many bodybuilders have set as the benchmark of building absolutely insane legs. Even Bakhar Nabieva has cited Tom Platz as her inspiration for building her lower half. So, if you’re being compared to Platz in any way, then you must surely have some insane legs.

What Does Tom Platz Leg Workout Look Like?

Tom Platz is a legendary athlete, ahead of his time. He first built the huge muscles of his legs and set this trend of such muscle development. But the whole paradox is that like many geniuses in other spheres, Platz was underestimated in due time.

During his appearances at the Mr. Olympia contest (1979 – 1986), insanely huge leg muscles were considered a sign of disproportion and imbalance in muscle groups, and the judges were simply not ready for it. But over time, in the mid-80s, bodybuilders best steroids for women gradually began to make a more solid emphasis on the legs in their training.

In many respects, the reason for this was precisely Tom Platz. The fact is that other pro-bodybuilders competing with him at Mr. Olympia, participated in the Kamagra aanbieding mandatory comparative position, which is held simultaneously between several participants in turn. In the comparison of the leg muscles, all the competitors were divided into two categories:

1) Tom Platz;

2) All the rest.

This is amazing, but he excelled at all times, both by the volume of quadriceps, and by their relief, and also by the general separation of quadriceps and biceps hips!

However, gradually more and more athletes began to increase the volume of their leg muscles and approach the standards of Tom Platz.

Viewers liked such changes and judges began to evaluate it from a better side by changing their criteria. Along with Lee Haney, the king of bodybuilding of the ’80s, and his broad back, the extreme quadriceps began to become fashionable.

Only Tom Platz, himself, had already completed his competitive career by that time as he was a veteran in professional bodybuilding, who participated in major contests for many years. In 1986, he performed at Olympia, just like the good old days.

In 1987, he appeared at the Detroit Pro and stopped competing in bodybuilding, becoming a trainer for himself, from time to time showing a master class in various strongman shows.

High Intensity Workout

He reports that while weighing less than 230 pounds, he squatted eight reps with 635 pounds and 52 reps with 350 pounds. On numerous occasions, he squatted for 10 minutes straight for more than 100 reps with 225 pounds.

This might seem like hyperbole, if not the fact that Platz is seen in a video shot in 1992 squatting 495 pounds for 23 reps with his thighs going below parallel.

So, what kind of leg exercises did Tom Platz do in his competitive years to achieve a record development and what scheme did he use in training?

The training of the legs of Platz has always been based on squats and his attitude to this exercise, in his own words, is very special. For him, squats are like a separate sport, which causes incomparable emotions in him. He considers squats as the main exercise for the legs.

Of course, his training program for legs is unlikely to suit an ordinary gym visitor, there are too many approaches, but it is important to see the order of the exercises, as well as the number of repetitions in the sets and draw some conclusions for yourself. It is always interesting to learn how the Legends of bodybuilding were practiced.

Tom Platz Leg Day

1. Back Squats: 8-12 sets, 5-20 reps
2. Hack Squats: 5 sets, 10-15 reps
3. Leg Extension: 5-8 sets, 10-15 reps
4. Leg Curls: 6-10 sets, 10-15 reps
5. Standing Calf Raises: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps
6. Seated Calf Raises: 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps
7. Hack Machine Calf Raises 3-4 sets, 10-15 reps.

Tips

• Ensure you warm up thoroughly before attempting this workout with stretching and mobility. Platz liked to perform a series of bodyweight squats before he even set foot in the gym.
• Keep your form as strict as possible and ensure you are going below parallel on each rep to maximize gains.
• Counting reps. Platz preferred to count his reps in sets of five as for him this was easier psychologically.
• Exertion. Attack every set with everything you have, Platz-style!

The intensity and volume of this workout may seem extreme when compared with the popular training protocols of today. With this particular routine, for example, you’re going to be performing between 33-47 sets a session. As such, this is very much an advanced workout.

However, it can be adapted; for example, you could quite easily cut the volume in half to make it more achievable. Although, if you do modify this routine, make sure you still uphold the mantra of all-out hard work.

Ultimately, if you want huge legs you’re going to have to go through hell and back at the squat rack, over and over again.

Who Was Impressed by Tom Platz’s Quads?

Indeed, high rep squatting was the weapon of choice for one Korean bodybuilder who used this methodology to build his colossal, world-beating physiques. His name is Nam Eun Cho. He’s dubbed by many as “The Korean Tank” and “The Korean Tom Platz” thanks to his massive and aesthetic quadriceps.

Nam dominates the bodybuilding stages across Korea and beyond, taking part in international professional contests like Toronto Pro, New York Pro, and IFBB Vancouver Pro every year. There are no signs of Nam Eun Cho slowing down anytime soon with his accomplishments; he looks set to become the next big name in the Open Bodybuilding category.

Nam Eun Cho Leg Workout

As a fan of heavy compound lifts, Nam makes sure to thoroughly warm up his muscles before putting them under heavy pressure. By doing this, Nam not only decreases the chances of causing an injury to his muscles later on, but he also increases his strength by getting more blood and oxygen into his muscles.

Here is Nam Eun Cho’s shoulder workout, to keep all muscle groups in balance (in addition to massive legs!):

• Rotator Cuff Warm-ups – Here, Nam does few different exercises, one of his favorites being external and internal shoulder rotation with a band, or light-weight dumbbells. He also might add in a couple of sets of front and side dumbbell raises, just to be sure his shoulders are ready for heavyweights.
• Dumbbell Lateral Raises – This exercise is the staple of Nam’s shoulder workout. Here, he makes sure to exhaust the muscle by doing many sets; starting out light, then pyramiding it up to a weight he can barely lift for around 6 reps.
• Seated Smith Machine Shoulder Press – In this one, Nam isolates his shoulders without involving any stabilizer muscles. This helps him maximally focus on his middle deltoids, making them ‘burn’ by the time he’s done with the exercise.
• Rear Deltoids Raises – As with all previous exercises, Nam does many sets here, focusing on squeezing the muscle at the top, and moving the weight slowly on the way down.

After these exercises, Nam might do one more exercise, which is either dumbbell front raises or reverse peck deck machine flies for rear deltoids.

What we can learn from Tom Platz and Nam Eun Cho and their story goes like this: success doesn’t come overnight. However, those who are willing to put in the work, and stay consistent will eventually reach the same heights as those bodybuilders. With enough dedication and consistency, that can be you, too.