The workout that made him the “Quadfather”
When you think of some of the greatest legs in bodybuilding, it is no doubt that legendary bodybuilder Tom Platz comes to mind, even in his older age, he still dons a set of shredded legs. The infamous Golden Era Bodybuilder is a man who truly believed in hardcore training, such as taking your sets until failure, and while some say this was nothing but junk volume, Platz had – and still has a fantastic set of legs. Tom Platz’s leg workout is an infamous one that many people try to replicate, and while you can find clips of Platz’s leg routine on YouTube, we wanted to break it down for you.
Who is Tom Platz?
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Full Name: Tom Platz |
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| Weight | Height | Date Of Birth |
| 225-235 lbs | 5’8″ | 1955 |
| Division | Era | Nationality |
| Bodybuilding | 1970, 1980 | American |
Tom Platz, who also goes by the names “The Golden Eagle” and “The Quadfather”, was a 70s and 80s era bodybuilder. He even stepped on the Mr. Olympia stage from 1979 to 1986, even competing against Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1980. Although Tom Platz never won a Mr. Olympia, this does not take away from how impressive his physique was on the stage, and he even managed to secure a third place finish in 1981, which was a stacked Olympia. Platz’s bodybuilding career is still remembered and celebrated by fans of the sport, with many aiming to train with the same intensity as him.
Standing at 5’7” tall, Platz reportedly weighed between 225 and 235 lbs in his prime, with his legs being more than 30 inches round. This is where many people say his downfall on the Olympia stage was, because Platz was far more bottom heavy than top heavy, lacking muscular symmetry.
So, how did he get his legs to the point they were?
Tom Platz Leg Workout
Well, here is what you came for, the workout Tom Platz did to build his infamous legs:
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
| Squats | 8-12 | 5-50 |
| Hack squat | 5 | 10-15 |
| Leg extension | 5-8 | 10-15 |
| Lying hamstring curl | 6-10 | 10-15 |
| Standing calf raise | 3-4 | 10-15 |
| Seated calf raise | 3-4 | 10-15 |
Now that you have seen the workout, let’s break each piece down.
Squats
Now many of you may think that a standard 5 x 5 program or sets of 8-12 are the way to go when it comes to squats. While those are effective, Tom Platz would take his squats to failure, which is definitely difficult, but is an effective way to build muscle. He is one of the biggest supporters of squats on this planet. His form was impeccable and clearly they worked for him.
But Platz didn’t just put the bar on his back and go through the motions, counting his reps and waiting to be done. He felt the mind muscle connection with every rep, and you can see in his pictures and videos that he squats with a full range of motion and good form, going as low as he can. The deeper the squat, the more of the stretch on the legs as a whole, recruiting more muscle fibers.
Not to mention, Platz performs high bar squats instead of low bar squats. This where the barbell sits higher on his shoulders, and enables him to keep a more upright back and achieve greater quad activation, as opposed to low bar squats where it will recruit more of the glutes and hamstrings, either way improving his physique.
It is also worth mentioning, Platz does not just do a simple program with his squatting. Instead, Tom Platz would perform a huge number of squat sets with various rep ranges including a lot of high-volume training, which really shocks the muscle and forces it to adapt. Lower rep ranges with heavier weight help him build strength, while higher rep ranges fatigue every fiber and stimulate growth.
Keep in mind that his high-rep sets were not just lightweight, they were still heavy and he was taking them to failure.
Hack Squats
The next exercise in Tom Platz’s leg workout are hack squats. The hack squat is essentially an inverted leg press where the sled sits on your shoulders, a position that somewhat mimics the high bar squat technique, where your back stays more upright. Although Tom Platz’s leg workout did not include any lifting gear besides a belt, the hack squat puts a lot of stress on the knees and using quality knee sleeves will enhance compression and support
To further isolate and put an emphasis on the quads, Platz utilizes a low foot placement and close stance, mimicking that of sissy squat placement. And he targets 10-15 reps on this exercise, which is ultimately to failure.
Leg Extensions
Third on the list of Tom Platz’s leg day exercises are the leg extensions, to really fine tune the quads. This is an isolation exercise, which means it focuses on a specific muscle group, in this case it is your quads. The leg extension forces your quads to work without any assistance from the hamstrings or glutes.
With 5-8 sets of 10-15 reps, you might need help getting off the leg extension machine, as these 10-15 reps should be pushing past failure and causing muscle fatigue.. These are not just 10-15 easy reps, but you should be barely getting those last few reps. Tom would even push beyond failure, doing partials after failing on his full reps.
Lying Hamstring Curl
The lying hamstring curl is a favorite of Tom Platz, and is the main thing he did for hamstrings, but he does not treat it any differently than the other movements. He treats it with the same intensity as he does with the other movements, going heavy within that 10-15/failure rep range, then pushing beyond that, all within 6-10 sets.
Standing Calf Raises
When it comes to the calves, Tom Platz would start with standing calf raises to get a nice, full stretch, and develop the upper part of the calves. Platz does 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps each, making sure he is really stretching the muscle.
Seated Calf Raises
The last exercise of Tom Platz’s leg day is the seated calf raise, for the underlying muscle in the calves. Like the standing calf raise, Platz performs 3-4 sets of 10-15 reps.
Is Tom Platz’s Leg Day Junk Volume?
Now, many people will say that Tom Platz’s leg day had consisted of a lot of junk volume and that no one can complete it without steroids. However, Platz has come out about his steroid cycle, and it was very minimal, especially compared to a lot of bodybuilders today. Also, Tom Platz had only trained legs once per week, so there was a full seven days to rest and recover in between the training sessions, which helped enable him to go all out when it came to training his lower half. This training style is similar to Mike Mentzer’s training, which was heavy duty and consisted of heavy weight with sets to failure.
This leads to the conclusion that maybe it was not junk volume.
Platz’s Leg Training Tips
There are a few things that Tom Platz has advised when it comes to training legs that are certainly worth addressing.
You HAVE to Squat
Like we said, Platz is a huge advocate of the squat. He has said that it is a staple for building big legs, and movements like the leg press are not nearly as optimal.
Use High Volume
With taking everything to failure, Platz was doing a lot of reps within his sets. 5 x 5 programs were not his thing, but instead he took each movement until he could not go anymore.
You Have to Achieve Failure
It is obvious that he was an advocate for taking his reps to failure, but he really pushes you to break out of your comfort zone to the point where you do not know if you will be completing the rep or not. When you are out of your comfort zone, that is when you grow.
Tom Platz Leg Workout Wrap Up
Overall, many people will look at Tom Platz and say that those legs were mostly steroids and genetics. However, if you really look at the work he put into it, that is where his growth and success came from.
Will you be trying Tom Platz’s leg day? Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
