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Some of the men that had the greatest impact on bodybuilding never won a Mr. Olympia title. But very few of these men had the profound influence that Tom Platz did.
Before “The Golden Eagle,” there was never a shortage of big arms, shoulders, backs, or chests; but extreme leg mass had never existed. Not until the arrival of Tom Platz who went from being known as the kid with the skinny legs, to sporting the best leg development in all of bodybuilding, earning the nickname “Quadzilla”.
And when it came to workout intensity, nobody worked harder than him. He pushed sets to failure and beyond—far, far beyond, into the deepest depths of the pain zone, until he could barely move the weight.
In the ‘80s, when he was in his competitive prime, Tom was the most popular bodybuilder in the world and hailed as the uncrowned Mr. Olympia and The Peoples’ Champion after a very controversial third place in the 1981 contest.
And just when it seemed like he was at an arm’s length from capturing the title the following year, the unexpected happened.
This is the story of how Tom Platz ‘almost’ dominated bodybuilding.
Tom Platz was born on June 26, 1955. Upon looking at a Mr. Universe magazine at the age of 11 he decided to become a professional bodybuilder. At the age of 15, he weighed around 165 pounds. Platz later joined Armento’s Gym and was acquainted with Olympic weight lifters Norb Schemansky and Freddie Lowe and learned the proper way to squat. He developed strength and muscle size rapidly. With $50 to his name, he moved to Venice, California, in 1977 and trained at Gold’s Gym. That same year, he won his class at the Mr. Universe.
In 1992, Tom Platz faced ‘Dr. Squat’ Fred Hatfield in a squat competition. The “squat-off,” as it’s often called, went down in Essen, Germany. It was decided that they’d compete in two phases — a max lift portion and a single set with 525 pounds for the most reps possible. For 525 pounds, Platz managed an incredible 23 reps.
Chapters:
00:00 - Welcome to the pain zone
00:39 - The Golden Eagle
01:47 - To boldly go where no man has gone before
07:50 - First cycle
09:11 - 1976 Mr. America
09:26 - 1977 Mr. America
09:38 - 1978 Mr. America
12:36 - California dreamin'
15:30 - 1978 Mr. Universe
16:58 - Mr. Legs
17:40 - 1979 Mr. Olympia
18:29 - 1980 Mr. Olympia
23:20 - The Sardinian strongman
26:49 - Break f**king steel man
28:54 - 1981 Mr. Olympia
36:14 - The most popular bodybuilder on the planet
37:05 - 1982 Mr. Olympia
38:28 - 1983 Mr. Olympia
39:00 - 1984 Mr. Olympia
39:36 - 1985 Mr. Olympia
40:16 - 1986 Mr. Olympia
42:14 - Nobody knows the secret
Watch the full interviews/seminars:
https://youtu.be/D8kPImEouHE
https://youtu.be/_BWHh848m00
https://youtu.be/evQVaHimZzo
https://youtu.be/ANzfXjiIayc
https://youtu.be/B-_5Zqx4v-k?
https://youtu.be/HgBoP0jNEDk
Sources:
https://pastecode.io/s/w35ikkmo