Tom Platz these days - am I over 60?
Many TV viewers remember the bodybuilder as a young man, but what does Tom Platz look like now? After all, the athlete these days is already 61 years old, and this is a serious age. What is the star of the “golden era” of bodybuilding doing now, what is he doing, what form is he in at the present time? This is what we will try to find out today.
Think about five reps
It turned out that Tom Platz used the same technique that I used when he squatted heavy weights 20 times.
You're only thinking about five reps.
One two three four five; one, two, three, four, five - and so you get to twenty!
When I counted squats in a row, when I reached nine, I already wanted to die and never squat again in my life.
But when I counted by 5, I tricked my mind a little, and psychologically it was easier.
Even Tom Platz said, “I couldn’t stand doing 25-30 reps. I would have had a nervous breakdown."
So if you suddenly decide to squat like in the good old seventies (1-2 sets of 15-20 repetitions with the heaviest possible weight), then be sure to adopt this method.
(I used this method even when training biceps - it works flawlessly)
Introduction to bodybuilding
Tom Platz now remembers these moments with joy. The bodybuilder’s acquaintance with iron and training in the gym began at the age of 6, when the guy was sent to a pharmacy, where he saw a magazine about bodybuilding, in which large, pumped up guys were holding beautiful and attractive girls in their arms. From that moment on, Tom told himself that he wanted to become the same.
At the age of 9, he began to dream of California, girls hanging from his arms, beaches and a beautiful life, surfing, cool cars. And then his father bought him a set of scales with a 50 kg exercise machine. Every day after lunch, Tom and his father performed various exercises on the purchased exercise machine, and that’s how it all began.
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What did bodybuilding mean to Tom Platz at the beginning of his career, as it progressed, and what is it considered now? As the legend itself tells, after he moved to California, his life changed dramatically. He trained with the guys in the gym before lunch, and after eating they all went to the beach to sunbathe, because at that time there were no solariums or creams, so they had to prepare in advance.
The hardest things are the best
I trained at home with a barbell for a long time, but recently I started to run out of weights (maximum 128 kg), and I started going to the gym.
I didn't think it was that bad there.
It's not that I'm a super pro.
I squat 115kg for 6 reps, bench press 100kg for 5 reps, and deadlift 150kg for 6 reps.
Not the best results.
But what do I see in the gym?
No one even tries to succeed in heavy exercise.
Behind the power rack where I usually squat is a machine that looks something like this:
And guess what?
There is always someone on this simulator.
Trainers seat clients on it and stand glued to their phones.
People without trainers also constantly train on this simulator.
No wonder most look like goons.
No one teaches beginners how to do squats and deadlifts.
The squat power rack is free 9 out of 10 times. The place for the camp is also always empty.
Most people sit on exercise machines and look like crap.
You can draw your own conclusion.
The Family Life of Tom Platz: Today
Tom Platz is now married to a Hawaiian girl named Cha. Hawaiian people are very friendly, they put family values first. Americans consider it normal for a man to completely focus on business and making money, as if the family should understand this.
But it doesn't work that way for Hawaiians. As Platz says, we have forgotten who we work for and why. Their relationship with their wife is wonderful. Tom and his wife have recently been haunted by the idea of trying to arrange some kind of experiment and change their place of residence from Santa Monica to Arizona.
Tom couldn't hold out for long in temperatures over 40 degrees, so he moved to Newport Beach in the shade. Following this, Platz’s relatives (brother and sister) also returned to California. Platz and his wife do not have any children together, although Cha has children from a previous marriage. And as Tom jokes, his family is the wonderful pets Bank and Mantra.
History of success
In 1978, Tom's first World Bodybuilding Championship took place. His victory in it becomes the first step towards a successful career. But there were also disappointments in the life of the young athlete. In 1979, at the Mr. Olympia competition, he took only eighth place. And in the future, no matter how much effort he made to win this competition, he was only haunted by failure. The best result is third place. In 1987, the athlete’s career ended after performing at the Detroit Pro.
But, despite this result, Tom still remains a very popular athlete. His toned legs and thighs are his calling card. Many athletes try to do everything just to have such legs. But this fact played a fatal mistake. At all competitions, judges constantly reduced points due to such proportions. Also, because of these shapes, it was sometimes difficult for the athlete to choose the right trouser size. After all, at that time such sizes simply did not exist in stores. And very often he had to go to a tailor shop to have trousers made to his size. Tom Platz has the following anthropometric data: height - 173 cm, weight - 98 kg, thigh volume (according to some sources) - 77 cm.
Some argue that Tom got these proportions from nature. But this opinion is erroneous. All this was achieved thanks to desire and daily hard training. Not many people could withstand such stress, but Tom Platz wanted to achieve his goal.
What is Tom Platz doing now?
Tom Platz is currently a partner and works for the benefit of Fit4Sale. A former bodybuilder and bodybuilder, he sells sports equipment and equipment that is distributed all over the world. His company now specializes in the repair of old simulators, reconstruction and further sale of simulators that are ready for use with the replacement of all non-working spare parts.
Tom Platz says that even he himself will not be able to tell the difference after placing a refurbished simulator by their company next to a brand new one, there is a very great similarity and good quality. And the cost of such a simulator is exactly 2 times less than a new one, this is the benefit Tom Platz brings to young people in our time.
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Tom Platz, being retired, does not sell sports nutrition only because he is not a big fan of sports nutrition. But as the bodybuilder himself says, most of his acquaintances, some after being released from prison for illegal distribution of pharmaceuticals, switched to selling sports nutrition.
Are you weak?
In comparative posing, candidates for champions began to be divided into two categories: Tom Platz and others. Modern Hercules was many times superior to his rivals in terms of volume, separation and power of the thighs. But there was another side to the coin. Trousers had to be made to order, and custom tailoring was expensive. Everyone around Tom was accustomed to the fact that he often appeared in a tracksuit, even at special events.
Read more: The best ab workout program at home
Spectators of the competition loudly admired the bodybuilder’s forms, which prompted other musclemen to match the parameters of the public’s favorite. Perhaps everyone was convinced by the fact that once a strongman freely squatted with a barbell weighing 238 kg 23 times. At this time, not only huge quadriceps like Tom’s, but also Lee Haney’s broad shoulders came into fashion. The bodies of bodybuilders began to resemble the square figures of transforming robots. It is a pity that by this time Berkut’s career was nearing decline.
What Tom Platz looks like now
Tom Platz's shape at retirement age would be the envy of most 20-30 year old guys. Of course, the volumes are not the same, the mass is not the same, but the bodybuilder remains quite athletic and fresh for his 61 years. Now he regularly goes to the gym, swims in the pool, and adheres to a certain diet. Everything is like the good old days, only now he doesn’t set big goals, he just keeps in shape. Sometimes he acts in films where he plays himself, an athlete who lost in a competition, after which he returns to the gym and trains further, because he considers the gym his home.
In one of his interviews, Tom Platz said that he now squats 140 kg for 15 reps, and this deserves respect. In parallel with classes in the gym, the bodybuilder gives personal training and prepares athletes for competitions. He often speaks at seminars at various levels, and is invited to sporting events dedicated to extreme strength training and bodybuilding. He actively gives interviews to various magazines, online publications and video bloggers, sharing his experience and knowledge.
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He can often be seen among the invited guests at Mr. Olympia. He often gives critical statements about modern bodybuilding, calling it not what it used to be, saying that athletes compete and chase money, stuff themselves with pharmacology, build nutritional regimens, but forget about the most important thing - to enjoy bodybuilding as it is Tom Platz used to do it.
Squeeze out the last 5 percent
Tom Platz told David Hoffman, “Just when you think you’re everything, there’s still 5 percent in you.”
The goal is to squeeze that five percent out of yourself and go further than others would go.
Understand that when it’s hard, painful and difficult for you, it’s the same for anyone else in your place.
You can stop and remain in the zone of prudence, or you can become a berserker and squeeze out everything that’s left, the last five percent.
Tom Platz says, “Those who win big work hard.”
And if you leave the room with even a drop left in you, it means you feel sorry for yourself, like 9 out of 10 people who don’t achieve results.
Give your all and you will grow!
These lessons are not only about bodybuilding. If you think a little, you can understand this:
- The best things don't come easy to you
- Without bullshit in your life, you don't grow as a person.
- A big goal is achieved in small steps
- Squeeze until your last breath if you want to achieve something.
“When I say life flashes before my eyes, I mean getting to 10 reps and then somehow getting to 15 or 20. It's about magically drawing out from deep within you the emotion and passion and energy that's in your body and your soul and your mind to lift the weight again and again and again. It's very draining when you lift heavy weights, but I've always tried to get to that point."
And here is Platz, squatting 166kg at the age of 62(!) years.
So stop being afraid of heavy weights and start squatting.
Squats make a man out of a boy.
See you later.
Vlad Makeev.
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Leg day is my favorite day!
A person unfamiliar with the iron sport may be puzzled by why Platz is so famous if he never managed to win the title of Mr. Olympia? And the answer is very simple - the athlete has truly powerful legs, which amazed with their size - the thigh volume was 77 cm!
No bodybuilder had achieved such volumes at that time! And at that time, these proportions were considered a deviation from the standard ones - it was for this reason that the judges underestimated Tom’s final scores.
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Despite this, many athletes recognized his legs as ideal - both then and now. In addition, many Olympia winners are simply not remembered, but Tom remains a household name among several generations of bodybuilders.
How did the athlete manage to achieve such impressive results? – Of course, a lot depended on genetics. According to Tom himself, he had a special muscle structure that was well suited for weightlifting. Therefore, we can safely say that the athlete had excellent initial data. But this alone is not enough to achieve success in sports.
The training system that Platz used was also unique. The main place in it was occupied by squats - it seems that at that time there was a certain cult of this exercise in bodybuilding. This is evidenced by the fact that Tom himself organized home squat competitions among bodybuilders he knew. Of course, he had no equal in this exercise!
Many people asked Tom how his leg training differed from others, and is there any secret that allows him to build such an impressive mass?
There were no secrets as such, but there were some nuances that made such a training program truly difficult and effective:
- one workout is high-repetition, the other is “heavy”, aimed at increasing working weights;
- squats should be done until the muscles completely fail;
- with a weight of 240 kg, Platz did 23 repetitions;
- the workout itself should not last longer than an hour;
- heavy training was done twice a month, rather than every week, as many other athletes do.
Of course, such a program is not suitable for every athlete, because we remember that Platz initially had good genetics, which gave him powerful leg muscles.
The volume of his legs brought the bodybuilder not only world fame, but also some inconvenience, which consisted in the difficulty of choosing clothes - it was impossible to choose trousers! Therefore, at first, Platz was forced to wear sweatpants even to a restaurant, because custom tailoring was quite expensive.
