While Squats still rule bodybuilding exercises, one man who rules them is Tom Platz. “The Quadfather,” at his peak, gained popularity for his monster legs, measuring more than 76,2 cm.

Recently, on his Instagram account, he shared an old short video describing his way of doing squats. Platz essentially laid out the psychological and physical blueprint that went into creating the greatest legs in history.

For Tom Platz, his strongest competition was not someone else at the Mr. Olympia contest, but himself.

He said, “Every workout, especially the squat workouts, I used to look in the mirror and point to myself and say, ' Okay, you're good, but I can do better. I can do better than you ever did. You hear me? I'm coming after you, Tom Platz”.

Platz also admitted, “So I was the guy in my way, and I realized that, and I had to really perform and give, and train super hard to become better than my expectations, or better than Tom Platz was before that workout session”.

The retired bodybuilder agreed that his technique was hard: "That's really hard to do that every day because you're not just going to the gym and popping up… it's a ferocious, overwhelming mentality that takes you over, takes over your existence”.

However, in the end, his achievements made all the hard work worthwhile. Platz also admitted that, saying, “When I beat Tom Platz in the squat, I was like, holy smokes, I'm so happy. Life is good”.

Overcoming Barriers: 405 lbs to 525 lbs

Tom Platz, in an interview with “The Tight Tan Slacks of Dezso Ban,” revealed that he had defeated himself multiple times in his career. He revealed, “I hit various barriers at different times. I remember doing 405 for the first time in my career. I remember doing 505 for the first time in my career. And so on. I mean, 505 for 15 reps was a tremendous accomplishment for me”.

And we also cannot forget that in a 1992 squat-off, Platz set a record with 525 lbs and 23 reps against Fred Hatfield.

Ultimately, Platz has never been satisfied, and after setting one record, he was quick to move to another. He noted, “And then I realized next squat workout, I have to beat him again… I put pressure on myself. Always, always, always. I wanted to be uncomfortable”.

The Quadfather has also been seen criticizing the modern squat technique.

Why Modern Squatting is not Tom Platz’s cup of tea

Platz, on his Instagram account, shared a reel highlighting the mistakes current bodybuilders and gym-goers make with squats. He said, “I never had a knee problem in my life because of perfect, pure technique. Modern day squatting... the technique has been b**********. The technique is about a hip thrust, with people using [their].... lower back too much and not the quads. I believe in a quad-dominant squat – the foundational movement like, Olympic lifters do”.

Next, he gave a small piece of advice by saying, “It's a quad-dominant movement. Having the back not perfectly 90 degrees, but maybe four or five degrees off. Most people who are fitness advocates nowadays are somewhere in the area of 45 degrees. It's easier to teach an incorrect squat than it is a correct squat”.

So, how do you do squats? Do you agree with Tom Platz? If not, let us know your opinion in the comments!

Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Joyita Das