The Buff Dudes continue to test their strength and this time they’re taking on a throwback challenge. In their latest venture on YouTube, they attempted bodybuilding icon Tom Platz’s legendary ‘Quadfather’ workout, which consisted of six exercises, 43 sets, and 705 reps.
“This man is known for his legendary workouts and you can’t spell legendary without leg day so in this video I’m going to find out if I can survive the Tom Platz leg workout,” the Buff Dudes shared.
Having amassed over 2.78 million subscribers on YouTube, the Buff Dudes have built a loyal following with engaging gym content. They boast impressive strength and never shy away from challenges. Having pushed each other with old-school 1900s bodybuilding workouts to running for 30 days straight, the Buff Dudes make it a point to test their physical limits.
This time around, they are eying Tom Platz’s notorious leg workouts, which became famous for their torturous nature. Even Lee Priest can attest that Platz’s leg training made him feel like he was having a heart attack. Now, the Buff Dudes are testing their luck, replicating a signature training plan ‘The Quadfather’ used on his way to sculpting one of the best lower bodies of all time.
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Buff Dudes Push Through Brutal Tom Platz-Inspired Quad Workout
“I probably should have brought a puke bucket.”
Find the workout list used in the video below:
- Squats
- Hack squats
- Leg extensions
- Lying leg curls
- Standing calf raises
- Seated calf raises
“When you think of the most famous legs in bodybuilding history there’s most likely one name that comes to mind, and that is the man himself, ‘The Quadfather’ Tom Platz,” said Buff Dudes.
Squats
Buff Dudes explained that Tom Platz would often go off feeling instead of sticking to a fixed number of sets or reps.
“I’m going to be starting with squats, it is 8-12 sets, anywhere from 5-20 repetitions. So, the weight could go a little bit lighter or you can go up in weight, it’s variable reps, that’s the one great thing about Tom Platz’s workouts is nothing is set in stone, you have to feel it out and you can choose either go a little bit higher in the repetitions or lower if you want to go heavier in weight.”
Hack squats
According to Buff Dudes, Platz used a sissy variation of the hack squat.
“Legs are feeling pumped. Everybody get more pumped. We’re going to do some hack squats here. There were a few exercises that were Tom Platz’s staples, number one was squats, a firm believer in squats, that was like his altar, that was the church of iron for him. He wasn’t a big leg press guy.”
“Number two: hack squats, he loved hack squats, again, really targeting the quads but he did a little bit of a variation of his own it was almost like a hack squat sissy squat which you push your hips out come up on your toes and then press through there.”
Leg extensions
Platz routinely went to failure and beyond during his training sessions, and Buff Dudes mentioned that he was an advocate for ‘cheat reps.’
“Tom Platz he was very much an advocate of cheating, so he would take it to the limit, go all the way out so you really can’t get any full repetitions again and then he would just bust out half reps, quarter reps, like micro reps, the guy was literally just pumping his legs over and over again.”
“If I have to do that, I have to do that, we’ll see.”
Lying leg curls
Buff Dudes stuck to 6-10 sets of lying leg curls for 10-15 repetitions.
“Six to ten sets, 10-15 repetitions.”
“That’s one thing Tom Platz talked about is that his biceps and hamstrings developed extremely easy, so he didn’t do a lot of hamstring work. He said he would do stiff-legged deadlifts but they would hurt his back too much. So he mainly stuck with lying leg curls.
He said he’d be doing seated cable rows and his hamstrings would start growing so, he really concentrated on his quads more than anything but still threw some hamstrings in there which I appreciate. For myself, I’m always trying to put some work in the hamstrings. It is very much like the lower biceps,” shared the Buff Dudes.
Standing calf raises
Given the intensity of Platz’s leg workouts, Buff Dudes understand why he only needed to train the lower body approximately twice a month in his prime.
“The finish line is nearly in sight. We’re working on the lower legs, the calves now, it’s going to be the standing calf raises. Three to four sets, so a little less sets, which is nice. It’s going to be 10-15 repetitions.
Tom Platz talks about working legs and the amount of volume he did, but he said he really only worked legs every other week, so really only twice a month and that really makes sense showing how much he really does in each workout. It’s going to take a long time to recover and he obviously didn’t want to over-train.”
Seated Calf Raises
Seated calf raises were the final exercise featured in the video to complete the workout.
“The last exercise.”
Aside from the Buff Dudes, Lee Priest recently talked about a technique he learned from Tom Platz. In a recent IFBB AMA video, Priest offered instructions on how to push to failure and beyond using leg extensions, however, emphasized that this strategy can only be carried out with a training partner.
Despite having retired decades ago, Tom Platz’s impact on the bodybuilding community is undeniable. At 68 years old, Platz hasn’t slowed down and is still known for his remarkable quad size and definition.
RELATED: Bodybuilding Veteran Tom Platz: ‘You’ve Got to Feed the Body, The Answer Is Not in the Supplements’
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