Bodybuilder Tom Platz has witnessed the sport grow for better or worse since commanding the stage during the golden era. In a recent video surfacing on Instagram, Platz called out dishonest practices in the supplement industry, highlighting that high-nutrient food is the body’s main source of recovery.
Having graced the Mr. Olympia stage on eight occasions, Tom Platz proved himself with an exceptional lower body against iconic names of the sport, such as seven-time winner Arnold Schwarzenegger, eight-time titleholder Lee Haney, and Rich Gaspari.
Platz is well-recognized in the community for his tortuous leg training sessions where he routinely pushed to beyond failure. Bodybuilders like Lee Priest remember the intensity of Tom Platz’s workouts firsthand. Priest described Platz’s methods as ‘demented’ but effective. To fuel these memorable endeavors, “The Quadfather” has always underscored the importance of nutrition.
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While supplement companies have a powerful foothold within the bodybuilding and fitness industries, Tom Platz doesn’t think they are a necessary tool for enhancing a physique. Even though some products are better than others, Platz explains why food will always be the key to unlocking gains below.
Tom Platz Says Steroid Dealers Helped Create Supplement Market: “I Shouldn’t Tell You That”
Tom Platz, who revealed that he’d been battling with Gastroenteritis and paralysis in the face (Bell’s Palsy) recently, spoke on the dark side of the supplement industry:
“You got to feed the body. Supplements are supposed to supplement your diet; food is your main choice of nutrients. That’s never changed. Food is your main source of recovery. I don’t like supplement companies. There’s 14 companies worldwide that actually do everybody’s supplements.
Supplements are supplements. There’s some things a little better than others, but the answer is not in the supplements. Meat protein and egg proteins I eat. I don’t eat the whey protein, you got to be kidding me, whey? That’s the byproduct.”
Platz went on to mention that whey protein powders and egg whites are the “leftovers” of food, labeling them “nothing.” As for the growing popularity of supplements, Tom said it all started after some of his buddies were jailed for selling steroids and later started companies.
“Egg whites? Forget it that’s the leftovers from the chicken. That’s just the nothing. Whey makes me gassy, bloaty, I walk around farting and stuff. This is really — bodybuilders accept that as a given!
Walking around like that, ‘Well, it’s okay, I’m a bodybuilder.’ Right, all my old buddies that went to jail for selling steroids got out of jail and they started opening companies, that’s really how it started. I shouldn’t tell you that, okay. Even the terminology and the phrases are drug-like, anabolic and all those words they use, constructive metabolism,” shared Tom Platz.
Tom Platz hadn’t been the only bodybuilding icon to throw shade at the supplement market. Recently, Schwarzenegger approached the subject and warned that companies are hiding illegal ingredients in their products. Moreover, Schwarzenegger provided a study that discovered 89% of supplements analyzed did not accurately list the ingredients.
Taking supplements is a necessary measure for some individuals to maintain a balanced nutritional intake. While Platz doesn’t acknowledge their efficacy, some athletes do, such as reigning World’s Strongest Man and Arnold Strongman champion Mitchell Hooper, who admits to using them daily. Hooper just managed to break Platz’s legendary 1992 squat record by one rep in May.
One supplement in particular: Creatine — has been widely studied and praised for its potential benefits related to exercise performance and muscle growth. Sports and fitness activities have evolved over time, but Platz still believes that food is the ultimate anabolic weapon for building bigger muscles.
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