Tom Platz discusses his approach to squatting 405 pounds for 50 reps: “In my mind it’s like doing five sets of 10 reps” – Fitness Vault

Golden Age Bodybuilding Legend Tom Platts Even after years of retirement, the supernatural continues to haunt him. In a recent giveaway shared via Instagram, Platz revealed his mental approach to deadlifting 405 pounds for 50 reps, which he broke down into 10 sets of five reps.

Tom Platts continues to inspire bodybuilding fans around the world even after hanging up his trunks for a long time. His cutting edge workouts, intensity and charisma have made him a huge star. His lower body density and separation earned him the nickname ‘The Quadfather’, and never wavered from his shocking display of strength.

Platz held the squat record of 525 pounds for 23 reps, which he achieved in 1992 until former world’s strongest man Mitchell Hooper broke it in 2023. Notable bodybuilders like Lee Priest have been honest about training with the bodybuilding star. After pushing through leg day with Platts, Priest explained that the workout was so intense he thought he was having a heart attack. Although the 69-year-old icon is no longer performing under the bright lights, we can learn a lot from the way he approaches his heavy calves.

Tom Platz discusses how he squatted 405 pounds for 50 reps, says ‘I never leave the gym a loser.’

To steel his mind for such insane lifts, Platts noted that he would enter the gym with a specific number of repetitions and weights in mind.

“I can never leave a gym a loser. In my mind, I’m going to rap this much with this much weight.”

Since the thought of 50 reps of 405 pounds was too much for his mind to process, Platts instead tried to manage five reps at a time.

“When you leave the gym and do so many reps with that much weight, oh life is great! I couldn’t imagine it when I was doing 405 for 50, it was too many reps to imagine. I can’t manage that, but I can manage five at a time.

“I’ll do five reps, and Tony says ‘Five! Ten!’ He’s ’15! 20!’ Then he says 25, well I can do 50. I can’t manage 50 reps at a time, 10 reps at a time Like. That’s it,” shared Tom Platz.

Believe it or not, Tom Platts didn’t always have ripped and separated quads, he earned them through countless training sessions. He explained that he had a weak lower body in high school, which prompted him to take action by swatting. At the time, he knew he needed to consume enough carbs and protein to sculpt an exceptional lower body.

Since squatting was among his greatest strengths as an athlete, Platz is open about how he improved his technique. He explained why he pushed the weight so fast that he described it as a ‘compensatory acceleration’. He also mentioned that you don’t need to use heavy weights because light weights can reduce injuries.

Tom Platz’s strength and knowledge around squatting is undeniable. If high volume is on your agenda, try incorporating his approach to squatting on your next leg day.

Related: Tom Platz Calls for Change in Modern Bodybuilding: “Now, We Have Science Experiments on Stage in Every Category”