Mike O’Hearn has been involved in the fitness industry for more than three decades. 4X Mr. Universe has undeniably gone through a ton of injuries throughout his lifting career. At the age of 54, one thing that O’Hearn is primarily concerned about is longevity. For this, he stresses shifting the primary focus from muscle building to joint strengthening. 

In his recent video, the ‘Titan’ was seen hitting legs with Strongman Hafthor Bjornsson. During the training session, O’Hearn disclosed a variation of the famous ‘Hack Squat’ he learned 34 years ago from ‘Quadfather.’ The variation might look risky to some, but O’Hearn explained its benefits towards longevity. 

What was Tom Platz’s variation of Hack Squat?

Tom Platz is often considered the epitome of lower body development in bodybuilding. He surely had a few secrets to grow his legs. He once shared one of his secret portions to grow with O’Hearn back in 1989. While working out with the ‘Thor’, he disclosed that even though this variation of hack squats might look unsafe, it prepares your joints for the future. He explained that this movement ensures pressure on the joints, which eventually leads to their strengthening. “So I’m trying to force it. The joints and ligaments around the knee to be so strong, so I learned this…1989, Tom Platz training with him from 89 to the early 90s,” revealed O’Hearn.

“That somebody your size that’s a rarity to see that kind of movement and..so we’ll do a moderate and see where we can find stress to the knee in a safe position,” stated Titan.

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Explaining further, O’Hearn disclosed that the key is to take it slow and not directly jump to the new variation. “Then all we’ll do is slightly pull the ass off there and put more pressure on the teardrop, and we’ll keep building on top of that,” said O’Hearn. 

The ‘Mountain’ extends an invitation to O’Hearn and family

Ever since his horrific pec injury, ‘Mountain’ has collaborated with O’Hearn on several occasions. The duo even created a dance video together on the currently popular ‘Baby Don’t Hurt Me’ meme, which revolves around O’Hearn. In a recent video published on Bjornsson’s YouTube channel, following a leg session, he invited O’Hearn and his wife Mona Muresan to Iceland for training.

Asking Muresan to come to Iceland for workout sessions and delicious food, ‘Thor’ said, “Come to Iceland, chill, train, eat good food.” Muresan was impressed by the idea and jokingly responded, “I am coming for the food.” 

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