At school, Tom Platz, A.K.A., The Quadfather, was known as ‘the guy with the skinny legs’. He was born with spinal complications as plates weren’t properly fused in his lower back. While his passion for bodybuilding started very early in his life, he never trained his legs as he was afraid of elevating the pain. Platz also had apprehensions about performing squats after listening to his friends say they give a bad back and make the butt big.

Platz first started training his legs at European Health Spa, Kansas City, while working as an instructor. His later years were involved in sculpting the terrific legs in the history of bodybuilding that made him the Quadfather. Now, an Instagram page shared a rare photo of Quadzilla flaunting his massive assets.

Tom Platz throwback picture from 1977

The Instagram page “bodybuildinglegendsshow” has shared a photo of Platz. In the image, The Golden Eagle is seen showing his quads to one of his fellow bodybuilders at the 1977 Mr. America as the latter covers his face with his hand, unable to witness those majestic muscles.

The Instagram post’s caption read, “Tom Platz at the 1977 Mr America showing off legs that his competitors can’t even look at.” It was Armento’s gym where Quadzilla designed his quad development. He was trained by an Olympic lifter to do weighted squats that helped his thin legs to transform rapidly.

As a 17-year-old, Platz trained hard and learned the technique of hack squatting from a fellow gym mate. It helped him to ace quad separation. Though the workout routines are hard to pursue, the little boy in him, who aspired to become a bodybuilder, never made him stop. Once, the 67-year-old opened up about why bodybuilders were afraid of squat routines.

The Quadfather’s love for squats routine

Platz was infatuated with the world of bodybuilding after he came across a photo of Dave Draper with Betty Weider on the beach as a 9-year-old. He told his father his wish to become a bodybuilder, who helped him with his workouts in the cellar. But as a child, he never trained his legs efficiently.

As a teenage bodybuilder, Platz acquired the skill of squatting from professionals, and he went on to develop his quads like no other. Now in the sixties, the bodybuilder stresses the importance of squats. He said, “Nothing’s like squats, I mean there’s a reason people don’t squat. It’s hard! But that’s why it’s so effective. The hardest things are usually effective…,” per Bare Strength’s social media post.

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As many bodybuilders desire to be known by the bodybuilding community for their physique, the little boy with a desire for the sport went on to become the Quadfather of bodybuilding. Tom Platz would be revered by bodybuilders for his leg development for many years to come.

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