His name is probably known to every modern bodybuilder. Many fans say that Tom Platz is immediately associated with powerful and inflated legs. After all, no one has been able to achieve such a development of muscles. There are legends about Tomโs training. Someone claims that he took illegal drugs to achieve this effect, and someone says that this is due to many operations. But all this was achieved thanks to exhausting training.
Tom Platz: biography
Tom was born on June 26, 1955 and raised in Oklahoma. Since childhood, he was actively involved in sports. And moreover, it is bodybuilding. Parents were not against such a hobby and even encouraged him. On his birthday, his parents gave him a bodybuilder kit and a book with training methods. This gift changed his life.
Every day he persistently engaged in training, following the instructions, did not miss a single lesson and completely changed his diet. At that time, his idol was the famous athlete Dave Draper. And Tom tried to be like him in everything.
By a fortunate coincidence, Tom moved to California, where he absolutely accidentally had to live near Draper's house. He was incredibly happy when he discovered the famous gym where Dave trained. The long-awaited meeting with the athlete dispelled the remaining doubts about his future career. After some time, Tom Platz gets acquainted with the legend of bodybuilding - Arnold Schwarzenegger, who becomes his first coach.
History of success
In 1978, Tomโs first ever World Bodybuilding Championships took place. His victory in it becomes the first step towards a successful career. But there were also disappointments in the life of the young athlete. In 1979, at the competition "Mr. Olympia" he took only eighth place. And in the future, no matter how much he tried to win this competition, he was only pursued by failure. The best result is third place. In 1987, an athleteโs career ends after a performance at the Detroit Pro.
But, despite this result, Tom is still a very popular athlete. His swollen legs and hips are his hallmark. Many athletes try to do everything just to have such legs. But this fact played a fatal mistake. In all competitions, judges constantly reduced points due to such proportions. Also, because of these forms, it was sometimes difficult for an athlete to choose the right trouser size. Indeed, at that time such sizes in stores simply did not exist. And very often he had to go to the atelier to have his pants sewn to fit his size. Tom Platz anthropometric data has the following: height - 173 cm, weight - 98 kg, hip size (according to some sources) - 77 cm.
Some argue that such proportions went to Tom from nature. But this opinion is erroneous. All this was achieved thanks to desire and daily hard training. Not many would withstand such loads, but Tom Platz wanted to achieve his goal.
Retirement
After completing his career, Tom Platz tried himself in cinematography. He starred in many films, where he played the role of gangsters or detectives. Unfortunately, all the roles went to him only in the background, but this did not bother the bodybuilder at all. He did not need popularity, he just enjoyed the filming process. Later, he and his wife opened their own fitness center, where they began to train future athletes.
The future of bodybuilding
Tom admits that he did not leave training and still attends the gym. In his opinion, today, modern athletes are engaged in bodybuilding solely for the sake of fame and money. In his years, it was completely different. This sport was practiced only because of love for him, and not for the sake of getting untold wealth. All athletes resembled a large and friendly family. And this despite the fact that during the competition they were competitors.