Arnold Schwarzenegger may have influenced several bodybuilders during his prime, but this legendary bodybuilder faced failure when attempting to emulate his routines. Popularly known as the Quadfather, Tom Platz was a legendary bodybuilder who won the IFBB Mr Universe title in 1980. Platz admitted that despite copying the lifestyle of the seven-time Mr Olympia winner, he couldn’t achieve the desired results.
The Quad King hoped to train with the Austrian Oak during his early years. Platz became renowned for his leg development among bodybuilders, but not before realizing that he didn’t need to become another Schwarzenegger to thrive in the industry.
Tom Platz Failed Even After Diligently Copying Arnold Schwarzenegger
In his initial years in California, Tom Platz copied literally every aspect of Arnold Schwarzenegger‘s life, whom he viewed as a mentor figure. In a throwback video that surfaced on the YouTube channel, Bodybuild Beast, Platz shared the extent of his imitation. Platz revealed that when The Terminator actor got a blonde girlfriend and took to drinking coffee, he copied those choices exactly. Platz stated in the video:
“Arnold had a blonde girlfriend. I got a blonde girl. Arnold drank coffee. I started drinking coffee. If he had hash browns for breakfast and potatoes. I had potatoes for breakfast, so I trained with him six days a week, twice a day.”
However, instead of bulking up, the Quadfather found himself becoming “small and fat”. Platz was depressed that what worked for Schwarzenegger was not showing any results for him. Consequently, Platz took a break after wearing himself out with intensive workouts six days a week, twice a day. When returned to training after the rest period, he began building muscles more quickly. Platz further added:
“I got depressed. I did what Arnold did and I got small and fat. […] So I took three weeks off. But I realized, after taking three weeks off and being depressed, I could not keep up with Arnold. […] So I went back to the gym and all of a sudden, I’m bigger and I’m stronger. I’m picking the big 180lbs dumb-bells. I realized I can’t train six days a week, twice a day.”
Interestingly, Tom Platz is better known for ambushing the 1990 Mr. Olympia competition, where he announced the formation of the World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF), a competitor to the IFBB.
Tom Platz Shared His Best Advice For Aspiring Bodybuilders
Once Platz recognized that he needed to create his own routine rather than blindly following a legend, he began his journey to becoming a bodybuilding legend in his own right. Platz revealed that while intense workouts were effective for legends like Schwarzenegger, one other important factor, alongside maintaining a strict diet and training regimen, was ensuring ample rest time. Platz shared his valuable advice:
“I can train three and four days a week and train hard. You gotta rest hard. People didn’t understand that. They never talked about that in the magazines in the 80s. All they talked about was training.”
Not only Platz, but another bodybuilding great, Dorian Yates, also disapproved of the long training hours. Yates shared that the ‘six days a week’ training from the ‘Arnold’ era didn’t make sense to him. Both Schwarzenegger and Platz went on to establish their own legacies in the sport. While the former ventured into movies after his professional career, Platz remained active in the bodybuilding world as a coach.
