I went and saw Tom Platz give a seminar at City Gym in Sydney in the late '80s. It was quiet intimate, with only about 25 people in attendance. Towards the end of the seminar he took us around the gym and showed us how he performed various exercises on the equipment. On the leg extension machine he went all out for 1 set, with the plate pin fully loaded. At the end of the set the leg extension machine had Bunny Hopped about 8" across the floor, from where it previously was. Insane true story. Peace.
Bro, it’s so insane looking at platz. He litterally had deeper cross striations than Kai, on both sides of his fucking legs. Still so insane to this day
We all know Platz has the greatest legs EVER. Density and conditioning as well as exposing even today's guys flaws when it comes to the legs. He better be first for greatest legs is all im suggesting😉
Ramy is huge but personally woulda put Jay over him. Id take Ronnie over Branch and Kai too. But these are just personal opinions, its a really good list!
@@DespicableBunny you're not wrong that he lacks detail, but so did Ramy (from the front at least) and he took 2nd. Ronnie had comparable overall detail and came sort of close size wise (still definitely not as big though). Ronnie also had great tapper and shape to his legs and the conditioning was incredible. He wasn't without weakness, and i wouldn't put him top 3, but 6th for me personally is to low.
I've seen alot of the great bodybuilders through the years, but I saw Tom Platz as a guest poser in late 70s. And to see them up close, it's just unbelievable. I've never seen anyone to this day that could match Tom Platz. He is the king
@@imhopelesslyaddictedtofent4266 Not necessarily, depends on who you ask and what you like. Those pictures that look photoshopped imo not very appealing. Don't get me wrong, the man deserves his Sandow and his spot on the list. If freak factor is the goal he is right up there.
@@dereknapier836 The judges dont care about aesthetically pleasing physiques, they just card about size and conditioning. Cool if thats not your preference but it’s a freak show and Ramy will always have some of the best quads for that reason.
You have by far the best and most informative analysis out of all the bodybuilding commentators. Quality content for sure. Loved your Q&A videos aswell.
Nick posted a video of Tom doing legs at age of 60+ and man he's still better than many of the current BBs in terms of quads separation, definition and class.
great update, i really enjoyed it. Considering the time that passed, Tom's development is so unmatched it's disturbing. i simply can't stop looking at some of those photos from era when digital altering was not available. show me the king that passes the generations like he does. unbelievable.
I Don't think Ramy deserves the second place.He lacks the striations and sweep. He just have quads that are just bigger.They dont have any definations to it.
best conditioned and detailed quads in this year olympia i say ramy and hadi.Look at the 19:11-19:18 20:47 minutes he has conditioned and detailed quads.3D side legs,quads.Maybe Jay be 2.place.
Definitely has freak factor. His side leg next to Phil Heath 2020 Olympia was jaw dropping. But they aren't the most aesthetic. I'd put kai green and jay cutler ahead easily.
@@barskarademir8565 Not even close! Big Ramy has no detail, feathers or sweep to his quads! And his tiny calves make his lack luster quads even more out of balance
Hmm, Ramy deserves to be on the list but the lack of separation and feathering should bump him down a couple of spots. It's all subjective but that's my 2 cents. In no particular order Kai, Cutler, Coleman, Platz would probably be my top 4.
I agree, In my opinion he only has the size and a ridiculous outer sweep but the question is...is that really enough to overwrite the lack of conditioning and separation? lack of feathering and so on? The aesthetics aren't there at all, it's just freaky mass.
His legs on the whole are probably top 5 but at the very least top 10 (the side leg is the best ever in my opinion), but i think he lacks a little size in the quads themselves. And as he said, this list is very competitive, and some of the honorable mentions could easily make the list judged from a different perspective.
Yeah shoulders was probably the trickiest because they're visible from all angles and one of the more volatile body parts (really easy to fill out and bring up as a prime anabolic responder).
Platz, like Arnold, had incredible gym photos, but on stage he homestly didn't look as impressive most of the times. Big Ramy 90% of the times had very poor separation and his muscle bellies are quite bad, in fact his quads look deformed at times. Even in 2020 his separation in the tear drop (in the middle of the leg, you mentioned that the tear drop Is the muscle above the knee so I probably I've mistaken those muscle for years) was quite bad while 2003 Ronnie was diced up to the hips whem he was flexing. I would change the order of the top 6: 1. Tom Platz for being the Pioneer of legs, even though are not the actual best of all times in his contests . 2.Kai Greene: best striations, very balanced combination in the muscle groups and very massive muscle development. 3. Ronnie Coleman: he had perfect muscle bellies, very full and aesthetic in my eyes, huge quad sweep, gigantic mass and when he was flexing he had cuts all the way up to the knee, the only thing preventing him to be n° 1 is his lack of striations. 4. Jai Cutler: best details overall but he lacked too much size compared to Ronnie and his quad sweep was not exceptional, also his quads from the side were quite underwhelming. 5. Branch: his details and grainines were incredible and he tops by a hair Ramy 6. Big Ramy his Mass still makes him top 6 in my opinion. Of course this is very subjective so making a universal perfect top 10 Is impossible
Saw platz often has he trained at our gym and your right even in contest shape I never saw his thighs anything like the famous black and white pic plus his inner thigh muscle just stretched too low resulting in weird looking thighs,I saw Paul demayo in 93 or 94 and I would put his legs on a better level than platz in size as well as shape.
Ronnie's quads over power his tiny calves! Coleman's quads lack the deep seperation & feathered look that Kai, Jay, Branch, Cormier, Platz have. The complete lower body package must have great calves to match great quads. Big Ramy & Coleman have tiny calves which throw their lower body completely out of balance. It's like having huge biceps with tiny forearms. Kai is a perfect example of tiny forearms and great biceps!
Agreed man, just watching the 98/99 olympias where his quads crushed Flex's and even Cormier's were iconic to me, I think he definitely could've been higher than Branch or even Kai. He wasnt beating jay though imo.
Ronnies oversized quads lack the feathers , detail and seperation that Kai, Jay, Branch and Platz have and his tiny calves destroy his lower body look. You have to have good calves to complete the lower package!
@@richardmilliken8705 96 in a show he lost to Flex. Check it out. He had feathering and his seperation was crazy don't know what you're taking about. He was more seperated than Kai minus those feathering.
Yo bro, ik u ain’t getting as much views right now but trust me keep uploading these sick videos and you’ll pop and gain so many subscribers soon. Keep up the good work my man. Never stop plz
I'd deff put Rhoden over wolf. Wolf only had that full lateral head. Rhodens quads were overall better. Feathered striations, symmetrical, huge in size yet aesthetically pleasing.
22:29 he still HAS it today... considering how hard he trains, going down on squats and knees pointing forward Makes me question everything I have been told about squat safety.
The most thickness and overdevelopment muscle quads in history is.... Big Ramy... and the most definition in the quads is.....Ronnie Coleman.. them both had over sized muscle development out of all body building history of all time 💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯
Not a fan of Ramy’s legs, they’re like Ernie Taylor’s triceps where they just don’t look good. I think Jay and Kai are the kings of modern leg development. And Platz us still a top #5 of all time even if you don’t grade him on curve for his generation.
I'm sorry but Ramy's quads look like they have large lumps in them instead of muscle. I like the look of massive quads personally, but there's something about his that just doesn't look right. Artificial even....
Number 2 for Ramy is definitely too high. He shows in condition 3 times in his career and his quads 90% of the time have zero separation and zero feathuring like in 2017 or many other years. I would have rather seeing Jay or Kai or even Branch in #2, whose quads look always terrific even when they weren’t in shape. And they all are way more established bodybuilders than Ramy with more trophies and much more costancy. Mass is nothing without the quality through the years
@@TheAki869 Even Brandon Curry won the Olympia but I bet that nobody would say that he is more established than Kai. Anyway I also put Jay in my examples who won 4 Olympia and 3 Arnold Classic. Is that enough for Ramy and for you?
Yeah we'll see. Before the Olympia he would've been a couple spots lower for sure. Ramy's future performances will affect how well this list ages I guess.
I'm pretty sure Ronnie's legs measured 36" like Ramy's do. Can anyone confirm that? As for Ramy: Hands-down, he has the best legs from the side, but from the front they look very washed out in my opinion.
Some sites list him as such. I've never heard it confirmed via interview though but it's probably accurate for his largest versions. Ramy's trainer Dennis James has gone on record stating Ramy had 35" or 36" (can't remember off the top of my head).
honestly, i don't agree with the top 2, while big ramies legs are absolutely huge and look like they are carved out of solid granite they lack good separation and have for the last couple of years, no feathering either. Platz in the other hand is definitely one of the greatest of all times but on stage, his legs looked nowhere near as impressive in my opinion, and they were soft. I can honestly see Kai topping the list and this is coming from someone's favorite bodybuilder is jay cutler. Kai had more mass and a better sweep and was very striated. Idk man, great video as always tho.
I saw Platz in 84 in the off season. His quads were unbelievable, mesmerizing when he walked with tiny details that the camera doesn’t pick up. No picture I’ve seen does them justice. And this was the off season. I thought Ramy would be #1 just due to the ridiculous quad sweep and size plus he has feathering but I’m ok with the Quadfather in that spot especially considering he did it without modern gear and training. Kai’s legs are phenomenal and maybe could have been third.
@@thebigpicture2032 90% of the times Ramy has zero separation. Go look 2017 olympia, his quads were all washed out, you can’t even see the teardrop. No way those quads are number two in history, maybe 6th or 7th and just for the size.
@@thebigpicture2032 didnt see platz irl, so the only thing i can go off is the pictures out there. And rammies feathering is... Lets say not very visible if there is any. Size is very important for sure but imo seperation should be just as important.
@@tabletvitelli7765 that's false. If you watched the 2017 Mr O and didn't see Ramy's quad definition, you weren't paying attention. It's true he faded as they went on but at the beginning they were hard as nails: www.team-andro.com/gallery/displayimage.php?album=3615&pid=618952#top_display_media
Branch Warren has great quads too. Ramy & Ronnie have tiny calves that are over powered by their massive quads that lack the fine detail and seperation that Cutler & Warren have! There's something wrong when a lay person like my self has bigger & more muscular calves than mass monsters like Ronnie & Big Ramy and i'm only 5ft 6in with 21 in. calves.
IMO Ramy can win 10 Olympias but will never touch Platz, the original quadzilla. His genetics closed the shop and thrown away the key 40 years ago, it’s futile to think anything can be done about that 😂Platz had the sweep, massive muscle bellies, unprecedented cross striations, delineated glutes that set off the massive calves. A truly mind blowing sight in the early 80s. The Platz disciplined leg training mindset, Mentzers total HIT program, Clarence Bass and Vince Girondas diet and conditioning were great foods for thought as a weight training mad teenager back in the day.
Glad you included Phil Hill. There was a famous picture of him sitting on a horse hanging up in our gym where his leg was bigger than the horse’s. He was a true outer world experience to see walking around the gym.
Genetics is everything. I could never use bicycling as a Cardio exercise because it totally took away my leg mass. Plate doing 20 miles after a leg day amazes me and how everyone in this sport reacts differently.
dude what are you talking about. i’m a year late but that doesn’t even matter you’re spouting nonsense. “i could never do bicycling as a cardio exercise bc it would take away my leg mass”… umm, no. it won’t. that is bullshit. no cardio exercise will contribute to muscle loss or have any negative impact on muscle. it is literally not possible. only way would be to overexert during cardio to the point of needing recovery and then recovering when you should be lifting. obviously you’re not gonna repeat what platz did…you’re not on that level. there’s something called intensity levels to training if you didn’t know already, i suggest you try it out. if you’re gonna lie atleast make it believable. all i hear are excuses🤷♂️.
hmm no. because they were in a show together i think prague pro or something, shawn got 2nd place and dennis got 1st, his quad were clearly bigger and better than rhoden in the final comp
@Gene Connor They didn't have nearly the detail. They had incredible sweep and size, but in proportion to the rest of their bodies, Rhoden's are nearly as big.
Now that we are talking about quads what about a review of the 2005 Mister Olympia, wich featured stellar versions of Ronnie Coleman and Jay Cutler. Also there are a lot of good pics from that contest. Plus I would have put Andreas Munzer a little bit higher.
Can I say a blasphemy? I prefeer Ronnie from 2005 than Ronnie from 2003! And this has to do with the better conditioning overall, especially in the legs and the more streamlined midsection. I'm not going pose by pose, it's almost fucking midnight, but I think he looked better in 2005 than in 2003. Also Jay Cutler showed us one of his best versions, the when we talk about the back since his lats don't look as deteriorated as in 2009, and one of his most conditioned versions for sure
Hmm King was really good, I only ever think of him when it comes to the neck though lol... that last guy I've never heard of. All good unspoken HM's though.
@@Ganbarizer tf do you mean "he" lol the guy is an Olympian I'm sure others thought they were impressive too. "Good" or "pretty" subjective, everyone outside of the community thinks ifbb physiques are grotesque. This is not a beauty pageant. That being said ramy doesn't deserve that placing, looks like a lump of cancer. Hardly any saperation
You mentioned a few that didn’t make the cut because of inconsistency. I think Ramy would also fit that part. He was never consistent and seems like he’s only get 2nd because of his passed victory. Being inconsistent with his sharpness regardless of size should leave him out of the top 10 since you did that with some others who also had the same thing.
That's true. The difference with Ramy is he's got the biggest quads with some of the best muscle bellies and sweep of all time, which offsets his inconsistency IMO.
12:33 I wonder if there's a limit to how far someone's skin can stretch (due to muscle growth) and still show optimal detail. Like maybe Ronnie's quads got so big that the skin couldn't sink into the crevices because it was stretched to the max. Maybe, but that doesn't really explain lack of feathering
There was an old video where Jay mentioned if he got too big he lost details... Maybe he just meant in terms of weight and conditioning or possibly he was alluding to some side effect of all the drugs (insulin?) required to get there? Not sure but there's definitely a strong inverse correlation with mass and fine detail.
There are some pics of Coleman (e.g. in 2003) with cross-striations across his rectus femoris. He deserves credit for that--that's not something you see very often, if at all.
Awesome list!! My only gripe is Cutler. His quads looked underwhelming and the middle head looks kind of twisted and odd, and the sweep (outer head) is there but doesn't give a sweep for him if u know what I mean. Anyway, its all nitpicking really, great list and very entertaining :D
