My New Favorite Squat

I have done the barbell squat all my life. This is a great way to build strength in the lower body. I've also tried other squats: the front, goblet and belt squats.

This year, I've started doing the Hatfield squat. It's my favorite squat.

This exercise is great. The traditional barbell squat was uncomfortable for me because of my cranky shoulders and knees. After years of frustration, the Hatfield squat made squatting enjoyable and productive after I tried to make barbell squats work for me. Hatfield Squats are also great for increasing quad hypertrophy. This is in line with my fitness goal to get more ripped. It has been a game changer in my training.

The Hatfield squat is a great alternative to barbell squatting.

What is the Hatfield Squat? What are its benefits?

The Hatfield Squat is named after the legendary powerlifter Dr. Fred Hatfield (aka Dr. Squat). It is a variation of a back squat that uses a safety barbell, which looks like an oxyoke.

The safety squat is placed on your back when you perform the Hatfield Squat. Instead of resting your hands on the safety bar, you can place them on an extra barbell or on a set handles placed at navel height on the barbell rack. You keep your hands on the barbell rack support as you lower yourself into the squat. This helps you maintain your balance, and a straight torso.

The Hatfield squat offers some unique benefits because of its increased stability.

Excellent for quad hypertrophy. The Hatfield squat is a great tool if you want to get legs that are as large as tree trunks. The increased stability of the Hatfield squat allows you to overload quads more than with a traditional one. You can focus more on the movement and less on maintaining your balance. This allows you to add weight or reps with greater intensity.

The Hatfield squat is great for squatting with injuries. Hatfield squats have allowed me to squat heavily again, despite niggling injuries I've had for years.

The traditional low-bar position made my shoulder pain worse because I suffer from shoulder tendonitis caused by bench pressing. I also struggle with shoulder flexibility despite all the time I spend working to improve it. You don't need to hold the bar in your hands when doing the Hatfield Squat because you are using a safety bar. This completely relieves your shoulders of stress.

Hatfield squats have also helped me work around a pain behind my knee that I've been experiencing since 2020. Pain only occurs during the descent portion of a barbell squat. I have seen an orthopedic surgeon, and had an MRI done. But the source of my pain has not been identified. I think it's an overuse injury to a tendon. The increased stability from the Hatfield squat, however, allows me to squat heavily and below parallel with no pain behind my knee.

Hatfield squats are also helpful for people with lower back problems. They allow them to squat without aggravating their injury.

Because of the Hatfield squats' ability to reduce pain, I have also called them "Midlife Man Squats."

This is an excellent accessory lift to the barbell squat. Hatfield squats don't need to completely replace the barbell squat. You can also use the Hatfield Squat to supplement your barbell program. You could perform the Hatfield Squat on deadlift day for 3 sets of 8-12 repetitions to increase work capacity and hypertrophy.

You can also use the Hatfield Squat as a way to overload train in order to gain strength and confidence when lifting heavier weights. Do 3 sets of 3 repetitions using weights that are heavier than what you would normally lift with the barbell squat.

Here is a hypothetical program for barbells that incorporates the Hatfield Squat:

Lower Body Day