R.I.P. Mr. Fred Hatfield, Dr. Squat

[Robert Mitchum]

Fred Hatfield Dr. Squat passes away at 74
https://www.powerliftingwatch.com/?q=node/34651
16606

[blues]

RIP. The man was a legend for many a year. I can remember reading many of his articles back when.

[1slow]

I've had his books and read his articles. He will be missed.

[txdpd]

Walking out a 1014lb squat out of the rack, in what would now be considered "raw" with a spandex singlet and basically ace wraps on his knees. There are very few humans in that club.

[Edster]

A legend :(

[Paul Sharp]

Walking out a 1014lb squat out of the rack, in what would now be considered "raw" with a spandex singlet and basically ace wraps on his knees. There are very few humans in that club.

This. A lot of folks in weight rooms have no idea how impressive that was/is. I met Fred at a few ISSA things when I was getting my personal training certification and spoke to him quite a bit about the specialist in martial arts strength and conditioning program the ISSA was putting together, becoming one of the first folks to get that certification. He was a wealth of knowledge and ahead of his time. One example is the cold water/shower thing a lot of folks are getting into now. In the early 90's Hatfield was pushing contrast showers as an example of a recovery method one could implement on a regular basis with minimal disruption to their daily routine. The guy was always thinking, exploring, and experimenting.

[txdpd]

This. A lot of folks in weight rooms have no idea how impressive that was/is. I met Fred at a few ISSA things when I was getting my personal training certification and spoke to him quite a bit about the specialist in martial arts strength and conditioning program the ISSA was putting together, becoming one of the first folks to get that certification. He was a wealth of knowledge and ahead of his time. One example is the cold water/shower thing a lot of folks are getting into now. In the early 90's Hatfield was pushing contrast showers as an example of a recovery method one could implement on a regular basis with minimal disruption to their daily routine. The guy was always thinking, exploring, and experimenting.

He was way ahead of his time. In the 90's he was talking about individual anatomy and biomechanics: leverages, bone structures, flexibility, injury history, etc and making sure the lifter was doing the right lifts and making lifts fit the lifter. That's stuff that is now pretty common in advanced athletic training. Guys like him are why so many pro athletes today can train less, perform at a higher physical level, and have almost no training injuries.

[Robert Mitchum]

When I was in High School Fred would train at Hartford Barbell some times...
He would help anyone who had any questions about lifting.
Hartford Barbell was a hole in the wall hardcore City Gym ..
Over the years some famous people walked in from time to time.
Sergio Oliva ... Harold Poole ...Dan Mason World Arm Wrestling Champion ... Bob Bednarski ... Ryan O'Neal actor.
No Facebook back than or cell phones .. .. just hardcore lifting.

"Paul Sharp
This. A lot of folks in weight rooms have no idea how impressive that was/is" ... That hits the nail on the head !!!!

[FOG]

Sorry to hear he passed. Ed Coan was my favorite powerlifter but I always enjoyed reading about Mr. Hatfield in Powerlifting USA

Sent from my SM-G900R4 using Tapatalk

[Shootingrn]

One of my all time favorites...

The only thing I could give him crap about was inventing the Hatfield bar/Safety Squat Bar, F that thing, lol!! (If you have used it you know what I'm talking about...)


TXPD made a good point, he was single ply if I remember correctly but nothing compared to what's available today. Shit, some knee wraps today probably have more carryover than the suit he was wearing.

It doesn't matter what you're wearing, 1000+ is still 1000+

His memory will continue to inspire for sure...

[Rex G]

Rest in peace.