Hatfield Squats Useful?

Training Q&A [Moderated]
1

I started incorporating Hatfield squats for sets of 8 as an assistance exercise in my current training block, and they seem great. They are really “easy” on my back and knees and not very fatiguing despite the very large increase in weight used to hit target RPE. As a benefit, I started noticing that my competition squats started feeling lighter upon unracking as well.

The Hatfield squat strikes me as a particularly unique way to overload a squat pattern with a very low fatigue proposition.

Despite all these valuable features, it seems like Hatfield squats are not utilized very often in BBM templates. Why is that? Is my experience atypical here compared to yours? Do you consider the lower specificity of Hatfields to be a large flaw? Poor carryover to competition lifts?

2

We program them quite often actually, though most people lack the equipment to do them which is why they aren’t included as many templates.

3

Where would be some good options to sub in some Hatfield squats? Overload slots, higher rep sets, anytime SSB is an option? All of the above? I haven’t gotten around to doing them yet, but I’m about to run PL II again.