Click Here for Free Bodybuilding and Fitness Magazine Subscription
Article care of www.star-interviews.com
For those of you thank do not know who Dr Fred Hatfield is, he is a legend in the fitness and bodybuilding industry. Oh, wait. He was the first man on Earth to record a 1000 pound squat! I suppose that makes him a power lifter. I wasn't head first into the world of weightlifting although I had been training for 4 years when I discovered Dr Squat. It was an article about SQUATTING. One MUST squat to SUCCEED he preached. At an alter of chalk I prayed to the Lord above to allow me one more rep then I had already performed and one more than the last set. I am not sure if God was granting success or not but it wasn't until that article that I even cared about squatting. I then saw the man on television doing an interview for WBF TV. I loved it. Couldn't shake it. Next, I saw he had his own certification program for trainers. I HAD to have it... And each program he set up after that. He was the editor of Muscle and Fitness for years and, well, see his sites. He is THE MAN!.
DON:
What's it like being a genius?
DR HATFIELD: Yikes, Don! "Genius?"
DON:
What led you to becoming a Dr?
DR HATFIELD: As I furthered my education, the doors
were opened for me. I was given the opportunity to teach
while studying for both my masters and doctorate.
DON:
What led you to becoming a power lifter?
DR HATFIELD: I was a gymnast and Olympic lifter, and
going nowhere in either. I decided to try this relatively
new sport called power lifting, and found that I was
pretty good at it. I still describe myself as an Olympic
lifter, however.
DON:
What compelled you to become a writer?
DR HATFIELD: I knew things, and was rapidly learning
new things, about training that no one had said before,
and I felt compelled to say them. Over the years, as
I acquired greater insight, I wrote more. I may never
have the time to finish this work. I never aspired to
be a writer, and still don't.
DON:
What compelled you to start a certification program?
DR HATFIELD: My partner and I listened to a fella on
TV who was training an actress. His drivel was so repugnant
that the idea of educating him, and others like him,
seemed a worthwhile endeavor at the time. It was certainly
needed! We were the first ever to offer a certification
in fitness training, by the way.
DON:
What is it about your supplement line that makes it
so brilliant?
DR HATFIELD: It isn't brilliant by today's standards.
When I designed the line, it was avant garde. It's still
on scientifically "solid" ground. I was never able to
justify putting supplements on the market that I knew
were sub-par or potentially dangerous.
DON:
What is it about your equipment line that sets it apart
form the rest?
DR HATFIELD: Ah! So you know about Sport Strength! For
the life of me, I can't understand the equipment industry!
It's an example of the tail wagging the dog! These marketing
and welding bozos are telling US how to train! How can
that be!!!! Now, I don't blame them for taking advantage
of us (collectively speaking). That's good business!
But it's unconscionable to me that we, as a group of
professionals, aren't telling THEM how to build good
equipment! So, I'm a voice in the wilderness again it
seems. My equipment is designed for the human body.
I cannot imagine ever lying on a flat bench to do an
exercise ever again. Or forcing my joints through unnatural
planes of movement. I own 5 pieces of equipment. I have
the finest sports training gym ever conceived.
DON:
How did you and Dr Sal Arria join forces?
DR HATFIELD: He was my chiropractor during my lifting
career. We became friends. We've traveled the world
together.
DON:
If there was one thing about nutrition you think is
most overlooked, what would it be and why?
DR HATFIELD: Two things are systematically overlooked.
First, no one has ever taken the time to teach people
how to count calories (i.e., portion control). The second
overlooked item is that losing fat requires a negative
calorie intake while gaining muscle requires a positive
one.
DON:
I find a lot of writings where you all but out right
attack Arthur Jones of Nautilus and then others where
you tend to agree with him. How did the feud begin and
why?
DR HATFIELD: There is no feud! Arthur used to say things
that simply weren't true! I called him on such things.
He also says things that are right on the money, and
I praise him for those things. The alleged "feud" was
because of how Arthur attacked me, which (of course)
obliged me to counterattack.
DON:
Besides Tom Platz and Bill Pearl whom you have been
friends with forever, are your favorite bodybuilders?
DR HATFIELD: Grimek. Of course.
DON:
What of the World's Strongest Man competitions? Do you
think it is safe for power lifters or bodybuilders to
even attempt? How can one train to toss telephone poles
or carry a school yard of children in a circle?
DR HATFIELD: Such competitions are fun and popular because
they involve feats of strength which normal folks relate
to easily. To see a one inch steel bar bending over
a man's back is so beyond the comprehension of an average
guy that it has little meaning to him. However, it's
easy to relate personally to someone lifting a refrigerator
or pulling a giant truck. I think that everyone ought
to do the strongman competition! Everyone!
DON:
Women's bodybuilding. The fitness competitor of today
is more muscular than the Olympia women of the 80's.
The current Ms Olympia bodybuilders today are bigger
and leaner than most men at the highest of amateur levels.
Where is it all headed?
DR HATFIELD: The men that they are bigger than ought
to be ashamed of themselves. Period. I have no problem
with muscular women. I do have a problem with women
chemically created with male hormones, however. But
that's a personal prejudice.
DON:
Every personal trainer touts themselves as 'the definitive
source' for training and nutrition. I absolutely love
the writings of the ISSA but what can we do to get people
to realize, knowledge is never definitive. It is ongoing.
DR HATFIELD: You make two observations with this "question."
I agree with both observations. Here's what to do...
Keep teaching the truth. Yes, even truth changes over
time (earth's nature changes while only laws stay stable).
Just as Jesus said in the Bible, "My sheep will hear
my voice."
DON:
Sal Arria has called me and discussed my nutrition program
stating he fully believes food separation is incredible
for producing results. Why is it then the ISSA stands
by a low fat approach but preaches higher fat?
DR HATFIELD: The 1:2:3 approach is easy for people to
remember, it is easy for most people to implement, and
(importantly) it is healthy. I do not regard 1:2:3 (one
part fat, 2 parts protein and 3 parts carbs) as "low"
fat or "high" fat. It'd be high fat for a competing
bodybuilder, but low fat for the average slob. As for
food separation, there are a lot of dietary manipulation
methods that are quite fruitful in promoting health
and wellness. The reason (I believe) is that the human
body is wonderfully adaptable to almost any sort of
dietary approach. The Kapuku Papuan of New Guinea are
people just like the Aleuts of Alaska are. Scandinavians
are people just like middle easterners. But their diets
are substantially different. As a species, we survive
and in fact THRIVE on almost anything edible.
DON:
True, but some survive longer and healthier pending.
You helped create the Anabolic Diet. Where did it go
wrong or right? Mike Quinn claims today it ruined his
metabolism. You and I both know that's not true. Why
does this diet work or fail when even followed as strict
as possible?
DR HATFIELD: Read the answer to above. I love Mike.
But I suspect that he did not follow it to the letter
according to how Dr. DiPasquale and I designed it. The
system was in its infancy back then. DiPasquale has
made adjustments to the diet that appear to make it
more effective.
DON:
The ISSA has so many programs I do not even know where
to begin. I have taken a few of them. Step one I feel
is BOTH the trainers course and the nutrition course.
How many are there and how many are in the works?
DR HATFIELD: Sal and I believe that there is no end
to the health and fitness related CEU courses we can
offer, particularly online. We'd LOVE for you to prepare
one for us, by the way!
DON:
I have reviewed many programs, yours are the most enjoyable.
I felt before that many made you feel like you HAD to
learn something which my mind always rejected. You however
tapped into the psyche by means of literary expression.
Are you a comic book fan?
DR HATFIELD: OWWWWWWW! Yep.
DON:
Where can we get copies of the old WBF television series?
How about the contest videos?
DR HATFIELD: They should be hot collectors items you
know! I don't know for sure. Try writing to Vince in
Stamford.
DON:
If you could change something about bodybuilding as
a sport and something else about the way fitness is
presented to the public, what would they be?
DR HATFIELD: For bodybuilding, the muscle head image.
Unfortunately, all too many among us go out of our way
(it seems) to justify the negative stereotype. For fitness,
the notion that it can be had through a pill, an occasional
walk in the park or through other physically non challenging
endeavors.
DON:
Tell me the last CD you bought, book you read, movie
you saw, video you rented and television show besides
the news or educational programming you watched most
regularly.....
DR HATFIELD: Ummmm. Rented Stigmata two nights ago.
Cute. I don't watch much TV these days, and each time
I do I am reminded why. Books... been reading the Bible
a lot lately. I finally found someone who is able to
interpret it! Cool.
DON:
What did you think I was going to ask?
DR HATFIELD: When I was making my comeback.
DON:
Is there an archive of all your writings we could access?
DR HATFIELD: www.drsquat.com is all I have for the moment.
It's soon to be expanded.
DON:
Have you put any thought into recreating your ab bench
to have a lever arm at chest level instead of the pulleys
you strap and hold over your shoulders?
DR HATFIELD: I like your idea for the bench...
DON:
What equipment would you suggest if a gym isn't willing
to pick up your line?
DR HATFIELD: Equipment.... ummmmm.... take your pick!
I have no suggestions.
DON:
Folks, Frederick C. Hatfield, Ph.D., is the President
of the International Sports Sciences Association and
can also be found at www.sportsci.org.
DR HATFIELD: Don, I am still on the line.....
Visit Dr Fred Hatfield at www.issaonline.com
Don Lemmon's Nutritional and Exercise Know How