I was wondering about this method and how it relates to HIT. It seems to me that twenty rep squats fall quite neatly into the HIT framework as opposed to “holding one or two reps in the bank” type of training. I think if I were to do twenty rep squats while holding something back after each little burst it wouldnt quite inspire in me the kind of mythical response that it has long been famed for. Is it possible to do this exercise to its optimum level whilst performing a programme akin to those prescribed by Waterbury.
The 20-rep squat (that I know) is a beyond failure technique and is different from HIT which only goes until absolute failure. It wouldn’t be right if you “held back” after each burst because one integral characteristic of the 20-rep squat is that you use a 10RM to go to failure 11 times in a set starting from the 10th rep.
There are a other versions of 20-rep squats. There’s one wherein you take deep breaths for each of your 20 reps. There’s also another where you use your 5RM, which is pretty sadistic. There may be more, but I don’t know all of them.