Send us Fan Mail

Extended sets can be highly effective for hypertrophy, strength development and work capacity, but only when the trainee has earned the right to use them.

In this episode of Between 2 Racks, the KILO Crew breaks down how extended set techniques work, when they belong in a program and why adding intensifiers to every workout can quickly become counterproductive.

The discussion covers:

• 1 1/4 reps
• Double Barrel
• Rest-Pause
• Max-Rep sets
• Reps for Time
• Post-Fatigue Partials
• Assisted Reps
• Drop Sets
• Mechanical Advantage Extended Sets
• Variable Muscle Action, or VMA

You will learn how strength curves determine where partial reps should be performed, how to introduce intensifiers gradually, which techniques are better suited to B and C series, and how training age, recovery capacity and technical failure should influence programming decisions.

The central coaching lesson is simple: a trainee must first learn how to execute a standard set with genuine effort and technical control. There is nothing valuable to extend when the original set was never taken close to its true capacity.

Extended sets are tools. Use them in the right phase, for the right goal and with a trainee who can recover from the additional demand.

Learn more about KILO’s Specialty Techniques course and education for strength coaches.

Subscribe to Between 2 Racks for weekly conversations on program design, periodization, strength training and the coaching process.

0:00 Intro to extended sets
1:29 What is an extended set
3:00 1 1/14 reps
6:24 When to 1 1/14 reps in programming
10:46 Earning the right to use intensifiers
17:45 Double barrel technique
18:35 Rest-pause sets
22:27 Max reps
25:06 Reps for time
27:41 Post fatigue partials
29:41 Assisted (cheat) reps
32:38 Drop sets
37:33 Mechanical advantage extended sets
43:11 Variable muscle action (VMA)
47:47 Wrap up and coaching takeaways

Stay Connected with KILO:

Have a question? ⁠Submit it for a Rapid Fire episode⁠.

Learn more at ⁠trainkilo.com⁠

Follow KILO on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠.

Send us Fan Mail

What movement patterns are commonly neglected in general population programming? How should training change as a client progresses from novice to intermediate? And what can volume load tell a coach about the actual demands of a program?

In this Rapid Fire Q&A, the KILO Crew works through a wide range of programming and coaching questions.

The discussion begins with the squat, hip hinge and overhead patterns, including why discomfort should not automatically lead a coach to remove an entire movement pattern. The better approach is often to find an appropriate regression, establish a workable starting point and progressively rebuild the client’s ability to perform the movement.

The conversation then moves into the transition from novice to intermediate training. Stéphane and Pauric explain how movement repetition, exercise variation, loading accuracy and periodization can evolve as a trainee develops greater technical competency.They also clarify the difference between total and relative volume load, how accumulation phases build the work capacity required for intensification, and why higher-volume training can improve a trainee’s ability to express strength later in the program.

The episode concludes with early signs of under-recovery, the limitations of wearable data and a practical framework for abdominal training. The crew covers where ab training should begin, the role of stabilization, how to progress trunk and hip flexion exercises, and which movements they most often use with clients.

For trainers and strength coaches, this episode is a reminder that better programs are built through sound decisions, logical progression and an understanding of how each phase prepares the trainee for what comes next.

Build the base, then earn the progression.

0:19 Over- and under-prioritized movement patterns

1:34 Regressing and rebuilding the squat pattern

11:43 Using linear periodization with new clients

14:54 What is volume load?

17:55 Relative volume load in program design

21:28 Old-school Nautilus and Arthur Jones’ training philosophy

23:03 Why work capacity supports intensification

25:11 Buffers versus straining under load

26:58 A sprinting analogy for work capacity

28:38 Signs a client is under-recovered

29:23 Wearables and recovery metrics

30:45 The Charles Poliquin grip test story

31:47 Ab training and stability basics

33:18 Where should ab training begin?

35:51 Favorite ab exercises

39:46 Final principles for training abs

Stay Connected with KILO:

Have a question? ⁠Submit it for a Rapid Fire episode⁠.

Learn more at ⁠trainkilo.com⁠

Follow KILO on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠.

Send us Fan Mail

The systems used in strength training today were built through decades of coaching, research, experimentation, and education.

In this episode, the KILO Crew traces the people and resources that most shaped their understanding of programming, periodization, strength development, power, and coaching.

Stéphane explains how Charles Poliquin first expanded his view beyond bodybuilding and introduced a more technical approach to exercise selection, tempo, loading, and nervous system development.

The conversation then moves through Ian King’s systematic thinking, Joe DeFranco’s ability to blend training philosophies, Larry Vinette’s role as a true mentor, and the foundational work of authors and researchers including Vladimir Zatsiorsky, Yuri Verkhoshansky, Mel Siff, Mike Stone, Tudor Bompa, Carmelo Bosco, Dan Baker, William Kraemer, Steven Fleck, and many others.

They also discuss why understanding research requires more than reading an abstract, how trusted educators can help coaches interpret science, and the importance of knowing where the principles behind modern strength training came from.

The episode closes with an important distinction: the KILO system is not presented as the only successful approach to training. It is a connected framework built from established principles, years of application, and a clear understanding of how the pieces fit together.

Know where the ideas came from, then learn how to apply them.

RECOMMENDED READING

12 Essential Books That Shaped Our Strength Training Philosophy, read the full article ⁠here⁠.

Science and Practice of Strength Training

Vladimir Zatsiorsky, William Kraemer and Andrew Fry

Supertraining

Yuri Verkhoshansky and Mel Siff

Poliquin Principles

Charles Poliquin

Strength and Power in Sport

Paavo Komi

The Physiology of Training

Gregory Whyte and Neil Spurway

Strength and Conditioning: Biological Principles and Practical Applications

Marco Cardinale, Robert Newton and Kazunori Nosaka

Strength and Conditioning in Sports: From Science to Practice

Michael Stone, Timothy Suchomel, W. Hornsby and John Wagle

Periodization of Strength Training for Sports

Tudor Bompa and Carlo Buzzichelli

Scientific Foundations and Practical Applications of Periodization

G. Gregory Haff

How to Write Strength Training Programs

Ian King

Fitness and Strength Training for All Sports

Jurgen Hartmann

Developing the Athlete: An Applied Sport Science Roadmap for Optimizing Performance

William J. Kraemer, Nicholas Ratamess and Thomas Newman

0:00 Introduction OGs of strength training

1:07 Charles Poliquin the foundational influence

6:56 Ian King

18:29 Joe DeFranco

20:09 Eric Cressey and Christian Thibaudeau

22:15 Larry Vinette

26:09 Gilles Cometti and Supertraining

27:38 Science and Practice by Zatsiorsky

30:10 Mike Stone

36:04 Schmidtbleicher and German research

38:12 Bompa

39:19 Carmelo Bosco

40:28 Dan Baker and the Australian research boom

42:27 Scandinavian researchers and conditioning science

43:46 How to actually approach research today

52:08 Closing thoughts and recommended reading

Stay Connected with KILO:

Have a question? ⁠Submit it for a Rapid Fire episode⁠.

Learn more at ⁠trainkilo.com⁠

Follow KILO on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠.

Send us Fan Mail

In this Rapid Fire Q&A episode, the KILO Crew breaks down several programming questions that strength coaches and personal trainers run into with real clients.

The episode starts with a practical coaching problem: how to fit remedial, accessory, and supportive work into a 40-minute full-body session for a beginner who trains three days per week. From there, the conversation moves into session structure, exercise pairing, training economy, warm-up integration, and how to decide what belongs in the program when time is limited.

The crew also discusses when a client actually needs more direct isolation work versus when they simply need better execution and more time under the bar with compound lifts. That leads into a deeper discussion on functional hypertrophy for body recomposition, why it works well under a moderate deficit, and how the right training structure can support both hypertrophy and strength retention.

The episode also covers ascending and descending mesocycle loading, when each strategy makes sense, why they are not beginner tools, and how they can be used to organize fatigue, volume, and strength expression across a phase. Finally, Pauric explains the difference between acute and chronic training load, and when those metrics become useful for coaches managing mixed-modality athletes.

This episode is about making better programming decisions, not adding more exercises for the sake of it.

Stay Connected with KILO:

Have a question? ⁠Submit it for a Rapid Fire episode⁠.

Learn more at ⁠trainkilo.com⁠

Follow KILO on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠.

Send us Fan Mail

Hybrid training is everywhere right now.

From HYROX and run clubs to recreational sports, Pilates, conditioning, mobility work, and strength training, more general population clients are adding multiple training modalities into their week.

But more training does not automatically mean better results.

In this episode of Between 2 Racks, the KILO Crew breaks down how coaches should think about programming for hybrid clients who want to build strength, improve conditioning, move better, and still recover.

We discuss why recovery capacity has to guide the program, how parallel emphasis differs from pure parallel training, when strength work should shift to maintenance, and why simply adding more volume can quickly become a problem.

Steph and Pauric also explain how to adjust strength training when cardio, running, sport, mobility, or fat loss are part of the goal, including when to use full-body training, upper/lower splits, buffers, zone two work, higher-intensity conditioning, and mobility exposure.

The big takeaway: cardio does not kill your gains. Poor programming, poor load management, and ignoring recovery do.

If you coach clients who lift, run, play sports, take classes, or want to feel athletic again, this episode will help you make smarter decisions with program design and periodization.

Stay Connected with KILO:

Have a question? ⁠Submit it for a Rapid Fire episode⁠.

Learn more at ⁠trainkilo.com⁠

Follow KILO on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠.

Send us Fan Mail

Progressive Anatomical Adaptation Blocks, or PAABs, are among the most misunderstood components of the KILO system.

In this episode of Between 2 Racks, the KILO Crew breaks down what PAAB actually is, how it differs from structural balance, and why it should be viewed as strength preparation rather than simply rehab or remedial training.

Steph and Pauric explain the difference between building strength ratios and preparing the joints, tissues, and movement patterns required for harder training later on. They cover when a client may need PAAB, when it may not be the best use of time, and why strong trainees, athletes, beginners, and beat-up lifters can all benefit from it in different ways.

The conversation also walks through how PAAB sessions are structured, why the work is organized around joints and tissues, and how longer time under tension, slower tempos, eccentrics, isometrics, and controlled ranges of motion help build the foundation for future strength training.

This is not about keeping clients in low-level corrective work forever.

It is about knowing when to prepare the body, how to progress that preparation, and when to move on to more advanced strength work.

PAAB is the foundation that lets better training happen next.

0:00 Introduction to PAAB

1:41 Origins of structural balance

4:51 Structural balance vs anatomical adaptation

6:56 What PAAB actually is

11:53 When a client needs PAAB

14:06 PAAB session structure walkthrough

21:16 Building joint work capacity

27:52 Specialty methods

34:23 Why PAAB blocks are six weeks

38:08 How long to stay on PAAB

45:17 Progressive shoulder rehab example

47:55 MAP assessment and PAAB

49:15 Importance of lower back training

54:58 Explaining PAAB to clients

56:23 Wrap up and final thoughts

Stay Connected with KILO:

Have a question? ⁠Submit it for a Rapid Fire episode⁠.

Learn more at ⁠trainkilo.com⁠

Follow KILO on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠.

Send us Fan Mail

In this Rapid Fire Q&A episode of Between 2 Racks, the KILO Crew works through a wide range of programming questions that strength coaches and personal trainers run into when building real programs for real clients.

The conversation starts with whether different body parts can be trained for different goals within the same macrocycle, and why the answer depends on how far apart those goals are, the client’s limitations, and the recovery cost of the overall plan.

From there, the crew discusses why KILO has moved away from certain older testing models, including maximal strength deficit testing, and how assessment should evolve as coaching systems improve.

The episode also covers how bench angle changes triceps extension variations, why seated, standing, lying, and kneeling leg curls should be viewed more as programming variations than strict progressions, and why limiting lifts do not automatically belong on the first training day of the week.

Later, the discussion moves into neck training, conditioning across different macrocycle goals, nutrition adjustments around conditioning sessions, and the difference between relative strength ratios and strength ratios.

This episode is a reminder that good programming is not about memorizing rules. It is about understanding the principles well enough to know when a rule applies, when it does not, and what changes downstream when you adjust it.

Better coaching starts with better decision-making.

Stay Connected with KILO:

Have a question? ⁠Submit it for a Rapid Fire episode⁠.

Learn more at ⁠trainkilo.com⁠

Follow KILO on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠.

Send us Fan Mail

In this Rapid Fire Q&A episode of Between 2 Racks, the KILO Crew tackles a wide range of coaching questions around specificity, strength reserve, long-term planning, and how to make better training decisions when the answer is not obvious.

The episode opens with a discussion on preparing for HYROX and other strength endurance events, including why most athletes should spend more time building a strength reserve before rushing into highly specific work.

From there, the conversation moves into lower body hypertrophy for speed athletes, examining when full range knee-dominant work is useful, when it may need to be reduced, and why the demands of a pure sprinter are not the same as those of a team sport athlete.

The crew also breaks down how to think about hypertrophy-focused years versus maximal strength-focused years, especially when applying concepts from specialization courses. They cover heavy inertia work for maximal strength, how rep ranges depend on range of motion and time under tension, and why percentage-based answers often fall short.

The episode closes with practical guidance on returning high-training-age athletes after injury and choosing between rapid eccentrics, overcoming isometrics, inertia, and more traditional contrast methods during peaking phases.

For coaches, this episode is a reminder that the best training decisions come from understanding principles, not copying methods.

Stay Connected with KILO:

Have a question? ⁠Submit it for a Rapid Fire episode⁠.

Learn more at ⁠trainkilo.com⁠

Follow KILO on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠YouTube⁠.