Between 2 Racks
Between 2 Racks is a strength training podcast from KILO, a coach-led education company built to support personal trainers and strength coaches who want a deeper, more durable understanding of training.
The goal is simple: create a home for sound knowledge. Not trends, not shortcuts, and not recycled talking points.
Each episode explores program design, loading, periodization, and coaching decisions through real-world application. We focus on what holds up over time, where theory breaks down in practice, and how coaches can make better decisions for the people they train.
Hosted by experienced coaches with decades spent in private training, performance settings, and long-term athlete development, the conversations are practical, honest, and grounded in principle.
If you are a coach looking for clarity, depth, and a place to think critically about training, Between 2 Racks is that space.
Let’s kick it!
Between 2 Racks
The OGs of Strength Training: Coaches and Researchers Who Shaped Us
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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
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