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.
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Between 2 Racks
Upper Body Assistance Work: How to Build the B Series
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Assistance exercises should do more than fill the second half of a training session.
In this episode of Between 2 Racks, the KILO Crew explains how to build the upper body B Series and the reasoning behind every major programming decision within it.
The discussion begins with the role of the B Series in developing strength, hypertrophy, muscular balance, and sufficient weekly exposure. Stéphane explains how the 90-degree principle emerged from analyzing training outcomes and how it can be used to organize pressing angles across a session, mesocycle, macrocycle, and training year.
The crew then breaks down the B2 exercise, including how horizontal rows, leaning 45-degree pulldowns, and vertical pulling variations complement the work performed in the A Series. They also discuss grip width, hand position, exercise selection, equipment limitations, and why the effects of an exercise must be considered across the entire training week.
Finally, the episode covers tempo and loading. You will learn when tempo should be strictly followed, when a controlled natural rhythm is enough, and how to progress B Series loading across a three-week mesocycle. The crew also explains why the A Series demands an athlete’s approach while the B Series allows the trainee to put on a bodybuilder’s hat and train closer to concentric failure.
This episode is a detailed look at the difference between writing workouts and designing training programs.
Better assistance work begins with better reasoning.
To learn the entire system, enroll in KILO's Program Design Course and begin your journey to earning your Level 1 Certification.
00:00 Intro to upper body B Series
00:19 Defining the role of the B Series
01:04 Building muscular balance and pairings
01:39 Origin of the 90° Principle
09:27 Applying the principle across mesocycles
11:03 Why it helps novice trainees
12:19 B2 exercise selection philosophy
14:08 Rotating primary and assistance exercises
19:34 Choosing B2 exercise types
29:31 Dumbbell row vs seated row
38:44 Tempo philosophy for B Series
44:32 Loading and training to failure
47:51 Tracking progressive overload
50:17 Two sets vs more sets to failure
52:14 Course reference and wrap up
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