09/08/2026
WHY I BELIEVE IN SPRINTING FOR MY STAGE ATHLETES 🏃♀️💨
As my athletes get closer to stepping on the fitness competition stage, cardio isn’t just about burning more calories.
Everything I program has a purpose.
And one tool I love when it’s appropriate for the athlete?
SPRINTS.
Here’s why:
1. We want to get lean without training the body to be slow.
Contest prep requires creating an energy deficit, but I still want my athletes training like ATHLETES.
Short, explosive sprint intervals recruit high-threshold, fast-twitch muscle fibres and give us a completely different stimulus than simply adding more and more steady-state cardio.
2. They create a huge training stimulus in very little time.
Sprint intervals are demanding.
Heart rate climbs. Oxygen demand climbs. The body has to recover between bouts.
That means I can create a powerful conditioning stimulus without automatically prescribing another 45–60 minutes on a treadmill.
And in prep, more isn’t always better. Better is better.
3. They help build the conditioning I want to see on stage.
Getting stage lean is one thing.
Being able to train hard, pose, hold your presentation and walk onto that stage looking athletic and conditioned is another.
I don’t just want a smaller athlete.
I want a conditioned athlete.
4. They can improve cardiovascular fitness and VO₂ max.
As prep progresses, maintaining cardiovascular capacity matters.
Strategically programmed high-intensity intervals can improve cardiorespiratory fitness while giving us another conditioning tool alongside steps and lower-intensity cardio.
5. They challenge glucose utilization and insulin sensitivity.
High-intensity muscular work uses glycogen quickly and can improve the muscle’s ability to take up glucose.
For a physique athlete whose carbohydrates are being strategically manipulated throughout prep, metabolic health and nutrient utilization matter.
But here’s the part people sometimes miss:
I don’t throw endless sprints at an already exhausted athlete just because we’re getting close to show day.
Sprinting is a tool, not a punishment for eating and not a shortcut to getting lean.
If recovery is suffering, legs are getting beaten up, performance is crashing or the athlete’s physique needs something different, I adjust.
Because contest prep isn’t about seeing how much cardio I can make someone survive.
It’s about applying the right stimulus, to the right athlete, at the right time - while preserving the physique we’ve spent months building.
That is why you’ll see some of my Team BOSS athletes sprinting their way toward the stage. 🔥
We aren’t just getting lean.
We’re building stage-ready athletes.
Now RUN. 😈🏃♀️💨 Nicole Mason