Welcome Shantil Thomson…to the Philadelphia Women’s Physique world!

"I am competing in my first ever NPC women's physique competition, after recently moving to the Philly area and needing to find a new competitive outlet. I spent the last few years competing in crossfit, fighting Muay Thai, and playing multiple sports, and this seemed like something that could help stoke my competitive fires!

I was always athletic in my youth and through college, but started to slip after starting a full time career. I found crossfit, and spent 5 years training and competing through multiple moves – California, North Carolina, and Philadelphia. It helped me stay sane, and kept me healthy. Recently I needed a new challenge, and decided to step into NPC physique competitions to stoke my competitive fire and give me a new goal!

I’m a morning person, so 5am sharp I roll in to the gym to get my day started and my head right before heading in to work. I work out 5 days a week, for about 75 minutes of weights rotating daily through 2 lower body workouts, back and bis, chest and tris, and shoulders, with 20 minutes of cardio to top it off. My cardio is split between 3 low intensity session and 2 HIIT sessions of sprinting on the bike or treadmill.

For diet, I track everything through MyFitnessPal. My base caloric intake is around 2500, but I have been tapering over 3 months to prepare for the competition and have had to cut carbs and fats pretty drastically; I always keep my protein high and steady, though! I have a whole list of the “cheat” foods I plan to devour after show day this Saturday, at the Baltimore Gladiator – doughnuts and a big, greasy cheeseburger top the list!"

Photos were taken by Jon Ted, (JonTClt), recently when I went back to Charlotte for a weekend to meet with my competition coach, IFBB Pro Lauren Rutan. I work out at Universal Pro Gym in Horsham, PA.