Biography

Name: Sheetal Pritmani
Occupation: Founder of a bespoke men’s luxury shirt company – MILK Shirts
Height: 168cm
Weight: 53kg
Age: 39
Personal Trainer: Evadne Woon

As someone who has led an active lifestyle all her life, Sheetal understood the benefits of having a strong and healthy body, especially when she found out she was pregnant with her first baby.

“I wanted to be able to lift my baby in the correct manner without injury, and prevent aches and pains during pregnancy.” 

She started pre-partum personal training in January 2020, at her fourth month of pregnancy with our personal trainer, Evade Woon who was also six months pregnant at that time.

Sheetal is no stranger to personal training, having engaged personal trainers when she was living in Hong Kong, training one to two times a week. She had previously been training with Level trainers Lorne and John when her goal was to get strong and look toned.

But with a baby on the way and developing a newfound respect for her body, her goal shifted to training safely and working with a qualified prenatal trainer – leading her to Eva.

“Eva understood what I was going through because she was also going through a pregnancy at the same time. This allowed us to connect on a totally different level.”

When baby Sofia finally arrived in July 2020, Sheetal resumed her post-partum personal training with Eva as soon as she got the go-ahead from her doctor, ten weeks after the birth.

Eva designed a program for Sheetal that included back squats, strict presses, farmers walk, glute, core strength, and upper body exercises. A typical session would include some cardio to warm up and then some body weight exercises before using weights.

With a focus on safety, Eva dropped the weights on the usual exercises Sheetal was used to doing, focusing mostly on body weight exercises. Workouts were also designed to eliminate jumps and unnecessary dynamic movements. For example, Eva would programme strict presses not push presses, or back squats with controlled tempo (3 seconds down, 1 second up) to keep the workout safe for Sheetal.

“Resuming training after pregnancy was the best decision I made for myself.”

Not only did she lose the 9kg pregnancy weight, she also noticed the ease with which she could stand up from a low stool with Sofia in her arms after a bath, something her husband struggled to do. Training has taught her to engage the right muscles while squatting or picking up heavy objects.

“Watching Eva regain her strength after her own pregnancy has been so inspiring. It made me realise that your body can regain its former strength and still be fit and healthy after giving birth.”

Regular training also did wonders for Sheetal’s mental health, helping to centre and ground her when she experienced mood swings during pregnancy. Post pregnancy, she also appreciated the time to herself that she had during personal training.

“I love my gym time – which is just that little “me time”, which you need as a new mom. I come back energised and invigorated to get back to time with my baby and work.”

Training pre- and post-partum has allowed Sheetal to stay consistent in maintaining her lifestyle involving fitness and movement – without having to give up during her pregnancy.

“The training at Level has been by far the best I’ve had since I have started personal-training more than 7 years ago. I can really see and feel the difference it has made for me.”