Meet Sami Papacek

When you meet Sami, it’s hard to not get excited about exercise. In a matter of seconds, you will feel some of her energy and enthusiasm! It’s obvious that she loves what she does. Just ask her clients. She brings knowledge, support and never ending energy to each and every workout!

Sami found exercise at the age of 15. She joined a women’s health club and often snuck over to work out on the machines or classes during lunch in high school. From the beginning, Sami understood how important exercise was not only for her physical self and soccer skills, but mentally as well. She learned quickly to love the endorphins that working out produced and was immediately hooked. While in college Sami became a group fitness instructor and found the new passion of teaching and inspiring others through fitness.

Since then, exercise has almost (but not always) been a part of her life. Sami has taught at several health clubs throughout the Midwest and competed in fitness competitions. After college she found her profession in outside sales. While fulfilling from a professional capacity, Sami found her physical self being put on the back burner. After nearly a 30 lb. weight gain, lack of motivation and her confidence plummeting, Sami knew it was time to make a change.

Sami moved to Kansas City in January of 2005 and started working at a large health club. It was here that she began her journey to help others feel good about themselves inside and out and started working with breast cancer survivors. A year and half later she moved into an independent training studio and has never looked back.  Currently you will find Sami at Body Coach in Overland Park. http://bodycoachllc.com/index.html

Sami focuses on each client and creating an individual workout every time they are in the studio. Her clients are her family and she makes it a point to get to know each one personally. Sami spends time coaching her clients in all aspects of their physical health, provides resources on nutrition and lifestyle, and develops programs for her clients to do when they are outside of the studio.

Through her experience working with breast cancer survivors, Sami began to see the benefits of exercise for women after breast cancer treatment. In 2005, Sami developed the Pink T’s Breast Cancer Exercise program to provide safe and effective exercise after treatment. This four week program is offered through Cancer Action and over 225 survivors have participated since its inception.  Currently the Pink T’s program is expanding to additional locations throughout Kansas City. In late 2008 Sami joined a team working on a clinical trial at the University of Kansas Breast Cancer Survivorship Center. This feasibility study looks at a dietary and exercise intervention for post-menopausal breast cancer survivors and is the beginning of several research projects underway at KU.