I am the General Manager at Elite Edge Ankeny. I grew up in a small town called West Liberty, Iowa where my passion for fitness first began. I attended college in Iowa City, Iowa where I went to Kirkwood and University of Iowa. I’ve been in the fitness industry for over eight years, starting as a personal trainer at Core Fitness in Iowa City and then at Golds Gym in Coralville. I began at Elite Edge as a boot camp instructor and then took over the Training For Warriors program. I have served as the Ankeny location General Manager since July of 2018, and it is my passion to change lives and help people get where they want to be!

My journey started with Elite Edge as a challenger. I successfully completed the 6 Week Challenge by losing 26 pounds. I knew from day one that I wanted to be a part of this family. I’m blessed with a passion for helping others reach their goals, as well as my own. Since being hired I’ve spent my free time trying to become a better coach, working my way up to head trainer at Ankeny.

I grew up in Minnesota, and gained an interest in strength training through high school athletics. I followed this interest into college and graduated from Alexandria Technical College with an Associates Degree, then earning a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science at Concordia St. Paul. I believe in building confidence in my bootcampers, while simultaneously assisting them in reaching their full potential! With the great atmosphere, support system, and professional assistance at Elite Edge, I believe anyone can be successful.

I love being around my fit fam here at Elite! I have always had a passion for fitness, nutrition, and living a healthy lifestyle. Helping others achieve a healthy lifestyle while having fun gives me great joy. I would say I am a huge foodie so I love coming up with new ways to make delicious, healthy food! Being a former bikini competitor, healthy food can get boring–cooking quickly became one of my greatest hobbies!

My name is Sami Blaker and I am the full-time administrator at Elite Edge Gym in Ankeny. I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree from Iowa State University in 2016 and am currently working on getting certified to train classes. I started with Elite Edge as a member for two years and I loved the gym so much that I have made a career out of it! I have always been passionate about fitness and working out: I was a five-sport athlete in high school, played soccer collegiately, and picked up yoga and weightlifting in my 20’s. Alongside fitness and working out, you can find me bartending on the weekends and eating ice cream for my cheat meals!