Kelsi Graves is on a mission to promote mental health through movement.
The 35-year-old Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute graduate started Kelsi Rae Jump Fitness earlier this year after leaving her desk job to take care of her three young children during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“At the end of December 2020, I felt like I had hit a wall,” she said. “I felt like I needed some sort of socialization.”
To get herself out of that rut, Graves decided to challenge herself by taking on a 14-day accountability challenge on Instagram.
“Every day, I had to check in with a group of girls to make sure I was moving my body in some way,” she explained.
During the challenge, Graves decided to try her hand at jump rope, which brought her back to her school days of playing outside at recess.
“It’s so nostalgic,” she said. “I was like, ‘How do I make this my work out? Because this is something I actually want to do every day.’”
Graves went on YouTube and Instagram to find new workouts using jump rope she could incorporate into her daily routine.
“I realized there is an entire community on Instagram of jump ropers from all over the world,” she said. “I started an Instagram page, started following all of them, and then I saw this one girl who was a trainer doing classes in a gym.”
The inspiration gave Graves her path to success, offering women of all ages a fun workout without the intimidation of going to the gym or lifting weights.
“I started doing classes at the end of May,” she said. “Now I’m averaging 10 to 15 girls who come out and we double Dutch, learn tricks, and we just have fun.”
Graves’s classes run every Thursday evening at ODAS Park.
“The energy is great,” she said. “A lot of moms come to get out and have that community to boost them and socialize.”
The Orillia Figure Skating Club has asked Graves to work with its athletes for six weeks starting in September.
“I’m excited to get some kiddos into jump rope,” she said. “I think that will be fun.”
Couchiching CrossFit has also invited her to run classes in the evenings in the fall.
“It’s really exciting,” she said. “It’s really catching on and people are liking it.”
Graves says her programming has taught her a lot about improving mental health through her new business.
“I have anxiety and depression, which is what kind of made me hit my wall,” she said. “I think a lot of it is the socialization, getting out and finding that community, and it’s just a good distraction that brings laughter and movement, which, I find, is the best medicine.”
Those who want to get involved with Kelsi Rae Jump Fitness can email [email protected] or follow her on Instagram.
Graves hopes to grow her business.
“That’s the goal,” she said. “I would love to eventually be a part of bigger programs such as CANSkip.”
She hopes to carve out a long and successful career with her jump-rope business.
“It’s funny because before this I had never exercised, ever,” she said. “Now I’m trying to get other women out of their funk because I was there and know how it feels.”
