FiA Nation – Charleston Edition

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Sometime in June, I noticed a post in my neighborhood Facebook group about a new workout group that was forming. I was considering going to the gym at the time, but I knew that without accountability, it would be short-lived. When I showed up, I hadn’t worked out in months…ahem, maybe years. I started attending the workouts right around the launch date and I haven’t looked back!

FiA stands for Females in Action. They are free, outdoor, peer-led workouts. Anyone can lead a workout and it can be anything you’d like – bootcamp style, yoga, zumba, kickboxing… They start with a warm up and end with a devotional or inspirational message.

I’ve been going as often as I can and I even Co-Q’ed. What is a Co-Q you ask? Here is a little glossary of a FiA workout:

Co-Q: is the co-leader for that specific workout and is in charge of the warm up and the devotional or inspirational message.

Q: is the leader of the 45 minutes workout and Name-O-Rama. You can only Q after having Co-Q’ed.

Name-O-Rama: The Q records who was there and everyone is given a FiA name according to what they tell about themselves. I ended up with “Madame”, I’ll let you guess why.

During Name-O-Rama, we say our name, age and FiA name and everyone repeats our FiA name. If you are over 50 we say, “Respect”; if it’s a new girl, she says “FNG”.

FNG: stands for “Friendly New Girl”

Respect: because well, over 50 and working out like a badass – “RESPECT!”

If you are intrigued, you can Like the FiA Charleston page on Facebook and check out our calendar below. Maybe you can find a workout near you:

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From their website:

FiA is a community of women whose mission is to make each other stronger in all areas of our lives. We do this through ‘Actions’ which are focused on our:
Bodies – We organize FREE, peer-led workouts most days of the week
Minds – We get together for book clubs, career and family discussion groups, and faith interactions
Hearts – We give our time and resources to the community and invest in each other by joining together for coffee, weekday lunches, and FiA socials

FiA is about being a better person, and giving is a part of that so the FiAlanthropy was created, in which the women in the group pick projects to work on once a month.

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Going blue for law enforcement.
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Early morning workout.
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Partner workout.
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“Demo” who started our group with some of the girls.

 

I will keep going to my FiA workouts as long as I live in Charleston and they are offered in my neighborhood. Beyond my fitness level improving, I really appreciate the friendship, support and opportunity to lead in a relaxed manner.

Find a workout near you and join us! If you want to see me and the amazing ladies in the photos, come to the Bayside workouts in West Ashley!