FALL RIVER — On Wednesdays and Saturdays, North Park is the place to be for fitness, friendship and fun.

Twice a week, a group gathers at the Highlands neighborhood park — in rain or shine, and even snow — to take part in the growing Females in Action (FiA) South Coast.

Now in its second year, FiA South Coast is a local fitness organization — part of a larger nationwide FiA program — spearheaded by 30-year-old Fall River resident Caitlin Botelho. 

The gist: It's always always free, it's always outside, it's always women.

Botelho, regional leader for FiA, explained that the group is about much more than workouts, though.

"Yes, we constantly workout together but I wouldn't say we're workout first — it's more for the social, it's more for the mental ... it's positive, it's uplifting," said Botelho, who is director of the Old Colony YMCA Emergency Residences program in New Bedford.

According to FiA's website, its mission is for its community of women to make each other stronger in all areas of their lives by focusing on bodies, minds and hearts.

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Botelho said the group does so by hosting social gatherings — going to dinners, out for coffee, hosting parties — so members can get to know each other and build relationships beyond the workout.

The group also does philanthropy together. Botelho said they most recently put together diaper cakes for a community-wide shower organized by the United Way of Greater Fall River. They have also gotten together at a Swansea church to pack Christmas gift bags, assisted with Thanksgiving donations, and have mixed fitness with charitable work at various 5K fundraisers.

"Confidence, feeling empowered, feeling like you're contributing to our community in a positive way," is what FiA is all about, Botelho said.

Botelho first got involved in FiA while living in Tennessee, where she attended school to attain a master's degree in sociology. She had no prior experience in fitness instruction, she was just a new girl in town looking for a place to exercise and make friends.

"It had such a great impact on me ... they helped me out in so many ways," Botelho said.

For Botelho, FiA became not only a go-to place to work out, but provided her with the sense of community she sought. When Botelho needed a hand painting the deck of her Tennessee house, her FiA group was there. They helped her through her grandmother's passing and through a breakup, she said. 

"It's kind of like a family, we call each other FiA sisters," Botelho said.

When Botelho moved back home, she wanted to build that same kind of community in Fall River.

So amid the pandemic in August 2020 — with gyms closed and social distancing in place — FiA South Coast was launched and brought the free workout program to the women of Greater Fall River in a safe space — outdoors.

"I had joined a couple of gyms here but was doing the same exact type of workouts and paying a lot of money a month for it so I just decided to gather my friends and family and promote it all on social media," she said.

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Females in Action is a nationwide movement that started in Charlotte, N.C., in 2013 and has since attracted more than 6,000 women in 22 states. FiA South Coast is the first and currently the only FiA chapter in Massachusetts.

The group is pretty tight-knit, with roughly 10 to 15 members who range in age from late 60s through age 6, most from the Fall River area. Botelho said in total over 50 women have joined since its inception two years ago.

So what can one expect at a typical FiA session? A little bit of everything, Botelho said.

Workouts include a lot of HITT (high intensity interval training), strength training and cardio. Botelho said they've done relay races, a lot of themed workouts — incorporating pumpkins, for example, at Halloween time — utilized medicine balls, battle ropes and more.

"We try to make it really fun," she said. 

Botelho emphasized all classes are geared toward women of all ages and abilities, and workouts can be modified to fit you.

"It's a really judgment-free zone.. I think sometimes people feel intimidated when they go to a gym or a boot camp class," Botelho said.

The group has their own lingo and jargon — for example, workout leaders are called Qs — and each member gets their own nickname bestowed upon them by their local FiA community. Botelho's name is Boston, coined by her Southern FiA family.

According to Botelho, each boot-camp style workout ends with a Circle of Trust, during which the Q leaves the group on a positive note by sharing a message for the day or a personal story that might be inspiring.

FiA operates with no leader in the traditional sense. Classes are peer-run, with different members taking the lead each day, offering a bit of variety so sessions never get boring and each member contributes to the group's success.

Prior to FiA, Botelho said she never imagined she would one day be leading a fitness class. But that's just what happened, and now her job is to instill in others the confidence to do the same.

"The biggest thing is we build each other up and empower one another ... A lot of the women who've joined our group were like 'I've never even gone to a gym and you expect me to lead a workout for a group of women?'" Botelho said. 

But the goal is to get there eventually, with the support and guidance of their fellow members who've led in the past.

Botelho suggests workout leaders play to their strengths and what they feel comfortable with. One member loves to do yoga so that is her go-to workout, one has a black belt in karate so led a self defense karate workout, people who love running include a lot of cardio in their sessions and some members share their love of Zumba.

"These women end up leading great workouts and it's just amazing to watch them grow each in their own individual ways," she said.

She added: "Being in this role has definitely helped me with public speaking and connecting with people in the community."

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Since the program is year-round, workouts don't end when the temperatures drop. 

While colder months present a challenge, and attendance dips slightly, Botelho said a good amount of members still brave the elements. You'll catch them bundled in winter gear, boots and hats and ready to go even on snowy days — sometimes taking to the famous North Park hills for a sledding workout.  

"It's tough in the winters. Our coldest workout was feels-like-negative 17," Botelho recalled.

While she said many members’ families might consider them crazy heading out in that weather, Botelho admits those rainy and snowy day workouts "are the best."

The local FiA group gathers at the top of North Park, on Highland Avenue, on Wednesdays at 6:15 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. There is no need to sign up, just show up at the scheduled workout time and look for their FiA flag.

As days start to get darker earlier in the colder months, Botelho noted that the group's Wednesday night location will move to the Bristol Community College parking lot #6 under the solar panels on the Fall River campus starting Sept. 21.

For more information, visit their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/fiasouthcoast or their website at https://fiasouthcoast.wordpress.com.