A first in the Lehigh Valley: New outdoor fitness court is free to use

Fitness enthusiasts or those just starting out exercising, have a new spot in the Lehigh Valley to pursue the healthy endeavor, and its free.

In Upper Nazareth Township , people gathered Saturday for the formal dedication of a new fitness court at Leibert Park, which is the first of its kind locally, according to a national organization that helped install hundreds of similar courts elsewhere in Pennsylvania and nationwide.

The outdoor gym can provide a full-body workout in as little as seven minutes. The features of the court focus on seven zones: core, squat, push, lunge, pull, agility and bend. The court has various step blocks, and objects to push or pull. It is also geared for people of all fitness levels and those wanting to spend more time.

About one-half of the gym has an open space on which group exercise classes will be held. In between is a wall with artwork of the Nazareth region depicting several landmarks, including the Martin Guitar factory in the township. C.F. Martin & Co. is one of the donors of the approximately $300,000 facility.

At approximately 70 feet long by 30 feet wide, it is about one-fourth the size of a football field. The township also installed a half-mile walking trail that runs around the gym.

The Greater Lehigh Valley’s Nazareth Area Chamber holds a ribbon cutting for Upper Nazareth Township’s Fitness Court on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024, at Leibert Park in Upper Nazareth Township. The Fitness Court, the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley, is an outdoor gym with multiple stations designed to provide exercise opportunities for people of all fitness levels. (Jane Therese/Special to The Morning Call)

Township board Chair Scott Sylvainus said the process for the court began before the pandemic, when the township surveyed residents about recreation.

“One thing they were interested in was this kind of activity, walking paths. We took the initiative to get this done,” Sylvainus said, crediting township manager Lisa Klem and Kristin Mullen, supervisor vice chair and head of the recreation board.

Klem said the National Fitness Campaign approached the township, provided information, and offered a $30,000 grant.

“They had a video, and it was something different that we haven’t seen in the area,” Klem said. The township park provided room, and its recreation fund, along with the grant and private donations, helped cover the nearly $300,000 cost, she said.

National Fitness, a San Francisco wellness-consulting company, works with communities, schools and others to help fund and build the outdoor courts. It is the second outdoor gym in the region; Kutztown University opened one in October 2022 , National Fitness spokesperson Lindsay Valenti said.

Mullen said she had seen the fitness facility at Kutztown University while taking her son to school.

“When I went there, I checked it out and had my kids do some demos to present to the board,” she said. Residents said sites for working out, such as the court, were noted in the survey, “and we’re trying to give them back,” she said.

The fitness court comes with a one-year warranty, and township workers will keep it maintained, Klem said.

People may use the free court during park hours, which are dawn to dusk. Besides trying it out, users can download a free fitness court app to their smartphones to gain more information on using the gym.

While just a few people tested it out Saturday, many said they were looking forward to using it.

“I really like it,” said township resident Andrew Hersh, who with his wife Dee, earlier watched their teenage son Ty, maneuver through the jump area. “It’s a step in trying to get the community back not only for physical but the social reasons ever since the pandemic.”

Hersh hopes older children especially will try it out.

“You don’t see the kids out today like you did in the ’70s and ’80s,” he said.

Greater Lehigh Valley’s Nazareth Area Chamber of Commerce organized the dedication and ribbon cutting for the facility, which is behind the township municipal building at 100 Newport Ave. People can find out more by checking the township website, uppernazarethtownship.org or the National Fitness Campaign site, nationalfitnesscampaign.com online.

Besides Martin Guitar, sponsorships came from construction management company JVI LLC and St. Luke’s University Health Network, which plans to work with the township to offer group exercise classes.

Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com.