Last November 2025, my local Bellevue LA Fitness shut down for a week of remodeling. They must have been very busy that week because the place was transformed.
What They Took Away
- Basketball Court — This surprised me because the court was always busy and quite popular.
- Racquetball Courts — Racquetball, it seems to me, had declined in popularity. I used to be very active in it, but the game has a fundamental flaw. The high end players get so good that they can kill a ball from any position, burying it at high speed in a corner that nobody can return. You never see a long series of volleys with high end players.
- Private Personal Training Area — This was moved from the center of the weightlifting area off to a side alcove.
What We Gained
What we gained was much more valuable to me:
- Powerlifting Room — The former basketball court — a huge area — was now devoted to powerlifting with 12 new cages with accompanying bars, weights, and accessories, four Smith Machines, and many new machines — usually in pairs: belt squat, leg press, glute raise, landmine bar, seated calf raise, back extension, and more. I realized on a recent workout that the whole room was outfitted exclusively from Rogue Fitness — a Room of Rogue.
- Functional Training Area — The former exclusively personal training area was opened up to all members for functional training. This includes TRX equipment, kettlebells, tires for flipping, rowers, two cable machines, stretching machines, pull up bars, two sleds, boxes, and more. This area has become quite popular. There are few places to sit throughout the gym, so the cozy padded flooring here makes a good place to rest.
- Pilates — For the ladies, LA Fitness is really pushing Pilates, which has been installed in one of the racquetball courts. The gym has gotten very involved in social media. A recent Instagram skit tried to convince men that they could join in Pilates too.
- An adjoining court is labeled as a "Booty Room" of some sort — it hasn't been installed yet. Several big screen TVs are awaiting installation. I'm not sure what that room will be. There is already a lot of booty exercise machines back in the powerlifting room that have become quite popular.
The gym also got a revamp of wall graphics and flooring. The existing weight machines, plate loaded machines, free weights, cable machines, and cardio machines all remain — as well as the swimming pool, steam rooms, and childcare.
The Rogue Rhino Belt Squat Machine
One of my favorite machines in the powerlifting room is the Rogue Rhino Belt Squat Machine. This puts all the weight of a heavy squat on a wide, padded belt around your waist — rather than on a bar perched on your shoulders and compressing your spine. It has handles in front of you for balance, and then you can squat down to maximum depth safely — even to actual failure without fear.
The Cage Room: Deadlifts and Romanian Deadlifts
The powerlifting room at Bellevue LA Fitness is dominated by 12 tall cages. This day, I took up a position for Deadlifts and later on in the workout Romanian Deadlifts. The 45lb bars and rubber-coated bumper plates are all from Rogue Fitness. The cages are very versatile, supporting squats, deadlifts, pull ups and muscle ups, rack pulls, Olympic movements, and whatever you can imagine with a barbell.
Want to check out the Room of Rogue?
LA Fitness offers a free 7-Day VIP Guest Pass — no commitment, just show up and train. The Bellevue location is worth a visit just to see the Rogue setup.
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