YMCA of Metropolitan Washington D.C.

I loved being a member at the National Capital Y during my two years in DC. It's a huge old building (7 floors, something like 89,000 square feet?!) with an olympic-sized pool, racquetball/basketball courts, an indoor track, and electronic massage chairs. It feels like a piece of D.C. that's real and doesn't succumb to trends, and other members are prone to chat about politics and D.C. history and culture.

If: you love to exercise (aerobic classes, machinery of every kind, swimming, sauna-ing, lifting weights, etc.) but do not like the typical gym environment with its competitive glances, sweaty grunting men, and scantily clad girls. You like places where old and young, singles and families, black and white, staff and guests mingle. You like space to stretch and no long lines for cross-trainers. You like watching TV while you work out. You like to spend a whole lazy evening lounging, stretching, weight-training, exercising, showering without being rushed away.

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