A couple of years ago, the combination of quitting smoking and sitting on the couch with my new daughter began to take its toll. All of my size 36 pants started fitting tightly, my shirts were bulging out in the middle and...well, let's just say that, in the words of Dennis Miller, my belly button wasn't as close to my spine as I would have liked. I realized that it was time to start going to the gym.

I had never been a regular gym rat, so I was a little confused by the list of rules in my new domain. Some of them, like the requirement that I always bring a towel, made perfect sense. I also completely understood the rule against hurling barbells at mirrors and the request that we not hock loogies in the water fountain.

I was a little confused, however, by the requirement that we "minimize grunting." Wasn't grunting a natural response to lifting ridiculously large amounts of weight? Were there excessive grunters out there who were threatening the fate of the world? I became a little paranoid about my own grunting. After all, I was used to letting out a little groan from time to time. I didn't think that my grunting was excessive, but then again, most people don't mind their own sounds and smells. Afraid that I might be an offensive grunter, I resolved to lift weight with a minimum of sound.

A recent piece in the Wall Street Journal looks at the troubles associated with joining a gym. Membership plans are convoluted and obfuscatory: "Attrition (nonrenewal) runs as high as 40% annually, First Research reports. No wonder clubs try to slice and dice membership types and incentives to seduce members -- and tout all sorts of "act-now" specials."

40% -- that's really high, especially when you think about how many people have had memberships at the same gym for many years. if you join a gym tomorrow, the odds that you'll still be there in a year are slim. I have no statistics to back this up, but I have to think the main reason people don't renew gym memberships is because they don't end up going. There's a reason 60% of people are overweight.

So here's my tip for saving money on a gym membership: if you're seriously out of shape, a gym membership is not the first move. Try going for 2 long walks each day for a few weeks or months. If you can't commit to that, you probably aren't going to commit to going to the gym either. Fitness is extremely important, but there's no sense in throwing money away either.

If you are planing to join a gym, check out this video from the Dolans.