Elanso

The case of the spin class smackdown has been sparking a lot of debate about proper workout etiquette. According to the Times, the noisy behavior of Stuart Sugarman – who was thrown against the wall during a spin class by a guy who was fed up with his vocalizations – is not at all abnormal. There are too many people grunting, cursing, and hollering “Let’s do it!” in gyms all over town, and also plenty of people who’d like toss them through a wall.

The paper talks to Canadian Dustin Vye, a Cirque du Soleil trouper, who is appalled at the vulgarity used by one of his weightlifting neighbors at J’s Big Gym on 181st Street.

I was tempted to go over and say, in a polite way, “If you wouldn’t mind keeping it down a little bit, it would be appreciated.” Things like that frustrate me. I’ve pushed my body to the max. I don’t have to grunt and scream and yell.”

Obviously Sugarman hadn't gotten to that chapter in the book before he got roughed up last August, but maybe it’s not too late for his assailant to get the current Debrett's author John Morgan to testify an expert witness.