More proof of the adage that you will always find more horse's posteriors than you will horses....

What's the story? That I-bankers have small penii and oversized egos? That's not news.

It's battery, plain and simple. Carter needs to go away for a while until he readjusts his antisocial attitude and realizes that he's not better or more special than the rest of the people in the gym class.

I have a sustained fear of exercising. It all happened when I started in Biglaw. Unfortunately, I cannot sue them for it (at least I don't think I can).

sounds to me like Mr. Sugarman consented to (in fact asked for) the alleged battery. Case dismissed,

10:22(2) what are penii? Is that the plural of penius?

Equinox is for uptight plastic pansies anyway. People who are serious about the gym go to Gold's. (Women excepted, since you'll probably just get ogled the entire time you're at Gold's anyway.)

A witness said that when Carter asked Sugarman (in forceful terms) to be quiet, Sugarman said "make me." As far as I'm concerned, Carter had every right to drop him. Too many people in NYC think they're in the Sopranos and try to act tough without being able to back it up. Obviously, Sugarman, being the middle-aged geek that he is, didn't expect Carter to take him up on his offer. I wonder if Sugarman would have said "make me" if Carter was a big African-American dude. Probably not. This dork got what was coming to him. Carter shouldn't spend a single night in jail for this.

I hate the gorrillas who (loudly ) drop weights. If, after a set, you don't have the strength to gently put the down the weight, you're lifting too much.

Agree with 10:22. Grunters are annoying (except for the Tourettians - they can't help it), mostly because they're posers, lifting almost nothing and acting as if it was a world record; but battery is battery. I'm surprised this case went to trial. Rejecting his lawyer's advice to settle was probably Carter's dumbest move.

I used to hear momma grunt all the time in her bedroom.

Back here in Alabama, we grunt all the time. People are grunting in the morning, in the afternoon and at night before bed. And you know what, they like to grunt. If people don't like that, they can just plug their ears or use those little orange ear plugs that momma used to put in sometimes, you might have seen em.

You know what, I don't know why people pay money to go to some building to ride a bike that doesn't even go anywhere. Down here in Alabama I think we call that stupid. We ride bikes to get places, not to stay in one place.

Guys in my high school used to release exclamations of "You go girl!" all the time; it was no big deal.

@10:28 - clearly you've never ventured out of your power yoga class and into the freeweight area.

" a concussion, a herniated disc, and a sustained fear of exercise"--give me a break. What a faker.

Penii? Idiot.

All of you siding with Sugarman are bullshit in my opinion. Carter had no right to tell Sugarman to "shut up" in the first place. Was it Carter's gym? Was it even his class? There's a reason it's called "society." If you're the one who can't get along with others, it's YOUR problem.

Predict the Alabama schtick won't last as long as Loyola 2L, FRAT STUD, or Roger Lou.

The lawyer in me sides with the prosecutor.

The part of me that's still normal sides with Carter.

Both parts of me think the eventual civil suit based on "sustained fear of exercise" is crapola.

10:31 - Sugarman a patient of yours? I'm just curious how you know.

@ 10:28(1): no, it's called working your muscles to the point of exhaustion. The entire point (of some techniques) is to push every ounce of energy into that last rep (or half-rep). If you're doing it RIGHT you don't have any energy left to "gently" put the weights back down.

And to the rest who have a problem with "penii", get a life. It's called humor. Evidently there are plenty of people on this board who can join the i-bankers in the small penii club.

Carter and Sugarman should be banned from the gym.

The prosecutor should be fired for bringing such a frivolous case.

This whole thing is ridiculous.

Forrest is funny, but clearly has way too much free time.

Forrest is funny, but clearly has way too much free time.

I fully agree with 10:26. The world needs more violence. Wait, wait; hear me out. Too many people - whether it be the idiot in traffic who won't allow you to merge, or the drunken flaming queen at the Astro Burger at 3 am who gets up in your face for no reason and asks if 'YOU are going to hit him' (yeah, this is kind of specific b/c it actually happened) - think that in today's world, they're not going to get their ass kicked for their assholish actions. If more precedents were set, and people beat the shit out of each other for the slightest provocation, the world would be a much less annoying, and more efficient, place.

"Carter had no right to tell Sugarman to 'shut up' in the first place"

I'm sorry, but exclamations of "you go girl!" post-2001 are just plain unacceptable. Carter not only had the right, but the OBLIGATION to tell Sugarman to shut up.

@10:41 & @10:44: Amen to you both.

Drop them both in a volcano and the world is a better place. Let's move on...

10:32 -- it wasn't Sugarman's class either. People have a right to work out without some douchebag screaming and yelling like he's in his living room. I'm glad Carter dumped his fat white ass.

As soon as Sugarman said "make me" all bets were off. Carter simply obliged. Sugarman probably won't be so quick to open up his fat mouth next time.

This is going to open me up to ridicule, but when I go to the gym, I work hard. I lift very heavy things, and sometimes, I grunt. I don’t understand what the big deal is with a little grunting (though “you go girl” is definitely annoying). It’s a gym, not a library.

10:36. Get a spotter. Dropping weights is not just annoying, it's dangerous. I'm talking about guys who do standing exercises with dumbbells and drop them three or four feet to the floor. That is not acceptable.

A little grunting at the gym is fine. Regulars at the gym know when it crosses the line.

10:55: and so, of course, when someone does something you don't like, physical violence is the answer. Got it. Next time I see you doing something I don't like, you know what to expect now. I won't even bother to give you warning, I'll just assume your general attitude is a blanket acceptance of anything I might do to you if you piss me off.

F-in miscreant. You'll make a fine TTT lawyer someday.

Grunting whilst getting your swell on at the gym is acceptable, especially if you are as jacked and tan as I am.

@ 10:59, I agree with you. I've never seen anyone drop weights 3-4 feet to the floor. If you're on a bench using 90-lb dumbbells to press, though, no one is going to spot you. If you're doing it right they only fall about 8 inches, though, (and hopefully to a rubber matted concrete floor. )

-10:36.

There are involuntary grunts (acceptable) and loud shouts that are clearly intended to be heard (unacceptable).

The only people I hate more than grunters at the gym are the assclowns that wear lifiting gloves. Not women, men. I really hate these guys.

It's not just the gloves, it's the asshole behavior that is always associated with them. They're never even strong or in really good shape. They like to wear their gloves and congregate around the one piece of equipment that I need to use at the time. They also constantly give people an attitude.

I despise these people. They are my enemies.

I do a little grunting while working on tax memos at my desk. When I'm on the phone, I grunt. If I read a particularly unpleasing e-mail, that's a grunt.

I don't see the big deal.

10:36. We're on the same page about that. I overstated things when I said you should "gently" return weights to the floor. I should have said "safely."
I disagree about the need to work to complete exhaustion. The research I've seen says it's not necessary and can be counterproductive. (You want to work muscles through their entire range of motion.) A lot of people seem to share your view. I guess reasonable people can disagree on that.

"The only people I hate more than grunters at the gym are the assclowns that wear lifiting gloves. Not women, men. I really hate these guys"

Maybe the dogs you get with are desperate enough not to care, but the ladies I know prefer not to have their bodies exfoliated by 100-grit sandpapery hands during foreplay.

Who, precisely, was Sugerman talking to when he was shouting "you go, girl?" Himself? The Spinning instructor? Carter?

I nearly succumb to gym rage each time some naked guy who looks like he's wearing an angora sweater, decides to try to carry on a conversation with me as he puts cornstarch on his balls to dry the piss that landed there while he was taking a leak....

11:18 = assclown who wears lifting gloves. The only thing worse than people who wear lifting gloves are those who say stupid shit like, "Maybe the dogs you get with are desperate enough not to care, but the ladies I know prefer not to have their bodies exfoliated by 100-grit sandpapery hands during foreplay."

11:18, you are such a tool.

-NOT 11:16

11:16, I've seen the research too and from what I can tell a lot of it depends on your goals and whether you're trying to build or tone. (And a little depends on personal preference.) I definitely don't work ALL the muscles to exhaustion, but the slow-twitch bigger groups tend to get the "heavy and slow" treatment. Especially on the last set.

And I definitely agree on the full range of motion.

-10:36

Until now, I did not realize that this incident happened at my home gym. It makes me proud. I have repeatedly commented to my wife that there are many guys there who seem "normal" rather than the idiot big-mouth New Yorkers who act tough but are really just annoying little pansies. Part of the reason we switched gyms was to get away from jerks like Sugarman.

If I see Carter there, I will buy him a drink.

"And to the rest who have a problem with "penii", get a life. It's called humor."

Really? That's what you call it? How sad for you . . .

11:18 - You just proved my point. Thank you. Now go sip your energy shake, stand around a machine without using it for 30 minutes, then go hang out in the locker room for a while.

Best,

11:10

11:18 is right. Most asian ladyboys hate rough hands. Good for you. Hold your gloves up high!

Licentious, I see your Cornstarched Balls and raise you Morbidly Obese Man who struts around the locker room like he's an adonis, or thinks his appearance doesn't send people into fits of projectile vomiting, which it clearly does.

Oh, REALLY annoying thing at my gym: tool who wears the same, or nearly identical, t-shirt every day, that says "No, I'm not on steroids." And, um, who was asking? The guy walks around with his arms held out 3 feet from his torso like his back is too broad for him to lower his arms....idiot.

Maybe he just uses cement deodorant.

11:16 and 11:22:

If you work out to build strength and muscle, then you have to lift heavy things. Those heavy things will give you big callouses if you do not wear gloves.

And while most over the top meathead gorillas wear them, so do a lot of normal people who lift weights.

If you hate someone for something as small as the fact that they wear gloves when they lift weights, maybe the problem is not with them. . .

I get the sense that most of the posters so far are from NY, which makes me really glad I don't live there.

They're both losers, but I have to wonder about the wisdom of making this a criminal case... I would have preferred the DA not pursue this case.

As a lawyer, I think the best remedy is letting these jerks duke it out in civil court where they can get screwed by legal bills. At least then they'll be contributing something back to society in the form of two lawyers' salaries.

I think they're both girly men. The class was full of mostly women. At 5'11" and 204, Sugarman must eating a whole lot of sugah!

Gloves = acceptable
Straps = acceptable
Minimal grunting towards the end of a set = acceptable
Grunting to show off the amount of weight you're lifting, which isn't even that impressive in the first place, which you proceed to throw to the floor at the risk of crushing the feet of people around you = Summary Execution followed by Head on Spike.

12:12: Half right. Straps acceptable if lifitng huge amount of weight. Gloves, only if you're a woman.

With crime down in NYC, it's obvious that the Manhattan ADAs don't have enough to do all day if they are prosecuting this case.

As for all you here toiling away as rough tough attorneys, learn a lesson from Sugarman. Don't let your mouth write a check that your fists can't cash.

11:03 -- I happen to be a lawyer at a top firm, and I hope that one day I get lucky enough for you to tell me to "make me" (or for that matter, say "TTT" which automatically qualifies you as a "F-ing" douchebag), at which time I will happily break your "F'ing" nose. How do you like that, shit for brains?

1:17 certainly does NOT wear gloves. My kinda guy.

Some people wear gloves for a better grip. If you are wearing gloves only to keep your hands soft, then you are either female or gay.

As a former personal trainer and current big law hack, I can give clear guidance. There is no need to grunt. And even worse - don't drop the weights! As for the glove debate, wear your callouses with pride. Gloves are for girly-men. If you think I'm wrong watch power lifting or a strongman competition.

As an aside, I wasn't aware people in New York actually work out.

Gloves are very important for free weights. If you are using heavy weights the marginal grip goes a long way. I doubt (hope?) that no man uses them to keep his hands soft (gay!)

2:07 et al.: As a gay man who works out 6x/ week, let me set the record straight: I don't wear gloves, simply b/c they're not necessary and callouses are not the biggest deal in the world. Are all your impressions of gay men based on Mario Cantone's character on SATC, i.e., the screaming queen? Don't get me wrong, I can "turn it" w/ the best of them, but at the gym, it's about the results, not the softness of my hands.

2:07 - If you don't have the grip-strength without using gloves, you should improve your grip-strength. Don't use grip to justify the use of girly gloves.

It's true gloves improve grip, allowing you to lift heavier things, which builds bigger muscles.

I would wear them, but for the gay business.

One solution I've seen is those guys who wear really weird work gloves, like they're gonna be using a shovel all day. I think it's a little weird, but it might solve both problems.

you're all missing the point. this was the lowly stockbroker finally having enough of the hedge fund manager. think st. johns/prudential securities vs. harvard mba/goldman sachs. or something like it. the poor guy takes it all day at work, he's paid to be a bulldog, he's probably fearing for his job while he knows that the hedge fund gurus make off like bandits until their fund tanks, then thsy just close it up and start a new one, and watch their hedges grow around their summer houses in the hamptons.

you're all missing the point. this was the lowly stockbroker finally having enough of the bigshot hedge fund manager. think st. johns/prudential securities vs. harvard mba/goldman sachs. or something like it. the poor guy takes it all day at work, he's paid to be a bulldog, he's probably fearing for his job while he knows that the hedge fund gurus make off like bandits until their fund tanks, then they just close it up and start a new one, and watch their hedges grow around their summer houses in the hamptons.

Agreed. Gloves are gay. Be sure to punch these people in the gym. Don't be afraid . . . their only defense is a high pitched scream.

"I get the sense that most of the posters so far are from NY, which makes me really glad I don't live there. "

Please, don't judge my city by what these ducks post. They're not "from" NY. At least NYC. They work there----big difference. And they just so happen to have apartments in Manhattanland to which they could retire after their 16-hr. workdays.

And 2:01: your post was so dumb, on so many levels, that I feel I must tip my hat to you sir. Good job, and God bless.

2:13: You my friend, are AWESOME. That being said, allow me, if you will, to give you some insight into the heterosexual man's world. From early childhood the biggest insult is to call another guy gay. As time has passed straight guys have developed friendships with gay guys. Still, old habits die hard.

Here, calling glove-wearing gym enthusiasts "gay" is meant as a high insult to them . . . not a general impression of gays. Calling these guys girls would not be sufficient.

Again, I dig your style. Feel free to pound one of these glove wearers when you get a chance. Hell, while you're doing it say, "I hate you and you're gay gloves." I think you'll find it liberating and strangely ironic.

God, I wish I could defend that guy pro bono. Any a-hole who shouts "Yo Go Girl" at the top of his lungs to no one in particular in a gym deserves the beating of his life. What a pathetic excuse of a man.

Wearing gloves to prevent callouses is pretty weak. Wearing them for a slightly better grip because you are lifting very heavy weights is fine.

Power hooks are useful, indeed necessary, if you are doing heavy deadlifts, shrugs, and upright rows. Somehow, I doubt that anyone reading this is using heavy enough weights to justify the use of hooks.

Power hooks??? There is no reason to use power hooks. If straps aren't enough then you are trying to lift too much weight and/or you have the forearms of a 12 year old girl.

Or you are (1) much stronger than 2:55, and (2) doing the exercises I mentioned above. But thank you for proving the accuracy of my last sentence.

"As an aside, I wasn't aware people in New York actually work out."

You're right, people in New York don't actually work out. Let's not forget we're talking about men who take spinning classes here.

Even if you are deadlifting 500+ lbs., your grip should be strong enough that at most all you need are straps. Even power lifters don't use hooks. There is no excuse to use them.

You have obviously never deadlifted 500 lbs. and do not actually know many (if any) powerlifters.

Actually, I have lifted 500 lbs. no hooks, no straps, just an alternate grip and chalk since competitions don't allow power hooks - dumbass.

I can bench press 285 lbs., it used to be 315 when I was on steroids.

Penii.

Latin nouns that end in -is become -es in the plural, so you all mean penes (think axis:axes, crisis:crises). The double ii in penii is wrong.

I grunt when I am getting it on..

Telling someone to "make me" in Sparta, Mississippi might just get you killed.