In the weights area of most fitness facilities the sounds of grunting and noisy exhalations are as commonplace as the sweaty singlets, but in the US lines have been drawn dividing the grunters and the tight-lipped sound-stiflers.

The Planet Fitness chain of clubs has a ‘no-grunting’ policy, which it enforced in 2006 when one of its members, Albert Argibay, was escorted from a New York club after a fellow member complained about the noise he was emitting while weightlifting. The incident led to acrimony between the club and Argibay, resulting in the revoking of his membership.

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