Florida native Dilbert Painter dropped out of his beginning weightlifting class this week. When asked why, he burst into tears.

“Why are we singing hymns in the weight room before class?” Painter, a freshman, lamented. “I thought it was a joke in the syllabus, but we didn’t even have time to warm up after we finished all five verses of ‘If You Could Hie to Kolob!’”

His instructor, Perseus Ferguson of Manhattan, was unsympathetic. “In order to become truly swole, we must elevate ourselves to a holier sphere. Only once we have read Isaiah, prayed, and sung a hymn are we ready to get jacked.”

Other students in the class reported that they too were perplexed.

“I get that the university mission is to help us grow spiritually and intellectually, but this is weightlifting!” said Beth Johnston, majoring in exercise science. “If Coach makes one more comment about how ‘Sing We Now At Parting’ is a metaphor about bicep curls, I’m gonna drop this class too.”

“In Pearl of Great Price, I’m a big fan of hymns. I can deal with it in Accounting or Writing 150. But WEIGHTLIFTING? This is a cult,” said J’eynh Young, a sophomore from Pleasant Grove. “Can someone get administration to clear this up?”

BYU President C. Shane Reese was unable to weigh in as he was busy singing “O Ye Mountains High” at the top of his lungs while pumping out 695 lbs for 10 reps on bench press when approached for comment.