Unpopular opinion: Foundation/Starter 50 classes should be MANDATORY

Obligatory throwaway account bc I know I’m gonna cause some controversy with this.

I’ve been coming to Solidcore for over a year, have nearly 100 classes under my belt, drive an hour each way to class, and pay almost $300 a month to be here. And lately? The quality of classes and overall client experience has tanked, and I know I’m not the only one noticing it.

Ever since Solidcore blew up on TikTok around the last Solidays Challenge, my studio has turned into an overpriced, chaotic beginner boot camp instead of the intense, structured workout it’s supposed to be. Every single class is packed with people who show up late, have never taken a class before, or are flailing around like newborn deer on the machine because they skipped Foundations/Starter 50 and have no idea what’s going on. It’s embarrassing. It’s disruptive. It’s dangerous. And it’s not fair to the people who are invested in learning the method and actually care about what they’re doing.

And the worst part? It’s ruining the workout for everyone else. Instead of coaching, the instructors are stuck playing personal trainer to clueless newbies who should not be in a Signature class to begin with. Every additional correction, every repeated explanation, every unnecessary pause slows down the entire class and kills the energy for the rest of us. I did not pay almost $300, (God bless you major city girlies paying over $400) to watch someone hold onto the handlebars for dear life while the coach spends half the class exasperatedly explaining things over and over again that they could have learned in Foundations/Starter 50.

I’ve seen coaches firsthand have to stop mid-class multiple times to completely correct someone’s form—four, five, even six times in a single block—because they skipped Foundations and have no idea what they’re doing. It completely throws them off for the rest of class, and more importantly, it throws off everyone else. Instead of maintaining the workout’s intensity and pacing, we all end up stuck in an exercise, waiting until that person gets it right. It wrecks the flow, screws up timing, and forces the rest of us to rush through the remaining segments just to stay on track. You can hear the frustration in the coaches’ voices when they have to keep stopping. I’ve even had multiple coaches tell me that they’re modifying their routines just to cater to beginners—which means those of us who actually know the method aren’t getting the full experience we’re paying for.

And honestly? I love Solidcore. It’s an amazing community, and I’ve met some incredible people through it. But this sudden flood of new clients feels like it’s bringing in zero respect for the coaches, the other members, or the studio in general. Talking over the instructor, showing up late, leaving their sweat puddles behind, treating the class like a social hour—it’s exhausting. Making Foundations or Starter 50 mandatory for at least one class would act as a litmus test to filter out the people who don’t take it seriously while actually making the experience better for first-timers by giving them a proper introduction.

And to be clear: This is NOT about hating on beginners. Everyone starts somewhere, and I genuinely want people to experience how incredible Solidcore can be. But Signature 50—especially during peak hours—is not the place to figure it out. That’s what Foundations/Starter 50 is for: a controlled environment where you can actually learn the movements, get feedback on your form, and build the confidence to thrive in Signature. Skipping that step doesn’t just make your own experience worse—it affects everyone in the room. If you’re serious about Solidcore, starting with the right class will set you up for success and help you connect with the community in a way that isn’t overwhelming or unsafe.

Solidcore needs to stop catering to mass-trend-following TikTok clout-chasers and start prioritizing actual members. Foundations/Starter 50 classes should be MANDATORY before anyone can book a Signature class. Period. End of discussion. Other studios do it. This is not Barry’s. This is not SoulCycle. Hell, this is NOT Pilates. Solidcore is not a casual workout you can wing or half-ass. If you don’t know what you’re doing, you’re setting yourself up for failure and injury—AND making the class worse for everyone else.

I took three Foundation classes before stepping into Signature—even after doing over 100+ classical reformer Pilates classes and being an athlete my whole life—because I actually gave a sh*t about doing it right. If I put in the effort, why the hell shouldn’t everyone else?

I am begging Solidcore to start prioritizing quality over quantity and clout. Letting people blindly sign up for Signature 50 just because they saw it on their FYP is doing no one any favors.

What do y’all think?