For a certain segment of athleisure-clad twenty-somethings in Philly, a perfect day starts with getting off the waitlist for an early morning mat sculpt class at Together in Old City.<\/p>\n
Classes at the boutique fitness studio on 3rd and Cherry streets started selling out in seconds after videos of Together\u2019s co-owner and lead instructor Kate Connelly went viral on TikTok<\/a> earlier this year. In them, Connelly cracks jokes while teaching series of side planks<\/a> and Pilates moves<\/a>.<\/p>\n The jokes, Connelly said, are only part of what earned Together its second Best of Philly award for Best Fitness Studio<\/a> in July. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re a community first \u2026 It\u2019s about getting to know people, even if it\u2019s just asking where you went on vacation last week,\u201d said Connelly. \u201cFitness can be a very alarming experience. You\u2019re uncomfortable, you\u2019re nervous, and I think my team is so good at disarming people.\u201d<\/p>\n Connelly, 31, lives in Old City and honed her fitness-instructing skills from teaching spin classes at the now-shuttered Flywheel<\/a> in Center City and reformer Pilates at the swanky chain SLC<\/a> before opening Together<\/a> in 2022 with her husband James.<\/p>\n The Together method, said Connelly, takes \u201cthe best of pieces of every studio I\u2019ve ever liked\u201d and applies them to 45-minute aerobics sessions: high-energy playlists from spin, mindfulness from yoga, fatiguing tiny muscles from Pilates. A single drop-in class costs $32 and $42 depending on the type, hovering around the average price of working out someplace nice in New York City<\/a>.<\/p>\n Connelly has also generated some local trends. The limited-edition Erewhon-inspired cherry smoothie<\/a> Connelly put together for Riverwards Produce has turned the local grocer\u2019s no-frills drink counter into a beverage destination, while the cheekily titled Matcha Together<\/a> \u2014 a pistachio latte \u2014 Connelly created for Coffee Zeit has become a permanent menu item and customer favorite.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Riverwards Produce has a viral smoothie counter, thanks to its $8 \u2018Erewhon dupes\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n We asked Connelly what a perfect Sunday \u2014 her only day off from teaching \u2014 in Philly looks like. <\/p>\n 6 a.m.<\/p>\n I wake up at 6 a.m. My morning ritual is simple: hydrate and wear my Omnilux red light therapy mask<\/a> for 10 minutes. I drink 32 ounces of water with lemon and salt in a mason jar; it\u2019s like having an electrolyte packet. We call it \u201cJason Juice\u201d because our instructor [at Together] Jason [Thompson] got the whole staff hooked on it.<\/p>\n 8 a.m.<\/p>\n Take a Pilates class at Together and convince a friend to go with me. Typically, I can\u2019t reserve a spot in this class because [space] is so limited, so this is such a treat.<\/p>\n 9:15 a.m.<\/p>\n After, my girlfriends and I like to walk to Coffee Zeit<\/a>, where I\u2019d probably order a whole milk cappuccino. If the owner Mustafa is there, he\u2019s normally wearing a Together hat. That always makes me smile.<\/p>\n 11 a.m.<\/p>\n We meet my husband to walk our mini dachshund, Henry, to the farmer\u2019s market at Headhouse Square<\/a>. <\/p>\n At the farmer\u2019s market, we always stop at Pasta Lab<\/a> to get fresh pasta \u2014 I like their fat rigatoni \u2014 and High Street to get bread<\/a> and a little treat. Lately it\u2019s been a regular loaf of sourdough and some fancy focaccia. My husband and I also like to get fresh produce from the market to make dinner. It\u2019s usually a lot of herbs and garlic for pesto, or peaches and tomatoes for burrata-mozzarella salad.<\/p>\n 1 p.m.<\/p>\n Henry has to be carried home in his bag because he\u2019s a baby and can\u2019t walk far. First, we head across the street to Loretta\u2019s<\/a> for a second coffee. I love their mom-and-pop shop vibe, and they have good espresso. I\u2019m a big snob. If I taste your espresso and it\u2019s burnt, I won\u2019t go back.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been obsessed with [Loretta\u2019s] iced blueberry lattes. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: https:\/\/www.inquirer.com\/food\/philadelphia-eagles-pastries-lorettas-20250130.html<\/a><\/p>\n On the way back, I\u2019ll convince James to let me stop in Vagabond Boutique<\/a>, and I buy something because I deserve it. There\u2019s not a hundred of everything in there, so if you buy something there, a lot of times its one-of-one. <\/p>\n Most recently I got a sheer short-sleeved Oxford button-down that I can\u2019t stop wearing. I dress very masculine and oversized because I\u2019m in tight leggings all the time for work. <\/p>\n After, we\u2019ll stop by [the vintage store] Stickball<\/a> so my husband can do some shopping, and then grab whatever odds and ends we may need from Riverwards<\/a>. <\/p>\n 3 p.m.<\/p>\n I\u2019m lacing up my Hoka Bondi 9s \u2014 my favorite walking sneaker \u2014 to do about four or five miles along the Delaware River with my husband. We normally walk down [Christopher] Columbus Boulevard, turn right around Christian Street, and loop back up through Washington Square.<\/p>\n This is when we talk about business. It\u2019s actually the best time to talk about business if you work with a spouse because you can\u2019t yell in public. I\u2019m also nicer when I\u2019m sweating. The endorphins make me better to run ideas by. <\/p>\n 5 p.m. <\/p>\n I get a mani-pedi at Coco Blue<\/a>. I cannot tell you who I go to because then I will never be able to get an appointment with her again. Often, I get natural nails with nothing on them. In my job I\u2019m touching people all the time [to correct their form], so I can chip my nails in one day, and I\u2019ve never been patient enough to let a pedicure dry.<\/p>\n The real hack is to get a 10-minute neck massage. People sleep on that.<\/p>\n I also like to bring my Kindle to the nail salon. I just finished One Golden Summer<\/a>. I like to read trash \u2026 I like to read and feel like I\u2019m watching Bravo.<\/p>\n 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\n Since this is a dream Sunday, I\u2019m going on a double date with my husband [James], Jason, and his wife Julie, who is also an instructor at Together.<\/p>\n We\u2019re going to Meetinghouse<\/a> and breaking the rules and having burger night. Meetinghouse only does burgers on Thursdays but since I normally work late those days, I can never go.<\/p>\n It\u2019s really the best burger. And [Meetinghouse] has this green salad that\u2019s amazing. They\u2019re going to tell you to eat it with your fingers. I don\u2019t think you should eat it with your fingers. For a drink, I\u2019ll get a fridge cigarette<\/a>, a.k.a. a Diet Coke.<\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Review: Meetinghouse revamps a beloved gastropub with warmth and polished nostalgia<\/a><\/p>\n 10 p.m.<\/p>\n We\u2019re going to keep it OG and end the night at Franklin Fountain<\/a>. Only we\u2019re going to be smart and go right past the line to go to their store next door [the Franklin Ice Cream Bar]. It has, like, all the same things.<\/p>\n I\u2019m getting a vanilla-based flavor and their peanut butter sauce. Always in a cup. It\u2019s cuter that way.<\/p>\n This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n