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.

Classes at the boutique fitness studio on 3rd and Cherry streets started selling out in seconds after videos of Together’s co-owner and lead instructor Kate Connelly went viral on TikTok earlier this year. In them, Connelly cracks jokes while teaching series of side planks and Pilates moves.

The jokes, Connelly said, are only part of what earned Together its second Best of Philly award for Best Fitness Studio in July.

“We’re a community first … It’s about getting to know people, even if it’s just asking where you went on vacation last week,” said Connelly. “Fitness can be a very alarming experience. You’re uncomfortable, you’re nervous, and I think my team is so good at disarming people.”

Connelly, 31, lives in Old City and honed her fitness-instructing skills from teaching spin classes at the now-shuttered Flywheel in Center City and reformer Pilates at the swanky chain SLC before opening Together in 2022 with her husband James.

The Together method, said Connelly, takes “the best of pieces of every studio I’ve ever liked” 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.

Connelly has also generated some local trends. The limited-edition Erewhon-inspired cherry smoothie Connelly put together for Riverwards Produce has turned the local grocer’s no-frills drink counter into a beverage destination, while the cheekily titled Matcha Together — a pistachio latte — Connelly created for Coffee Zeit has become a permanent menu item and customer favorite.

» READ MORE: Riverwards Produce has a viral smoothie counter, thanks to its $8 ‘Erewhon dupes’

We asked Connelly what a perfect Sunday — her only day off from teaching — in Philly looks like.

6 a.m.

I wake up at 6 a.m. My morning ritual is simple: hydrate and wear my Omnilux red light therapy mask for 10 minutes. I drink 32 ounces of water with lemon and salt in a mason jar; it’s like having an electrolyte packet. We call it “Jason Juice” because our instructor [at Together] Jason [Thompson] got the whole staff hooked on it.

8 a.m.

Take a Pilates class at Together and convince a friend to go with me. Typically, I can’t reserve a spot in this class because [space] is so limited, so this is such a treat.

9:15 a.m.

After, my girlfriends and I like to walk to Coffee Zeit, where I’d probably order a whole milk cappuccino. If the owner Mustafa is there, he’s normally wearing a Together hat. That always makes me smile.

11 a.m.

We meet my husband to walk our mini dachshund, Henry, to the farmer’s market at Headhouse Square.

At the farmer’s market, we always stop at Pasta Lab to get fresh pasta — I like their fat rigatoni — and High Street to get bread and a little treat. Lately it’s 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’s usually a lot of herbs and garlic for pesto, or peaches and tomatoes for burrata-mozzarella salad.

1 p.m.

Henry has to be carried home in his bag because he’s a baby and can’t walk far. First, we head across the street to Loretta’s for a second coffee. I love their mom-and-pop shop vibe, and they have good espresso. I’m a big snob. If I taste your espresso and it’s burnt, I won’t go back.

I’ve been obsessed with [Loretta’s] iced blueberry lattes.

» READ MORE: https://www.inquirer.com/food/philadelphia-eagles-pastries-lorettas-20250130.html

On the way back, I’ll convince James to let me stop in Vagabond Boutique, and I buy something because I deserve it. There’s not a hundred of everything in there, so if you buy something there, a lot of times its one-of-one.

Most recently I got a sheer short-sleeved Oxford button-down that I can’t stop wearing. I dress very masculine and oversized because I’m in tight leggings all the time for work.

After, we’ll stop by [the vintage store] Stickball so my husband can do some shopping, and then grab whatever odds and ends we may need from Riverwards.

3 p.m.

I’m lacing up my Hoka Bondi 9s — my favorite walking sneaker — 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.

This is when we talk about business. It’s actually the best time to talk about business if you work with a spouse because you can’t yell in public. I’m also nicer when I’m sweating. The endorphins make me better to run ideas by.

5 p.m.

I get a mani-pedi at Coco Blue. 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’m touching people all the time [to correct their form], so I can chip my nails in one day, and I’ve never been patient enough to let a pedicure dry.

The real hack is to get a 10-minute neck massage. People sleep on that.

I also like to bring my Kindle to the nail salon. I just finished One Golden Summer. I like to read trash … I like to read and feel like I’m watching Bravo.

7:30 p.m.

Since this is a dream Sunday, I’m going on a double date with my husband [James], Jason, and his wife Julie, who is also an instructor at Together.

We’re going to Meetinghouse 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.

It’s really the best burger. And [Meetinghouse] has this green salad that’s amazing. They’re going to tell you to eat it with your fingers. I don’t think you should eat it with your fingers. For a drink, I’ll get a fridge cigarette, a.k.a. a Diet Coke.

» READ MORE: Review: Meetinghouse revamps a beloved gastropub with warmth and polished nostalgia

10 p.m.

We’re going to keep it OG and end the night at Franklin Fountain. Only we’re 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.

I’m getting a vanilla-based flavor and their peanut butter sauce. Always in a cup. It’s cuter that way.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.