Personal trainer · Educator · Licensed physical therapist
Joshua Wasserman
Joshua loves helping people build strength, stay active, and feel confident at every stage of life.
A New York native with a doctorate in physical therapy, they bring a down-to-earth, upbeat style and see fitness as a path to self-improvement. Whether coaching a client in their 30s or their 80s, or teaching trainers at a gym or studio, Joshua works the same way: grounded in the science, and kept simple. From injury recovery to performance, the aim never changes: train smart, work hard, and build strength first.
Outside the gym, Joshua enjoys soccer, sprint training, exploring new food spots, and catching live comedy and theater.
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Stony Brook University, 2020
Licensed Physical Therapist
California
Certified Personal Trainer
American Council on Exercise (ACE)
Specialties
Strength
Pain & Recovery
Performance
What clients say
★★★★★
Joshua is an excellent trainer. Despite a lifetime of healthy eating and exercise, I have been dealing with chronic musculoskeletal pain that makes exercise and strength training really challenging. After physical therapy and other standard interventions did not work, I had just about given up.
Then I met Joshua. He has helped me to stretch and strength train slowly and much more effectively than the physical therapists I previously saw. For the first time in a year, I feel like I am making progress without causing pain flares. Joshua is also great at tailoring a program that targets the body parts I need to strengthen while considering my physical limitations and fears of worsening the pain. He always explains the exercises to me in a way that makes sense, and I know I can watch videos on his app if I need reinforcement.
He's also incredibly kind, compassionate, and affirming. And he has clear pedagogy that is grounded in research. Of all the wonderful people I have worked with this year, Joshua is by far the best in every possible sense!
★★★★★
I've been training with Joshua for the past 3 months and have had a really great experience. They created a personalized program for me that allowed me to continue training while managing foot pain, which helped me build consistency.
After dealing with pain from injuries, I struggled with getting over the fear of hurting myself again. Joshua was incredibly understanding of that and helped me rebuild my confidence in training and getting stronger while still being mindful of my limitations.
I also really appreciate how thoughtfully they structured my program. For days when I workout without them I have a clear plan to follow and feel much more confident knowing what I'm supposed to be doing. Joshua is knowledgeable, attentive, and genuinely invested in helping me train in a way that feels safe and sustainable.
I'm really grateful for their guidance and would absolutely recommend them to anyone who wants a thoughtful, personalized approach to training!
★★★★★
Joshua is an excellent trainer. They listened to my goals and previous experience and created a realistic yet challenging program for me. After 3 months of consistency on this program I can notice the difference. Joshua is able to answer my questions and explain the reason behind what we are working on which is really helpful for me. When I have expressed interest in other things (like plyometrics in addition to strength training) they have listened and incorporated into the training program. I've learned so much about how to work out so that I am able to be more consistent and see more progress. One of the best aspects is that the training program has alternatives for when the gym is busy and I just can't get a certain machine or equipment. The programming is very thoughtful.
★★★★★
I've had a really positive training experience with Joshua. What I appreciate most is that he doesn't just give you a workout and count reps — he invests the time to understand your goals and builds a plan that makes sense for you.
He's very knowledgeable about both training and how to work toward specific goals, and he explains the exercises clearly so you understand what you're doing and why. He also pays attention to form and makes adjustments when needed, which makes the workouts feel both effective and safe.
He is professional, friendly, and easy to communicate with. At the same time, he knows when to push you and when to adjust the workout based on how you're doing.
Working out is your own investment, if you are looking for a trainer who also invests in you, I would recommend Joshua.
★★★★★
Joshua is a first-class trainer. I've been training with him for over six months, and I'm genuinely impressed by how much stronger and more capable I've become under his guidance.
What really sets Joshua apart is his evidence-based approach to training. He has helped me move away from high-intensity workouts towards structured, strength-focused training that feels both sustainable and highly effective for the long term. I have complete confidence in the programme he has built for me and the progress I'm making.
Joshua is also incredibly kind, patient, and approachable. He's always happy to answer my questions and takes the time to make sure I understand the reasoning behind what we're doing.
I couldn't recommend Joshua highly enough. He's a fantastic coach and gets a 10/10 from me!
Back to home
Example topic
Example topic
Example topic
Straight Facts
Short, plain reads on what works in the gym, and what doesn't. Your writing goes here
The title of your first piece
One or two plain sentences on what this piece covers, in your own words. This is a placeholder to show how each article will look.
Read →The title of your second piece
Another placeholder. Each piece can be as short or as long as you like, with a plain title and a one-line summary here.
Read →The title of your third piece
A third placeholder, so you can see a small list taking shape. We'll add real pieces as you write them.
Read →These three are placeholders to show the layout. You write the real pieces; I'll add each one.
Back to home
About Joshua
I grew up active and athletic, and movement was central to how I lived. I first came to personal training as a client myself. I went from not being able to do a single pull-up to a full set of fifteen, and the stronger I got, the more excited I became. Before long that energy spilled over into coaching my sister. Somewhere in those early sessions with her, it clicked: at heart, I am a coach and a teacher, and that has run through everything since.
In 2012, I left a corporate job that never really suited me and moved into training. It brought together the two things I loved most: being active and teaching. I got my start at Equinox, and it turned out to be my first real taste of movement science. A lot of what I learned there came from coaches with a physical therapy background, people who understood the body like clinicians but coached like trainers, and I could not get enough of it.
I wanted to go deeper, and I wanted more stability, so I went back to school to become a physical therapist. Medicine had always fascinated me, and physical therapy was where it met movement. It taught me the idea I still build everything around: movement itself can be the medicine.
School opened up the world of evidence and research, and it changed the way I saw everything. I found a handful of clinicians and educators, people like Greg Lehman, Sam Spinelli, and the team at E3 Rehab, whose thinking became my guideposts for how to coach and treat honestly. It was a real turning point. Back in my early Equinox days I believed certain exercises were simply bad for you, repeating the popular fitness myths without ever questioning the data behind them. The clinician I am now is a completely different one. These days I am a movement optimist, because our bodies are far more capable and resilient than most of us believe.
What drives me is helping people get stronger and move better, no matter their age. Whether someone is thirty or seventy, the joy is the same: watching them get genuinely strong, fall for the process, and come to understand their own training along the way. A big part of my job is teaching, I want the people I work with to know why we do what we do, because that is what makes the progress last. It is also why I built MyGymSidekick: so I can track each client's progress, show them how far they have come, and carry my plan for the days between our sessions.
In my free time, I just like to move. Running, sprinting, lifting, hiking, all of it. It is how I feel alive and make sense of the world. More than anything, I want the people I work with to feel confident, challenged, and a little freer in their own bodies than when they started.
Back to home
Educator
For gyms and boutique studios
I partner with gyms and studios to give their trainers an extra edge: a deeper grounding in the science, and the physical therapy know-how to help clients keep training through pain. These are things even strong coaches rarely get taught, and I love helping a team add them to what they already do well.
Sharper, science-based training
I help your trainers put the science to work, so their programming gets sharper and their clients see better results. Not theory for its own sake, but the practical why behind good training, made simple enough to use on the floor every day.
More of a physio's brain
I teach your trainers to think a little more like a physical therapist: how to progress and regress an exercise to fit the person in front of them, and how to keep clients moving through nagging, persistent aches instead of benching them. Think cranky knees, shoulders, and tendons, not fresh injuries. They learn to adjust the load, meet the body where it is, and know when something needs a referral out.
Want to bring me into your gym?
Email me
Back to home
Services
How we work together
I work one-on-one with clients in personal training and physical therapy. Each session is private and tailored to your goals, your body, and the work required to make meaningful progress.
Personal training
Individualized coaching in strength, movement, and performance, with thoughtful guidance for training around persistent aches and pain.
Physical therapy
Licensed physical therapy provided on an out-of-network basis. You pay directly for your care rather than having visits billed to insurance. This allows for more time, greater focus, and treatment guided by your needs rather than insurance limitations.
I provide a superbill, an itemized receipt you can submit to your insurer for potential out-of-network reimbursement. Reimbursement depends on your individual benefits and your insurer's determination.
Reimbursement is not guaranteed. Your superbill provides the documentation needed to submit a claim.
Not sure what fits? Let's talk.
Get in touch