Ivan Candelaria MS, ATC, is one of the most sought after sports rehab specialist in the North East. He has a growing clientele of NFL Football players and he approaches all of his clientele with the same level of intensity just as he would do with his own child. Ivan guides all of his clientele through their rehab and fitness process, and takes care to guide through a program tailored to helping him/her play their sport better.
How did you meet Ivan?
He was always talking about this dude. You got to go see Ivan. You got to go see Ivan. And I said, “Who is this Ivan?”
I went and a couple of other guys went in too. A lot of guys were starting to buy into him, believing in him, and trusting in him to develop them the way they wanted to be developed.
Who does he work with?
He works with Vidal Hazelton, Stephen Hill and guys of that sort like Jeremy Kerley.
What did Ivan bring to your game?
He got me to embrace the fact that you’re working hard but you got to work hard and smart. So, he helped me build that into my system and just got me to be prepared.
So, working out with him got me back into that lane, that comfort zone. I just started getting that muscle memory again.
He did a tremendous job in helping me with the stuff that I wasn’t excelling at, at the moment in time and he figured out ways to make me understand how to improve and get better.
What effect did Ivan have on your pro day?
I prepared for pro for probably two weeks. He just had little drills that we would do like dropping a tennis ball and me having to run and catch the ball before it hits the ground. A lot of starts, a lot of hit mobility, and warming-up exercises to get my nervous system worked up and active to get it to perform at a high level. We’re doing a lot of quick feet and a lot of ladders.
He would just make sure we repeated it over and over until it was consistent and I got it where I wanted it to be.
You’re jumping from this exercise to this exercise to this exercise so you’re always constantly moving, constantly doing something. You’re getting better in shape faster and quicker but he’s not killing your body.
My first run I ran at 441 and the second one I ran at 448.
What makes Ivan stand out as a trainer?
He’s getting you in shape but making sure your body feels good while he’s doing it so that definitely helps. That’s a big impact because that saves a lot of years on your body.
I have recommended a couple of my teammates to him. He’s a great guy. He’ll help you and you should definitely workout with him.