Tag: Coach Robb

Coach Robb Returns to City Coast Motorcycles

Back by popular demand, MotoE is returning to Australia. Meet Coach Robb – trainer to some of today’s top amateur and professional riders – in store *** at a revised date in March 2020 ***

Coach Robb Beams

As part of a nine-track Australian tour (including Wollongong Motorcycle Club 20-21 January), Coach Robb will make a special appearance at our Keira Street showroom at a revised date in our showroom in March.

Since 2005, MotoE’s Coach Robb has worked with and produced some of today’s top professionals including Ryan Dungey, Adam Cianciarulo, Jeremy Martin, Jordan Bailey, Alex Martin and Stilez Robertson.

This is an informal session where questions are welcome. Examples of topics for discussion include:

  • Why high intensity training off the motorcycle is not translating to faster lap times.
  • What you should (or shouldn’t) eat on race day.
  • How to maximize your endurance training off the bike.
  • The importance of a proper warm up before racing.
  • Simple things you can do to improve race day confidence.

LUCKY DOOR PRIZES
1 x FREE Voucher to MotoE’s Wollongong Riding & Performance Camp
6 X FREE Day’s Riding Vouchers at the Mount Kembla Scramble Circuit thanks to Wollongong Motorcycle Club

ENTRY via GOLD COIN DONATION in support of Illawarra Convoy.

This event will be lightly catered. PLEASE REGISTER YOUR RSVP AT THE LINK BELOW to learn from the best in the business!

Meet the Coach

Coach Robb: Injury Recovery and Prevention – Part 3

In this three-part series, Coach Robb Beams discusses the top three mistakes when recovering from an injury – and how to avoid them. Here is the final chapter: Nutrition.

Original image by JL Photography

One of the most constant messages that I share with my clients daily is the importance of consistency. I encourage my clients to be better by 1% every day at something: sleep, food, hydration, flexibility, mental skills, warm up, cool-down, etc.

PART 3 – NUTRITION

When it comes to developing sport-specific and cross-training protocols, I always err on the side of caution because the ONLY two things that are guaranteed to slow down or even halt progression is an illness or an injury. Avoiding an illness can be done by combining three things:

  1. Evaluating the body’s response to training volume and intensity
  2. Eating enough quality and quantity of food to support the immune system
  3. Allowing the body to rest long enough and deep enough to absorb the stress of life and rejuvenate itself nightly.

Unfortunately, avoiding an injury isn’t always as easy as it seems. As the old saying goes within the athletic world, “It isn’t IF you are going to get injured, but WHEN”. Once injured, how to deal with it is often as convoluted as nutrition: Do I apply ice or heat?… Should I cast or not cast?… Should I exercise or rest?… Just to mention a few. Before we can answer these specific types of questions, we must determine the type of injury – whether it is tissue related or bone.

The Body is the Sum Total of Bones and Soft Tissue

Think of the body’s musculoskeletal system and a combination of soft tissue and bones. In addition to holding up the overall weight of the body (lean muscle mass and adipose/fat tissue), bones stabilize and work with muscles to create movement and maintain body posturing. Visualize the muscles “pulling” against the attachment to the bone to create movement. Without muscles, bones don’t move. Without bones, muscles can’t pull.

Skeleton
Soft Tissue

Soft tissue has three major functions – to connect, support and to protect the organs of the body. There are also two types of soft tissue. The connective tissue includes tendons which connect muscles to bones; ligaments that connect bones to bones; fascia, skin, fibrous tissue, fat and synovial membranes which serve as lubricants for the joints. The non-connective tissue are the muscles, nerves and blood.

Bone

There are 206 bones in the body that work collectively to support five major functions:

  1. Support: the framework for muscles, soft tissue and organs to attach.
  2. Movement: visualize bones as leverage points to generate movement.
  3. Protection: the skull protects the brain; the spine protects the nerves in the spinal column; and the ribs protect the lungs, heart and liver.
  4. Production of red blood cells: the center of the bone cavity is referred to as “red marrow” which is the source of production for red and white cells.
  5. Storage of minerals and lipids (fats): bones retain 99% of the calcium found in the body. Calcium salts help maintain calcium and phosphate ions in body fluids. The body stores lipids for energy reserves in the yellow marrow.

Two Types of Injuries

There are two types of injuries – acute and chronic. An acute, or impact injury typically occurs from an accident such as a head injury (concussion), broken bone, sprains, dislocations, Achilles tendon rupture and rotator cuff tears of the shoulder. This type of injury requires immediate medical attention. A chronic injury, on the other hand, develops slowly and is persistent and long lasting. The pain is enough to capture your attention, but not so bad that it keeps you from continuing activity. A chronic injury is usually addressed with the RICE acronym – Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation.

VegetablesNutrition Nutrition Strategies to Heal as Quickly as possible

Most people don’t realize it, but nutrition plays a vital role in the healing process. Key nutritional strategies when recovering from an injury include:

  1. Refrain from cutting back on calories. This is counter-productive to recovery as it will actually slow down the healing process. Fruits, vegetables and lean protein are low on the calorie scale, but big on the nutritional density scale.
  2. Eat fruits and vegetables high in Vitamin C. Vitamin C helps make collagen, an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory that will facilitate the recovery process from the inside out. Sources: citrus fruit, capsicums, dark greens, kiwi fruit, broccoli, tomatoes, mango and papaya.
  3. Consume protein-rich foods such as salmon, red meat, chicken, tofu, beans, peas, nuts and seeds. These types of food are high in amino acids which are the building block for new tissue and help prevent excessive inflammation.
  4. Eat foods that contain Omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, sardines, walnuts, flax seeds and chia seeds. Not commonly known is that Omega-3 facilities new muscle generation reducing muscle loss during immobilization, as well as preventing excessive inflammation.
  5. Avoid Omega-6 fats which can increase inflammation within the body. These are found in corn, canola, cottonseed, soy and sunflower oils.
  6. Add zinc to your diet. Zinc is a commonly deficient nutrient in the body but an instrumental component of many enzymes and proteins needed for tissue repair and growth. Sources: salmon, sardines, shellfish, seeds, nuts and whole grains.
  7. Eat more calcium-rich foods such as organic dairy, dark greens, sardines, broccoli, almonds and seaweed. Calcium is a vital component to strong bones and teeth, along with aiding muscle contractions and nerve signaling.
    Be sure to get enough Vitamin D – whether naturally through exposure to sunlight or through your foods. Vitamin D facilitates the absorption of Calcium which speeds up bone rejuvenation, along with strengthening bones and teeth. It can also help shorten the recovery time after surgery. Outside Sources include egg yolk, whole eggs, organic milk, salmon, sardines, tuna, shrimp, oysters and liver.
  8. Consume foods such as free-range meat, chicken and fish that are high in creatine. Creatine is known to reduce muscle mass loss, facilitate the development of muscle mass and reestablish muscle strength.
  9. Eat more shellfish as they naturally contain Glucosamine, a vitamin known to facilitate the creation of tendons, ligaments, cartilage and speed up bone rejuvenation. Glucosamine also reduces pain associated with joint and bone injuries.

Chia and Banana smoothie

 

Broken Bone Specific Nutrition for Healing

In addition to Calcium and Vitamin D mentioned above, the following nutrients will facilitate the recovery process associated with a broken bone:

  1. Arginine – This amino acid is needed to produce a fracture healing compound known as nitric oxide. Sources: free range meat, organic dairy, seafood, raw nuts and oatmeal.
  2. Inositol – Like Vitamin D, Inositol helps improve the absorption of calcium to strengthen bones and teeth. Sources: rockmelon, grapefruit, organs and prune.
  3. Boron – This powerhouse helps increase both calcium and magnesium retention while increasing the effectiveness of Vitamin D. Source: raisins, prunes, Brazilian nuts, apples, bananas, celery, broccoli, chickpeas
  4. Magnesium – Facilitates bone strength and firmness. Sources: almonds, cashews, potato skins, brown rice, kidney and black-eyed peas and organic milk.
  5. Silicon – Critical element in the early stages of bone formation. Sources: whole grains, carrots, green beans, red wine, beer, brown rice, barley, oats, raw nuts, seafood and organ meats.
  6. Vitamin K1 and K2 – Improves bone strength. Sources: kale, spinach, broccoli, egg yolk, organic dairy, organ meats, prunes, kiwis, avocado, blackberry, blueberry, grapes, hard cheese, dark chicken meat, real butter.

Top Five Nutrition Habits

  1. Consume half of your body weight in ounces of water (150 pounds /2 = 75 ounces) over 8-10-hour day.
  2. Eat every two hours to stabilize blood sugar levels – maintain mental clarity and consistent energy levels.
  3. Every time you eat, consume a fruit, a vegetable and a high-quality fat/protein item.
  4. Consume your food without the distraction of a phone, TV or computer to maximize the absorption of micro and macro nutrients. Literally get more out of your food!
  5. Eat out no more than one time a week to avoid foods loaded in preservatives and sugars.

Take away message…

When you become injured (at any level), you are always in a race against space and time. Understanding how to offset the inflammatory process, without slowing down the healing process, giving the body the invaluable vitamins, minerals and necessary macro nutrients to heal, repair and grow can be directly influenced by what, when and how much you consume and supplement. The greater the attention to detail, the quicker the recovery!


Coach Robb BeamsCity Coast Motorcycles has partnered with MotoE for 2019. We are excited to welcome Coach Robb Beams aboard as a feature writer for our website and newsletter

Coach Robb is an internationally recognised motorsports performance coach with 35 years of on and off-the-track experience. He is the founder of the Complete Racing Solutions Performance Program, MotoE Amateur Development Program, the Mental Blueprint of Success, and MotoE Educational Series. His success working with riders ranging from 65 cc to the Pro Sport include some of today’s top professionals including Ryan Dungey, Adam Cianciarulo, Jeremy Martin, Jordan Bailey, Alex Martin, Stilez Robertson and Logan Best.

In January 2019, Coach Robb and MotoE conducted two Amateur Motocross Performance Camps for members of the Wollongong Motorcycle Club. Based off the success of these camps, MotoE and Coach Robb will be returning in July. For more information visit MotoE Australian Performance Camps.  Follow our Facebook page to stay posted on our exclusive Meet the Coach special event held at City Coast Motorcycles on July 4.

This is not paid content.

Robb Beams: Coaching for Every Body

Coach Robb Beams is the United States’ No.1 “go-to” for nutrition and performance training for MX and off-road racing. With 35 years experience, he is returning to Australia in July for a special event at City Coast Motorcycles and MotoE Performance Camps at Wollongong Motorcycle Club. He candidly has shared his story in this exclusive Q&A.

Coach Robb Beams & Ryan Dungey
Coach Robb working with Ryan Dungey – image courtesy of CBS.

When did you start riding dirt bikes?

I got my first Suzuki RM 80 in 1978 for Christmas. I have been in and around dirt bikes ever since.

What do you ride now?

Unfortunately, I don’t have a bike right now due to things surrounding a divorce. However, me and both my boys would like to resume riding now that it is over. Being at the track on a regular basis helps me keep up to date with the various changes to the bikes: suspension, chassis, tyres, gearing, fuel, etc. I factor all these variables into my riding clinics and camps.

How did Complete Racing Solutions and MotoE come to be?

I started my performance company when a friend who happened to be a professional tennis player wanted a performance program: speed/agility; nutrition, hydration, mental development and soft tissue maintenance. I never wanted to get involved with the business side of motocross and supercross because I wanted to keep my love of moto outside my business world. However, I had been coaching for about 10 years when I was approached by Toyota to manage the human performance side of their Amateur Development Program, “Moving Forward”. I worked with all their riders throughout the season and word of mouth spread. By the end of the season, I was approached by riders who are also great people: Adam Cianciarulo (Factory Kawasaki), Alex and Jeremy Martin, Ian Trettel (Factory Suzuki) and Ashley Fiolek (Factory Honda) to mention a few. Our name was passed over to other motorsports like NASCAR and Formula One and eventually the motorsport side of the business became big enough, so I created a separate business segment to complement our other divisions: Speed & Agility; Endurance and Weight Loss. The motorsport division is still our smallest; however, it is my personal passion and I enjoy it more each day.

Coach Robb mountain biking
Coach Robb Beams

You’re a former professional BMX racer and top-level triathlete: How do these skills cross over into coaching MX?

When I was developing as BMX racer, I was always looking for resources on how to eat, drink, train, cross train, improve flexibility and get mentally stronger and found very few resources. So, for the first two years I asked anyone that I could talk to on how they trained. Fortunately for me, our local track was stacked with nationally ranked racers and they allowed me to ride and train with them – I soaked up as much as I could and formulated my own process and system that worked. In one year, I went from not being nationally ranked to 15th and from 10th in the state of Florida to 2nd (behind the Nationally ranked #1 rider). The next year I went to national #8 and state #1 and continued to fine tune and tweak my program ask as many questions as possible. I then turned pro in 1987 and finished ranked 8th in the world at the IBMXF World Championships.

After the IBMXF World Championships, my dad told me it was time to go to college. My dad was a military guy and didn’t play around – he meant what he said, and you did what he said. So, I went to college and got undergraduate degrees in computer science and human resource management. I then went back to school for sports performance massage therapy and then my master’s degree in exercise physiology. While at university, my roommate was training for triathlons and I started doing what he was doing. Within a year I was the Central Florida Triathlon Champion, Birthplace of Speed Series Champion and the Track Shack Triathlon Sprint Champion. I eventually was invited to test at the Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs specific to triathlon. Unfortunately, I got hit by a car and blew my knee out and was no longer eligible for the elite team.

Between the school degrees, personal race experiences and the knowledge I garnered from the Olympic Training Centre (along with constantly researching) I created a complete process and system now popularly known as the Complete Training Solutions program. With all my sport specific programs, I take the sport specific demands/frustrations and help athletes and racers identify and systematically address until the frustrations/limiters become strengths. All of my programs include training protocols to improve sprint speed, eliminate late race fatigue, drop body fat and improve lean muscle mass, complete nutrition and hydration strategies along with a complete mental development element that equips the rider to handle the pressures of racing both from the front and from the back of the pack.

Robb Beams on his BMX
Back in the day: Coach Robb is a former pro BMX racer

You have worked with a lot of big names in sport, but you offer your services to everyone. Do the same rules apply to all?

Absolutely! Ironically, non-professionals benefit the most from our performance programs because they are spread so thin with professional, school, social, financial, family/relationships, bike prep, travel to and from, clean up and THEN athletic (how hard should I train, how often, how hard, what should I do, etc.). Professionals have all day to get better. They have people doing everything for them. They can take naps and get massages during the day. They can afford to have someone cook and clean for them. Think about what Chad Reed said about moving from Florida to JGR’s program. He simply shows up, gets geared up, rides/test, leaves and goes home to his family. Someone is taking care of the track, his bike, etc. so he can focus on himself and his family obligations. He has a lot less on his plate than a racer who works and has a family.

You put a lot of emphasis on sports psychology, what has been your biggest personal hurdle so far?

I have two that have changed my career – personally and professionally:

First, at the IBMXF World Championships; I had a big contract on the line to ride for one of the sports largest teams. Unfortunately, I went early on the gate and nearly flipped over, and I didn’t finish in the top three (a contract stipulation). As a result, the deal was pulled and as stated earlier, my dad told me it was time to move into the world of education. I felt like I had blown four years of hard work, I had let my parents down, I lost the team opportunity and as a result I had to pick myself up and move on. I never understood what the saying “It is lonely at the top” meant until that day. When you are on top, everyone is your friend. When you are not, you find out who your true friends are. Either way it is a lonely place to be.

Second, getting hit by a car and blowing my knee out and as a result not being considered for the elite team was a tough pill to swallow. To have something taken away that I worked so hard for by someone else was hard to wrap my head around.

Ironically, I have had to lean on both “life experiences” to handle both personal and business-related matters over the last ten years that put me in the exact situation again. This is where I coined the concept of “Athletic Maturity”. Until you endure something, like a broken bone, you don’t know what to expect and you must “learn” to fix and how to improve after the situation. After you have endured something, you are better equipped with both resources and mental focus.

Coach Robb Beams Triiathlon
Coach Robb competing in a triathlon

What is a typical workday like for you?

Monday and Tuesday’s, I am in the office from 7am until 10:00pm hosting client calls from around the world. For example, first thing in the morning I am doing Skype calls with clients in Thailand and Greece. Through the early mornings, I am on east coast calls, then as the day transpires, I move to the west coast and then into Netherlands, New Zealand and finally Australia. It is imperative that I speak to clients early in the week to discuss the weekend and make any changes to their training schedules for the upcoming week. Micaela and I take a couple of breaks to work out and eat, but these two days are busy on the phone.

Wednesday is when I do my research and writing. I write for several online magazines, our monthly newsletter, articles for our websites and membership areas as well as our social media messages. The day starts at 7:00am and I am finished around 5:00pm.

Thursday is video production and new business development. MotoE is about to launch a membership area where riders can find complete training and nutrition programs. In addition to the training programs, we will have hundreds of short videos explaining various topics: how to proper hydrate, what causes cramping, how to drop body fat, how to manage heat and humidity, etc. The membership area will have new videos and articles uploaded every week indefinitely. We also have numerous educational bundles, digital products and coaching specific resources that are also incorporated into our video production as well. Needless to say, Thursday is all about video production and editing!

Friday is dedicated to writing my client’s schedules based on the data that was collected during the week: Resting heart rate, hours of sleep, food logs, training intensity and duration, performance results and a few other elements. There is a fine line between over training and under training and our analytics side of our process keeps us right in the middle to ensure that the individual is always improving. My rule is to have my clients improving by 1% every day by focusing on both sweating and non-sweating elements of their program. All schedules are emailed out by close of business on Friday so that they have the weekend to review the schedule and compare against their personal schedules. If we need to make an adjustment, I can get this done over the weekend. During our Monday or Tuesday call, we make the final adjustments to the schedule as needed. My goal is that my client simply opens the schedule and simply follows the duration, intensity and nutritional protocols. This allows them more time to focus on the other important elements of life: work, school, family, financial, etc.

Coach Robb training
Coach Robb training

You have ridden tracks and coached the world over but are returning to Wollongong Motorcycle Club this July. What draws you to the south-east coast of Australia?

Thanks to the help of Beau Franklin and Shannon Ninness we came over in January to a warm welcome by the Wollongong Motorcycle Club and its riders. We hosted our Level One classes and was impressed with how quickly the riders embraced the integration of human physiology and motorcycle physics. The result was improved body position, consistent execution of skills and as a result, significantly faster lap times.

In July, in addition to offering our Level One class, we are offering up our Level Two class to elevate the ability level of the riders who attended Level One in January. There are so many important elements to riding and racing; however, I feel that most riding programs tend to focus on things that don’t really matter. There are many more important elements that precedes some of the requested skills currently being asked of the rider that results in slower lap times and high levels of frustrations. For example, a rider being told to “drive the bike deeper into the turn” isn’t helpful until the rider understands why the bike is unstable coming into the turn. As stated earlier, to improve a rider correctly you must incorporate human physiology WITH motorcycle physics. Until this happens, a rider will never reach the full potential of speed and endurance to become a champion.

Join Coach Robb for a special “Meet the Coach” evening hosted by City Coast Motorcycles
Thursday July 4 from 6-8pm.

RSVP HERE

 

Coach Robb working with Ryan Dungey – CBS Special – Supercross Behind the Dream Episode 1

Meet the Coach at City Coast Motorcycles

MotoE is returning to Wollongong in July. Don’t miss out on your chance to meet Coach Robb – trainer to some of today’s top amateur and professional riders!

Meet Coach Robb at City Coast Motorcycles

Join Coach Robb for this special “Meet the Coach” evening hosted by City Coast Motorcycles before MotoE’s Level 1 Riding & Performance camps kick off on July 8 at Wollongong Motorcycle Club’s Mount Kembla track.

Since 2005, MotoE’s Coach Robb has worked with and produced some of today’s top professionals including Ryan Dungey, Adam Cianciarulo, Jeremy Martin, Jordan Bailey, Alex Martin and Stilez Robertson. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to learn from the best!

Topics discussed include:

  • Why high intensity training off the motorcycle is not translating to faster lap times.
  • What you should (or shouldn’t) eat on race day.
  • How to maximize your endurance training off the bike.
  • The importance of a proper warm up before racing.
  • Simple things you can do to improve race day confidence.

LUCKY DOOR PRIZES

2 x Free Ride Day passes at the Mount Kembla Scramble Circuit kindly donated by Wollongong Motorcycle Club

ENTRY via GOLD COIN DONATION

In support of Wollongong Motorcycle Club long time member and Wollongong Images photographer Noel Downey who is undergoing intensive cancer treatment and care.

This event will be lightly catered. Please assist us with numbers by indicating your attendance below:

Coach Robb: Injury Recovery and Prevention – Part 2

In this three-part series, Coach Robb Beams discusses the top three mistakes when recovering from an injury – and how to avoid them. Here is Part 2…

Coach Robb Injury Recovery and Prevention Part 2

When you become injured there are stages of emotion just like any major issue in life: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

PART 2 – EMOTIONAL

Denial

Unless the injury is obvious: broken bone, concussion, etc., our brain wants to “ignore” the fact that something is wrong and needs to be addressed. Whether this mind set is due to “we don’t want to be considered weak and injury prone” or ”if I ignore it, it will go away”, either way, we as humans fight the idea that we are injured. We have to pull back in our training and become more creative to get workouts in.

Anger

Once we acknowledge and accept the fact that we are hurt, anger inevitably sneaks in. No one clearly understands the sacrifice of time, energy and resources you have invested in your current level of speed, endurance and strength. You feel that all these performance elements will quickly slip through your fingers and your fitness levels will regress back to where you were a year ago. The anger and frustration levels escalate to completely new levels when the source of your injury isn’t truly your fault: car accident, dirty move by one of your competitors, equipment failure, etc…

Bargaining

We begin to bargain with ourselves that instead of training eight hours a week, we will pull back to six hours and this will be enough for us to heal while minimizing our fitness loses. Many times, we will continue with the same sport-specific activities, but rationalize our behavior by “going slower”.

Depression

One of the huge benefits of consistent training is the hormonal release of endorphins commonly referred to as the “athlete high”. When your body doesn’t get to experience the releasing of these feel good moments on a regular basis, the mental capacity to deal with relationships, professional obligations, financial situations, etc., becomes less resilient and even intolerant. Little issues that used to roll off your back now set you off in a verbal tantrum adding to the frustrations of not being able to exercise and sport-specific train like you used to.

Coach Robb Injury Recovery


Acceptance

Once you recognize that ignoring your injury won’t help heal the injury (chemically, mentally or physically) and staying angry isn’t going to solve your situation, it is time to move into a state of acceptance. Facing accountability for why the injury happened is one of the hardest things for an athlete to do. Over my last 35 years of coaching, I have found that the catalyst of injuries typically falls into three categories:

  1. Working in a mode of fear. Instead of working in a mode of fear, successful individuals work in a mode of pleasure. They are motivated by enjoyment of success and look at each decision as a building block to moving them closer to the desirable outcome verses looking at decision and behavior as a punishment for poor choices. Pro-active example: If I go to bed early, I will get more sleep and wake up leaner and fully recovered. Mode of fear example: If I don’t go to bed early, I will get fat. Ironically, the brain much prefers pleasure over pain. However, our society has glamorized the “no pain, no gain” mindset that has literally hurt us.
  1. Not listening to the body. The human body is an incredible machine and has a multitude of ways to let you know when something is not correct. It is our responsibility to look for, recognize and respect when things do feel right. This is where there is a slight overlap with number one above, working in a mode of fear.In the exercise realm, I refer to using exercise for punishment because of the bad food choices that were made. Individuals that work in a mode of pleasure take the time to understand “why” they are drawn towards bad food choices. For example, if someone is craving simple sugar, it is a sign of adrenal fatigue that needs to be offset with high quality fats, not simple sugars as the brains wants to tell you.When a sign of an ailment begins to reveal itself (virus: an elevated heart rate; muscle strain: hurts to walk; bone situation: pain throbs at night while sleeping; stress: becoming more intolerant and even short tempered or get physically weaker with more effort, etc.), if you are working in a mode of fear, you will take the necessary steps to turn the situation around immediately because you are motivated by the enjoyment of success. You recognize that if you acknowledge and respect the messages your body is giving you, you may miss a day or two from training to address the situation (virus: sleep and avoid simple sugars; muscle strain: foam roll or get a massage; bone situation: let it rest; stress: avoid negative people) but it will get you back onto the path of health, wellness and associated performance in a shorter period of time. It will also reduce the amount of residual damage that is done.The accumulation of residual damage (not sleeping enough, not getting massage or foam rolling, not eating fruits and vegetables, etc.) creates a hole that can take a long time to dig out of. For example, when it comes to adrenal fatigue, I get asked frequently “how long will it take to turn my symptoms around?”. The answer is two-fold.  First, how long have you been ignoring the body’s indicators – we need to determine the depth of the hole you have dug yourself into. Second, how committed are you to proactively addressing each element necessary to recovery: food, sleep, soft tissue maintenance, balancing volume and intensity of training, managing the overall levels of stress you are placing on your body – professionally, personally, athletically, etc.Coach Robb Injury Recovery
  1. Following uneducated trainers and self-serving agendas. When someone presents themselves to our office, we always strive to uncover the source of the injury. Ninety-nine percent of the time it is associated with some so-called expert or coach that has recommended some ridiculous training program that has no justification behind the volume, intensity or exercises. Thanks to the proliferation of online coaches and weekend certification courses, everyone has become an expert and as a result, this has led to epidemic levels of injury and burnout.The most imperative question to ask is any program or trainer is “Why am I doing this workout and how does it contribute to eliminating my biggest frustrations that are keeping me from achieving my fullest potential”. Anything that you are doing that doesn’t move you towards YOUR personal achievement goals, puts you on the path of your program or trainer’s agenda.This agenda doesn’t have any regards to your health, wellness and ultimately performance, it is simply an agenda. We have picked up clients that are on a collegiate athletic scholarship and the injuries that they are presenting are nothing more than too much, too hard, too often and the athletes are told “if you don’t want to do what we tell you, we will replace you with someone who will” – no matter what the physical sacrifice.Every minute of every day needs to be spent moving you closer and closer to your desirable goals in a healthy and sustainable manner. You should know why you are training a specific number of hours and what percentage of them are going to be aerobic and anaerobic. The volume and overall intensity need to be in line with the amount of stress your body can absorb in the area of physical activity. Contrary to what many are saying, you can’t handle more than 100% of anything. If you are extremely busy at work and it is commandeering more and more of your hours in a day, where are you going to pull those hours from: personal, athletic, sleep, eating, etc.?Life is all about balance, and if you over-extend yourself, you will find something will start to break down. Unfortunately, it usually is your body – mentally and/or physically!

In the next article, we will do a deep dive on nutrition’s role as it relates to an injury.


Coach Robb BeamsCity Coast Motorcycles has partnered with MotoE for 2019. We are excited to welcome Coach Robb Beams aboard as a feature writer for our website and newsletter

Coach Robb is an internationally recognised motorsports performance coach with 35 years of on and off-the-track experience. He is the founder of the Complete Racing Solutions Performance Program, MotoE Amateur Development Program, the Mental Blueprint of Success, and MotoE Educational Series. His success working with riders ranging from 65 cc to the Pro Sport include some of today’s top professionals including Ryan Dungey, Adam Cianciarulo, Jeremy Martin, Jordan Bailey, Alex Martin, Stilez Robertson and Logan Best.

In January 2019, Coach Robb and MotoE conducted two Amateur Motocross Performance Camps for members of the Wollongong Motorcycle Club. Based off the success of these camps, MotoE and Coach Robb will be returning in July. For more information visit MotoE Australian Performance Camps.  Follow our Facebook page to stay posted on our exclusive Meet the Coach special event held at City Coast Motorcycles on July 4.

This is not paid content.

Coach Robb: Injury Recovery and Prevention – Part 1

Coach to the champions Robb Beams returns with more sage advice in the first instalment of a three-part series. Discover the top three mistakes when recovering from an injury – and how to avoid them.

Coach Robb Injury Recovery

Nobody enjoys becoming injured due to overuse or an unforeseeable impact that happens in less than a second; however, as the old saying goes, as an athlete, if you haven’t already been injured, most likely you will be at some point. Once you cross that fine line, there are three areas – physical, mental and nutrition – that tend to get handled incorrectly making the healing process both difficult and slow.

PART 1 – PHYSICAL

First and foremost, follow your doctor’s and physical therapist rehab protocols and complete the entire duration outlined. Coming back too early will only result in less strength, endurance and long-term ramifications like limited range of motion, joint stiffness and unwanted scar tissue. As an athlete this will also result in less speed, agility, strength and endurance.

Unless you have a high impact injury that affects more than one area of your body, you are normally dealing with one area of injury. With this being said, you still have 90-95% of your body left to strengthen and expose to cardiovascular improvement. This usually requires becoming creative with your cardio. If you have broken an elbow or wrist, you can use a recumbent bike, walk in the pool with a pair of sneakers, or use a zero-gravity treadmill. If you have broken an ankle or torn an ACL or MCL you can get a vacuum sleeve to cover the injured area and swim. If you are in a wheel chair because of a leg injury, you can use a Concept 2 Ski Erg.

Despite being injured, your strength can be maintained and even enhanced with a variety of options: stretch cords, TRX systems, free weights, kettle bells and medicine balls. If you let pain be your dictator and you are not masking the true pain with pain killer medicine, you will keep yourself from doing too much and slowing down the healing process.

Coach Robb Physio

With regards to pain medicine, it is imperative that you mask the pain and discomfort with over the counter pain medicines, but ONLY while you sleep. The key is to reduce the chances of your body being woken up due to pain. The deeper your sleep, the longer you are asleep, and the more sleep cycles you can complete per night will ensure that your body is repairing itself as quickly as possible. To maximize the probability of quality, pain-free sleep, eat a high-quality snack or smoothie that is rich in protein and good fats to satisfy appetite and then consume your pain medicine. The fat and protein will satisfy your hierarchy of need of hunger and the ibuprofen will mask the pain allowing you to sleep deeper and with less interruptions.

When discussing the physical side of an injury, the concept of non-sweating physical elements is frequently overlooked. Soft tissue maintenance such as foam rolling and trigger point therapy changes the consistency of the soft tissue meaning that it will respond to pressure by opening the blood vessels bringing nutrients and oxygen-rich blood into the tissue. Fresh blood flow will speed up the healing process.

Another soft tissue modality is contrast therapy where you use cold and hot water to stimulate and change the consistency of the muscle tissue.  One of the main reasons why contrast therapy is often discarded is due to the mindset that it has to be so extreme: extremely hot or extremely cold. This is not the case.  Think about contrast therapy this way, the bigger the temperate difference, the more effective the therapy is to the tissue. For example, if you have the cold water at 70 degrees and the warm water and 110 the difference is 40 degrees. You can create the same difference if you lowered the cold to 65 and the warm water to 105. Your body doesn’t know the difference in temperature highs and lows, just the difference.  If you don’t like extreme colds and you believe that you must be in nearly freezing water and/or it is so cold you feel like your skin is going to burn off your body, you are more prone to avoid contrast therapy. This all or nothing mindset has to be changed.

Coach Robb Massage

In addition to foam rolling, trigger point therapy and contrast therapy, you can always schedule a therapeutic massage. A qualified massage therapist that works on your muscles, tendons and ligaments can identify muscle patterns associated with pain and limited range of motion. For example, if you have injured your shoulder, a massage therapist can help you identify what muscles in your chest or your shoulder blades are excessively tight and causing unwanted “pulling” on the head of your humerus (the top of your arm in your shoulder) resulting in additional pain and limited range of motion. The same applies to each joint in your body.

The irony of these non-sweating components: creative cardio, sleep quality, contrast therapy, massage therapy, etc., should be part of every athlete’s daily routine; however, these are the components that are frequently left out resulting in being mentally bored, physically stale, reduced range of motion, increased nagging injuries and ultimate frustration.

By staying focused on these specific physical components, you will come back from your injury stronger, with enhanced range of motion allowing for better sport specific biomechanics, improved speed, strength and endurance with the areas of your body that are not inured and healing. Once you get clearance from your doctor to resume normal activity with your injured body part, you only have to improve that one area, versus the entire body.


Coach Robb BeamsCity Coast Motorcycles has partnered with MotoE for 2019. We are excited to welcome Coach Robb Beams aboard as a feature writer for our website and newsletter

Coach Robb is an internationally recognised motorsports performance coach with 35 years of on and off-the-track experience. He is the founder of the Complete Racing Solutions Performance Program, MotoE Amateur Development Program, the Mental Blueprint of Success, and MotoE Educational Series. His success working with riders ranging from 65 cc to the Pro Sport include some of today’s top professionals including Ryan Dungey, Adam Cianciarulo, Jeremy Martin, Jordan Bailey, Alex Martin, Stilez Robertson and Logan Best.

In January 2019, Coach Robb and MotoE conducted two Amateur Motocross Performance Camps for members of the Wollongong Motorcycle Club. Based off the success of these camps, MotoE and Coach Robb will be returning in July. For more information visit MotoE Australian Performance Camps.  Follow our Facebook page to stay posted on our exclusive Meet the Coach special event held at City Coast Motorcycles on July 4.

This is not paid content.

Coach Robb: Strength Training for Faster Lap Times

Coach Robb: Strength Training for Faster Lap Times

There are numerous professional opinions on whether or not strength training should be an instrumental part of a racer’s training program. In my opinion, strength training is imperative for the successful racer at multi-day races. Overall body strength will help prevent the effects of cumulative fatigue and allow for proper bike position and efficiency on the bike throughout the entire week of racing. Also, full body strength is a complement to the other elements of a complete performance training program: endurance, flexibility, nutrition and mental preparedness.

Three Direct Benefits of Strength Training:

1. It will increase the amount of force your muscles can exert on a particular object. As a racer, moving a motorcycle around that weighs anywhere from 60 to 100 plus kilograms for any extended period of time requires strength levels above the typical athlete that only has to concern themself with one’s body weight. When you add both the weight of the rider, the weight of the motorcycle and the law of physics that exponentially adds resistance to the working muscle, force is a key component for finishing a race as strong as you started.

Coach Robb: Strength Training for Faster Lap Times
2. Strength training will permit your muscles to reach a maximum output of force in a shorter period of time. Even if you are not a big fan of science, hang in there with me for this concept. Weight training will increase and facilitate the balance of strength in all working muscles and the resulting motor units (which include motor nerves and muscle fibres). One nerve impulse can charge hundreds of fibres at once; a rapid series of multiple fibre twitches can generate maximum force quickly and for a long period of time.  Weight training will “teach” your nervous system to recruit a wide variety of fibres.  As one group of fibres fatigue, another group will be prepared to relieve the fatigued group.  Without getting too complex, think about nerves as messengers from the brain which control every physical response.  If motor nerves don’t “tell” the muscle fibres to twitch, your muscles won’t contract.  The entire concept behind physical training is to teach your nervous system, with repeating particular muscular movements, to get the correct message to the working muscles. With a diversified strength program, you will initiate a message to include the number of fibres to be recruited, type of fibres used (fast twitch A or slow twitch B) and frequency of contractions. Remember, a diversified training program will recruit all of the fibres and the types of fibres needed for the required physical demands. This is the purpose behind sports specificity and related workout – the more specific the more productive.

Coach Robb: Strength Training for Faster Lap Times

3. The duration of time your muscles can sustain the level of force before exhaustion is extended. The overload principle is based on the concept of subjecting the muscles to slightly more load levels than it has incurred in the past. With incremental load levels, the muscles will increase the fibre solicitation and corresponding recruitment. With proper rest, the muscles will grow stronger by developing new muscle tissue as an adaptation to the load levels. With increased muscle mass, the muscles are able to exert higher levels of force and for extended periods of time before exhaustion. To capture a better idea of this concept, imagine you have muscles that fall under the category of primary and secondary muscles. The primary muscle groups are the obvious muscles that are responsible for assisting movement. The secondary muscle groups are also referred to as “assisters” for primary movement. However, once the primary muscle groups fatigue, the secondary muscles are required to step up to finish the task at hand. Strength training makes this task familiar to the secondary muscle groups at both the muscular and neuromuscular levels.

Coach Robb: Strength Training for Faster Lap Times

Three Indirect Benefits of Strength Training:

  1. Concerning tendons and ligaments, weight training will increase the size and overall strength of both which will increase the stability of the joints that they surround.
  2. Bone density will increase as a by-product of tensile force being placed on the bones – without this tensile force, the bones will actually become brittle and susceptible to breaking.
  3. An increased range of motion at the joint is due to the increased strength and size of the tendons and ligaments. This increased strength will enhance the ease of mobility within the joint due to tendon and ligament strength and resulting efficiency.

When you look at all three of these components collectively, they address the concern of every racer: broken bones and torn up joints (particularly knees). Keep in mind that the ultimate goal of the muscles and a self-protecting mechanism called the “Golgi Apparatus” are to keep the bones from being taken outside the normal range of motion. If you have a strong muscular system accompanied with good flexibility, you will be able to take large impacts without the typical injuries because your body has the proper mechanisms to protect itself.

As a top racer, you need to identify your weaknesses and address these variables specifically.


Coach Robb BeamsCity Coast Motorcycles has partnered with MotoE for 2019. We are excited to welcome Coach Robb Beams aboard as a feature writer for our website and newsletter

Coach Robb is an internationally recognised motorsports performance coach with 35 years of on and off-the-track experience. He is the founder of the Complete Racing Solutions Performance Program, MotoE Amateur Development Program, the Mental Blueprint of Success, and MotoE Educational Series. His success working with riders ranging from 65 cc to the Pro Sport include some of today’s top professionals including Ryan Dungey, Adam Cianciarulo, Jeremy Martin, Jordan Bailey, Alex Martin, Stilez Robertson and Logan Best.

In January 2019, Coach Robb and MotoE conducted two Amateur Motocross Performance Camps for members of the Wollongong Motorcycle Club. Based off the success of these camps, MotoE and Coach Robb will be returning in July. For more information visit MotoE Australian Performance Camps.  Follow our Facebook page to stay posted on our exclusive Meet the Coach special event held at City Coast Motorcycles on July 4.

This is not paid content.

Coach Robb: Keeping Cool while Training and Racing in the Heat and Humidity

motocross hydration

As we exercise, our bodies burn the calories that that we consume i.e., carbohydrates, proteins and fats. It is the breakdown of these calories and muscle movement that causes heat to build up and raise our core body temperature initiating the demands of the body to maintain its ideal body temperature. There are several ways that the body dissipates heat (skin and exhalation, for example); however, the most complex system involves your ability to sweat.

Simply put, water molecules evaporate from your skin removing heat energy, leaving water molecules on your skin making you feel cooler. The endothermic process of converting liquid to a gas is beyond the scope of this article; however, the ultimate goal is to maintain your body’s ability to efficiently dissipate heat throughout exercise.  What makes it difficult is dealing with elements that we don’t have any control over – heat and humidity.

On hot days when there is little difference between the skin’s surface temperature and the ambient air temperatures, the skin provides only small cooling benefits – increasing the importance of sweating to maintain your internal core temperature. Humidity decreases your body’s ability to evaporate sweat because the air is already saturated with water vapor, slowing the evaporation rate. Though you and your clothes may be saturated, it is not helping you in your cooling process – sweat must evaporate to remove heat from your body. It is this concept that makes hydration so important; if you don’t have enough fluids to produce sweat you will over heat guaranteed, along with the adverse side effects – performance and health wise.

Coach Robb

On average, racers lose approximately 30-35 ounces (around one litre) of fluid per hour of exercise. The actual amount varies by body size, intensity & duration levels and heat/humidity levels. There are numerous formulas floating around in the sports performance world regarding ideal food and fluid intake; however, keep in mind that there are three things that we need to evaluate regarding ideal performance nutrition: fluid intake (sports drink & water) electrolyte balance (sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium) and calories (sources & amount).

Here are my tips for training and racing in the heat and humidity:

 Wear gear that facilitate the evaporation process – avoid cotton at all costs!

Train at times that are relevant to your race i.e., if you are going to be racing at 2:00 pm, then practice at this same time, “teaching” your body to acclimate to the heat and humidity.

 Avoid over-hydrating on plain water; drink a sports drink that has a 4-6% concentration rate for optimal hydration levels. If the concentration rate is too high or too low, your body will not absorb your fluids and you may become nauseous.

Consume cold fluids; they absorb faster than warm fluids; use insulated bottles to help you keep your fluids cold.

During hard training intervals in the heat, back off of the intensity for 30 seconds; it is like shaking your hands over a jump.

Be sure to pay attention to external signs of heat stroke sequence:

Stage 1 – Dry skin: This is an indication that you have stopped sweating. Should this occur, stop the workout. You have hit a point where your fluid levels are dangerously low.

Stage 2 – Cold chills: You will have visible goose bumps. Your body is attempting to capture your attention; you crossed the danger line; performance is irrelevant.

Stage 3 – Become lightheaded: You get a headache or feel queasy – you are so dehydrated that your core body temperature has reached a critically dangerous point; bodily functions are being negatively affected.

Stage 4 – Cooking: The top of your head feels like someone has put a hot skillet there; your head feels “hot”. You are literally “cooking” yourself from the inside out. Long term problems could result if you continue.


Coach Robb BeamsCity Coast Motorcycles is excited to welcome Coach Robb Beams aboard as a feature writer for our website and newsletter

Coach Robb is an internationally recognised motorsports performance coach with 35 years of on and off-the-track experience. He is the founder of the Complete Racing Solutions Performance Program, MotoE Amateur Development Program, the Mental Blueprint of Success, and MotoE Educational Series. His success working with riders ranging from 65 cc to the Pro Sport include some of today’s top professionals including Ryan Dungey, Adam Cianciarulo, Jeremy Martin, Jordan Bailey, Alex Martin, Stilez Robertson and Logan Best.

In January 2019, Coach Robb and MotoE conducted two Amateur Motocross Performance Camps for members of the Wollongong Motorcycle Club. Based off the success of these camps, MotoE and Coach Robb will be returning in July. For more information visit MotoE Australian Performance Camps.

This is not paid content.

Opinion: Coach Robb’s Training School was a Blast!

Coach Robb Beams and Brock Ninness

Our MX Team’s Brock Ninness shares his MotoE Australian Performance Camp experience…

Coach Robb’s training school was a blast! On the January school holidays, I took part in a three-day camp run by Coach Robb Beams, founder of the Complete Racing Solutions Performance Program.

We started our first day with talking about our frustrations on and off the bike, from pre-race preparation to working on how to last a full moto; as the three days went by we challenged ourselves to overcome these frustrations. The cool part about this school was that it wasn’t all about riding and going fast. During our riding breaks we sat down and discussed nutrition, hydration, race prep, ways to approach practice days, training at the gym, recovery, mindset, as well as the mental parts of racing bikes.

Coach Robb explained the importance of hydration and eating appropriate meals through race days and backed up his comments based on information from his past clients and his own experience as an accomplished triathlete.

Coach Robb at Wollongong Motorcycle Club

On-the-bike training consisted of starts, cornering and jumping (what I would say are the three most important parts of a race track). We learned about how essential it is to grip the bike with our lower body off the start and to keep your bike as straight as possible. Coach Robb went over the proper use of the front brake through corners, especially right-hand corners; you have to really rely on the front brake and this helps enormously when turning and needing to change direction quickly. Coach Robb also taught us scrubbing technique, so we get back to the ground as fast as possible to keep driving forward. He explained that as you progress and get faster, you should be scrubbing more and more so you can get back on the ground and keep charging forward.

Sitting there, receiving all this information at first seemed over-the-top and overwhelming, but knowing of Coach Robb’s success with professional riders such as Adam Cianciarulo and Ryan Dungey helped to keep me engaged with his conversation. Coach Robb has seen and done what it takes to be the best and explained to us riders exactly what he did with these professionals. This has really inspired me to keep going with what I’m doing and to keep pushing towards my dream to be the best.

Brock Ninness #47

 Connect with Brock on Instagram

Brock participated in the MotoE Performance Camp at Wollongong Motorcycle Club. Find out more information and about up-and-coming Australian camps with Coach Robb HERE.

This is not paid content.