Coach Jeff Burger

09/07/2026

Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi
It's also in Tai Chi
It's in the transition of Brush Knee & Twist.

Video of Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=699i--pvYmE

09/06/2026

Six minutes of reading cuts stress by 68%, more than music or a walk. And in a 12-year Yale study, the heaviest readers were 23% less likely to die during follow-up. Here’s what reading does to your brain.

A University of Sussex study found that six minutes of reading slowed heart rate, eased muscle tension, and cut stress by 68%, beating music, tea, and a walk. Regular readers also show lower rates of depression, and brain imaging found that reading a novel creates connectivity changes that persist for days after you finish, strengthening pathways tied to empathy.

Then there’s lifespan. In that Yale study, adults reading more than 3.5 hours a week were 23% less likely to die than non-readers, a gap that held even after accounting for wealth, education, and health. Reading fiction even activates your sensory cortex, your brain processes the smells and textures on the page almost as if they were real. Scrolling doesn’t do this. The focus a narrative demands builds the exact attention circuits that endless feeds erode. One format trains the brain, the other drains it.

No subscription, no equipment. Twenty minutes a day produces measurable effects on stress, memory, and possibly lifespan. Most people think they’re “bad at focus.” They’re not, they’re overstimulated. Reading narrows the signal to one thing, and the mind finally settles.

In a world built to keep you scrolling, choosing to read is almost an act of resistance. Save this as your reminder to pick the book over the feed, like it so it comes back to you, and follow us. We decode one thing your brain quietly runs on every day.

REFERENCES:
Bavishi, A., Slade, M. D., & Levy, B. R. (2016). A chapter a day: Association of book reading with longevity. Social Science & Medicine, 164, 44–48.
Berns, G. S., et al. (2013). Short- and long-term effects of a novel on connectivity in the brain. Brain Connectivity, 3(6), 590–600.
Lewis, D. (2009). Galaxy Stress Research. Mindlab International, University of Sussex.

09/06/2026

Someone asked what my morning routine is.

Nothing special.
Coffee and catch up on the news like anyone else.

09/06/2026

Hit them when?
I have been teaching this for years.
I teach it in my FREE Muay Thai Clinch Seminar on YouTube

https://youtube.com/shorts/_Mwi_jloJe8?is=U7UumBWd-b0ATj4T

09/04/2026

I have a love hate relationship with this move.

First 2 years of Boxing is was beat into your head "NEVER CROSS YOUR FEET !"

Then one day its" Cross your front foot and half turn your back while you're right in front of him."

Why love / hate ?
Hate - It goes against what I was taught.
Love - it works so damn good.

I have not done a lot of Bagua but it felt very Bagua to me.
That Bagua feel gave me an idea.
Checking their lead hand when I step.
Not only does it eliminate much of the threat but I actually use it to help me step better ( further, faster)

But all those traditional martial arts are just silly dance moves .... right?
;) ;) ;)

09/04/2026

Some of us didn't need a study to know this.

What the Research Showed:

* This was the largest analysis ever conducted on exercise and mental health, pooling 81 meta-analyses, 1,079 randomized controlled trials, and 79,551 participants across clinical and non-clinical populations.

* Exercise reduced depression symptoms by roughly 60% and reduced anxiety symptoms by nearly 50%, magnitudes comparable to or exceeding many pharmacological and psychotherapeutic treatments.

* Aerobic exercise produced the strongest antidepressant effects, and group-based or supervised programs consistently outperformed solo or unsupervised formats.

What This Means:

* The data suggests that physical activity influences core psychological symptoms at a magnitude similar to traditional first-line mental health interventions.

* Stronger effects in group and supervised settings indicate that social reinforcement and environmental context likely amplify exercise's antidepressant impact.

* The consistency of effects across age groups supports exercise as a broadly applicable mental health intervention rather than a niche therapy.

Why This Matters:

* Exercise is known to stimulate neurobiological mechanisms such as increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and enhanced neuroplasticity, which are central to mood regulation.

* Unlike many treatments, exercise simultaneously targets psychological symptoms and physical health risk factors that often co-occur with depression and anxiety.

* Given rising global rates of depression and anxiety despite increased treatment availability, scalable interventions with comparable effect sizes have significant public health relevance.

Across nearly 80,000 participants, structured exercise consistently reduced depression and anxiety symptoms at magnitudes comparable to established clinical treatments. The evidence suggests movement is not merely supportive for mental health, but biologically meaningful in reshaping the systems that regulate mood and stress.

The bigger takeaway: movement isn't just about changing your body. Exercise can influence the brain, mood, stress, physical health, and how well we function as we age.

And maintaining muscle and strength becomes especially important as we get older.

That’s why the NeuroLab team just started Muscle40Plus, a new account focused on the science of building muscle, maintaining strength, and staying capable after 40.

Follow Muscle40plus if you want practical, science-backed information on getting stronger and aging well. We're just getting started.

What form of exercise has helped your mental health the most?

Walking, lifting, running, cycling, swimming, or something else?

Comment yours below, save this post for later, and send it to someone who needs another reason to keep moving.

09/02/2026

FREE

These are going in the trash Friday.
Surprised nobody wants them.

09/01/2026

September is National Preparedness Month

Lots of people asking where I get my gear.
I get much of it from Stealth Angel Survival