Regardless of how you train, I think these five critical aspects must be part of every training session. In my 35 years of training, these are the real game changers.

Laugh

Find something that makes you laugh. Making progress is tedious. It takes consistency-  years and years and years of constant work to be able to move forward. Thirty years from now, you're not going to remember all work, consistency, sets, and reps; you're going to remember the stories and the laughs. I know this firsthand because when I meet up with people that I used to train with 20 years ago, that's what we talk about- the times we laughed so hard our abs cramped. We rarely ever talk about who made what weight on any max effort lift or even who lifted how much in whatever meet. It's all the stupid shit that is funny as hell to us, but if anybody overheard us, they're not going to get it. The "had to be there" laughs are the ones you always remember the most.

Every time you go to the gym, find something funny. Trust me, it's there. You can always laugh at yourself. There's always stupid shit going on. This is also a way to keep you grounded. There are times in your training when you need to train. There are other times when you need to take it up a notch, but then there are other times where you need to be borderline bat shit crazy. If you're always borderline bat shit crazy, then what becomes the next bat shit crazy? In other words, if this is how you always are, where do you go from there? At the same time, if you're always training at a very base level without ever pushing yourself, then you're never going to create the adaptations needed to get stronger in the first place.

There has to be a balance; and that balance is somewhere between laughter and hate.

I was always fortunate enough to have a great group of people that I trained with. I was the person that took things way too serious and was batshit crazy most of the time. It's hard to be bat shit crazy all the time when you're training with other people that are fucking around all the time (in a good way). Training together, when that synergy is created, that good compromise is found. The over serious one will be telling the people that are always joking around to shut the fuck up. Meanwhile, they other ones are getting us to tone down and regulate our mental state to be able to train without killing ourselves. By no means is this saying only to screw off and not to train hard. On the contrary, I think most don't train hard enough and play the "optimal training" card way too safely. I believe firmly in training economy and doing only what is justified to do, but to do it right. Regardless, find something to laugh at.

Learn

Every time you walk into the gym to train, learn something.  You can learn from what you're doing yourself. You can learn from other people. You can learn from past mistakes. There's so many opportunities to learn by trying different accessory movements, by trying to tweak a core lift just a little bit to see how that's going to help. Making progress is a constant state of learning, tweaking, and experiencing over a period of time. Develop the training wisdom to just "know" what you're supposed to do. If you're consistently doing the same things over and over, then you're not going to learn anything. You're not going to progress. You're going to stall.

You must learn something every single time you go to the gym.

Execute

Do something! You have to fucking train. Sometimes, I think this is a lost concept. Training isn't meant to be a fucking walk in the park. It's supposed to be uncomfortable at times. It's supposed to get you out of your comfort zone. It's intended to make you push yourself to do things that you haven't done before. It's execution. Every time you go in there, do something that's going to make you better. It has to be a step forward every single session. I'm not telling you that you need to beat your head against the bar and go balls to the wall every single time you come in, but you have to fucking do something. You can't just go in there, dawdle around, and expect to become a better strength athlete.

If you want to just train for health and fitness, that's a different story. But to become a better strength athlete, you have to consistently push yourself to make progress.

Compliment

Find somebody who's doing something right and compliment them on that. I've been in gym atmospheres where you had to really earn a compliment. Sometimes it would take years before you get one, if ever. I've been in gym environments where compliments were thrown around 800 a day to every single person. What the hell? Fist bumps just for showing up! There's a balance in there that will work for every gym and group. Find something that somebody's doing right and compliment them on that. It's a good practice, especially for the newer lifters that are coming in, to reinforce the things that they are doing correctly. I'm not telling you to give unwarranted compliments. They should be compliments that mean something and that are of value.

I suck at this one but am aware of it. It takes a hell of a lot to impress me - so if I am giving someone shit - they can take that as a compliment because I paid attention to them. I'm one of those dick heads that feel people shouldn't be complimented on things they are expected to do, but only when they exceed... but, as a dick-head, I need to be looking for these things to happen.

Offer Help

Help somebody! I've given speeches. I've written articles. I've done podcasts. I've done YouTube videos. I've done every source of media possible talking about living, learning, and passing on. When you're in the gym, help somebody. When you help somebody, not only are you giving a gift of helping them to become better, it's also helping you to become better and reinforce what you already know. It's enhancing your ability to communicate whatever you're trying to pass on to that other person.

Once you grab a bar, the gym ceases to be a place of commerce and becomes a place of culture and community.

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