No pain, no gain

Exercise motto

It came into prominence after 1982 when actress Jane Fonda began to produce a series of aerobics workout videos. In these videos, Fonda would use "No pain, no gain" and "Feel the burn" as catchphrases for the concept of working out past the point of experiencing muscle aches.

It expresses the belief that solid large muscle is the result of training hard. Delayed onset muscle soreness is often used as a measure of the effectiveness of a workout.

In terms of the expression used for development, the discomfort caused may be beneficial in some instances while detrimental in others. Detrimental pain can include joint pain. Beneficial pain usually refers to that resulting from tearing microscopic muscle fibers, which will be rebuilt more densely, making a bigger muscle.

The expression has been adopted in a variety of sports and fitness activities, beginning in 1982 to present day.

David B. Morris wrote in The Scientist in 2005, No pain, no gain' is an American modern mini-narrative: it compresses the story of a protagonist who understands that the road to achievement runs only through hardship." The concept has been described as being a modern form of Puritanism.

Origin

The ancient Greek poet Hesiod (c. 750-650 BC) expresses this idea in Works and Days where he wrote:

...But before the road of Excellence the immortal gods have placed sweat. And the way to it is long and steep and rough at first. But when one arrives at the summit, then it is easy, even though remaining difficult. For additional translations and analysis, see:

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The ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (5th Century BC) expresses this idea in the play Electra (line 945). This line is translated as: "nothing truly succeeds without pain",

"nothing succeeds without toil",

"there is no success without hard work",

and "Without labour nothing prospers (well)."

• (contains other similar quotes from classical sources)

A form of this expression is found in the beginning of the second century, written in The Ethics of the Fathers 5:23 (known in Hebrew as Pirkei Avot), which quotes Ben Hei Hei as saying, "According to the pain is the reward." Sources connecting the expression with the passage:

Source for literal translation:

This is interpreted to be a spiritual lesson; without the pain in doing what God commands, there is no spiritual gain.

In 1577 British poet Nicholas Breton wrote: "They must take pain that look for any gain."

One of the earliest attestations of the phrase comes from the poet Robert Herrick in his "Hesperides". In the 1650 edition, a two-line poem was added:

If little labour, little are our gains:

Man's fate is according to his pains.|Hesperides 752.

A version of the phrase was crafted by Benjamin Franklin, in his persona of Poor Richard (1734), to illustrate the axiom "God helps those who help themselves":

Industry need not wish, as Poor Richard says, and he that lives upon hope will die fasting. There are no gains, without pains...| as reprinted in his The Way to Wealth (1758)

In 1853 R. C. Trench wrote in On Lessons in Proverbs iv: "For the most part they courageously accept the law of labour, No pains, no gains,—No sweat, no sweet, as the appointed law and condition of man's life."

In 1859 Samuel Smiles included “No pains no gains” in a list of proverbs about the secret to making money in his book Self-Help.

In popular culture

• No Pain No Gain, a physics-based sandbox game developed by Rike Games, references the proverb in its title and theme of enduring challenge for progress.

References

References

1. New Jersey. Division of Curriculum and Instruction. (1970). "Elementary Physical Education, Today". Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
2. (September 22, 2002). "No Pain, No Gain". The American College of Foot & Ankle Orthopedics & Medicine.
3. (4 March 2013). "Monday's medical myth: no pain, no gain".
4. David B. Morris. (March 28, 2005). "Belief and Narrative". The Scientist.
5. (1 January 1989). "No Pain, No Gain: A Puritan Legacy". [[Health Education & Behavior]].
6. (2015). "Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs". Oxford University Press.
7. Herrick, Robert. (1898). "The Hesperides & Noble Numbers: Vol. 1 and 2". Lawrence & Bullen.
8. Franklin, Terrance. (1758). "The Way To Wealth".
9. Leahy, Robert L.. (2018-10-04). "Emotional schemas in therapy". Routledge.
10. "No Pain No Gain". Rike Games.