no pain, no gain

Idioms  

1. Suffering is needed to make progress, as in I've worked for hours on those irregular French verbs, but no pain, no gain. Although this idiom is often associated with athletic coaches who urge athletes to train harder, it dates from the 1500s and was already in John Ray's proverb collection of 1670 as “Without pains, no gains.”

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Example Sentences

“No pain, no gain” was his mantra.

From New York Times

“Coming back to life after dying from an intense workout. No pain no gain!”

From Los Angeles Times

When asked in a 2016 interview with the Electrochemical Society to summarize the philosophy guiding his many years of single-minded research, Akasaki replied, “No pain, no gain.”

From Seattle Times

“No pain, no gain!” is a common mantra when starting a new exercise routine.

From Seattle Times

“The mantra was, You have to go to a gym, you have to do high-intensity physical activity,” says Abby C. King, a professor of health research and policy and medicine at Stanford University: “this sort of ‘no pain, no gain’ phenomenon.”

From New York Times