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

Marozzi, who declined to share his voting record over privacy concerns, explained that he can empathize with a no pain, no gain mentality.

From Barron's • Mar. 21, 2026

Jak Phillips, a growth director from global fitness brand Les Mills, says it's no longer about no pain no gain, something that "fitness has built on for years".

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026

The mantra for newer distressed property investors might well be, "no pain, no gain."

From US News • Oct. 17, 2016

In the immortal words of many a fitness instructor, no pain, no gain.

From Slate • Jan. 6, 2016

And certainly he wasn’t the only one to have learned the much-admired lesson of no pain, no gain.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger