The Wellness Edit: ‘no pain no gain’

‘No Pain No Gain’: a phrase commonly thrown around all areas of the fitness industry whether it’s weight training, cardio classes or perfecting your tennis swing. But is this an important part of fitness or should we take it with a pinch of salt? In this article I am going to explore where pain lies in the world of fitness and if it’s important and necessary or something to be concerned about.

To grow muscles you have to create very tiny tears in your muscles over time which allows them to expand and grow

The phrase essentially is a means of encouragement along the same lines of ‘nothing worth having comes easy’ but is a lot more literal when many fitness endeavours do result in various levels of aches and pains throughout training. This pain varies on different levels from small feelings of fatigue to much greater pains like muscle sprains which definitely shouldn’t be aimed for.

For example, let’s start with weight training. If you lift weights too heavy then it’s likely you will feel pain in places that aren’t so fun; maybe your lower back or where you’ve pulled a muscle in the body part you were targeting. Although this is not unusual when trying to increase the weight or improve the number of weights you might be squatting or curling, this type of pain is not good for you and is often a sign of damage from pushing your body too far in ways it isn’t ready for yet. However, experiencing signs of aching in muscles after working out or towards the end of a workout is much more common and not necessarily a bad thing. This occurs when your muscles are fatigued from pushing weights. To grow muscles you have to create very tiny tears in your muscles over time which allows them to expand and grow. Therefore, the aching and fatigue you experience is your muscles recovering. It is important to remember that this type of pain is more minimal and appears as more of an ache rather than a pain that you struggle to handle.

If the pain you might experience in weight lifting comes from the muscle growth associated with it then you might be questioning whether ‘No Pain No Gain’ is still applicable to other forms of sport or training. Simply put; yes. Every sport requires some kind of muscle growth and repair for your body to improve and develop a skill. Whether you are swinging golf clubs, running, swimming or throwing netballs you will develop strength in some areas of the body if not all. As a result, you are bound to feel some level of fatigue in muscles which can then sometimes translate to stiffness or aching for up to a couple of days.

It’s important to listen to your body but recognise that challenging it will support you in achieving your goals, so sometimes a little pain is worth the gain

So is it true that no pain means no gain? Yes. Unfortunately like everything you have to be willing to experience some struggles to reap the rewards. If you want to grow muscle or improve in your sport then some elements of pain are inevitable. However, it’s important to listen to your body and not push yourself so far that the pain is more unwanted. Any form of sprain or muscle pull is not going to have a positive effect on your body and will only put you further behind on your journey. It’s important to listen to your body but recognise that challenging it will support you in achieving your goals, so sometimes a little pain is worth the gain.