“No pain, no gain […] compresses the story of a protagonist who understands that the road to achievement runs only through hardship” – David B. Morris
It was Jane Fonda who turned “no pain, no gain” into a catchphrase associated with gym junkies just wanting to “feel the burn” and push past the point of experiencing muscle aches. Most of us at some point have felt the effects of lactic build-up, breathlessness or severe discomfort that intense physical exertion can cause. However, although the physical pressure is overwhelming it is often not a physical breakdown that causes us to stop, it is the emotional pain associated with the experience that hinders us. We are creatures of comfort who strive to seek pleasure and not pain. However, whether it is an athlete, an artist or an intellectual, history has proven over and over again that the true high achievers who shake our very core and dis-prove that there are limits to our human capabilities do so because they choose a path that confronts them with awkwardness, discomfort and pain. By stepping outside their comfort zones new skills are developed, new accomplishments are achieved and there is an evolution in human capabilities. The benefit of the change is realised and suddenly pain is forgotten.
According to achievement expert Brian Tracy, “90% to 95% of people will withdraw to the comfort zone when what they try ‘doesn’t work’. Only that small percentage, 5% to 10% will continually raise the bar on themselves. They will continually push themselves out into the zone of discomfort, and these are always the highest performers in every field” (Climbing Out of Your Comfort Zone The Ultimate Secret to Lasting Change and High Achievement – Tom Venuto). According to psychologist Ryan Howell in his work Momentary Happiness: The Role of Psychological Need Satisfaction, the studies proved that people who engage in behaviours that increase competency, although they may decrease happiness due to momentary stress, when subjects looked back on their day as a whole they felt happy and satisfied. Whether it was work, school or the gym, it was discovered that the process of becoming proficient at something, although initially stressful, lead individuals to’ reap the happiness’ when they obtained new skills and increased competency at them. According to Howell,” the greatest increase in momentary happiness was experienced by participants who engaged in something that met their need for autonomy – any behaviour that a person feels they have chosen, rather than ought to do, and helps them further their interests and goals” (No Pain, No Gain: Mastering A Skill Makes Us Stressed in the Moment, Happy Long Term – Science Daily).
Studies conducted by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi at the University of Chicargo concluded that “the highest achievers are those who consistently push themselves out of their comfort zones” (Climbing Out of Your Comfort Zone The Ultimate Secret to Lasting Change and High Achievement – Tom Venuto). These individuals endure feeling awkward, uncomfortable and pain to strive for a higher, better level of performance. According to Csikszentmihalyi, these individuals can become so immersed in the task at hand that emotions become harnessed in the service of performing and learning that they reach a state of “flow’ (Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi). Flow is the mental state of operation “in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement and success in the process of the activity” (Wikipedia). Csikszentmihayli began researching flow due to his fascination by artists, such as painters, who would essentially get lost in their work. They would get so immersed in the task at hand that they would disregard their need for food, water and even sleep” (Wikipedia). There are 10 factors to flow; Clear goals that require a high challenge and skill level, deep concentration, a loss of the feeling of self-consciousness, distorted sense of time, direct and immediate feedback (so that the behaviour can be adjusted as needed), balance between ability level and challenge, a sense of personal control over the stimulation or activity, the activity is intrinsically rewarding so there is an effortlessness of action, a lack of awareness of bodily needs (eg. no sense of fatigue or hunger), absorption in the activity, narrowing of the focus of awareness down to the activity itself.
The concept of being in “the zone” during sports or physical training fits with Csikszentmihayli’s description of flow. Forrest Gump inspired a whole nation when he ‘just couldn’t stop running!’ and many athletes describe the effortless nature of their performance while achieving personal bests. Even some days spent training whether it is a run, a ride, a swim or just lifting weights, there are days when your energy and strength seem boundless and you are ready to take on any challenge at hand. You embrace it regardless of weather conditions, the effort required, the unfamiliar territory of meeting the new challenge or the time you will spend doing it. The challenge and the accomplishment in overcoming it create a sense of rapture that you can’t get enough of!
During my time as a Group Fitness instructor and Personal Trainer I have seen people ‘stop trying’ for numerous reasons. I have seen people so thrown out of their comfort zones that they run out of Group Fitness studios in fear because of the pure awkwardness of the activity, I have seen them shake off a whole set of push ups claiming ‘fatigue’ knowing that the concept of working to failure wasn’t even a consideration, I have seen people lift the same weights for years and go about the exact same work out regime without intensifying the experience and then scratch their heads at why they aren’t getting results. I have also heard of individuals who attempt something for the first time, get a dose of their first post-exercise soreness and then never attempt an activity again! When did anything worth having ever come easy? If you think back to the last achievement in life whether it be mastering a game, a skill, a maths equation or proficiently playing the violin it didn’t start easy. There was the frustrating process of familiarising yourself with the thing and understanding it, there was practice and possibly many mistakes along the way. Then, after much hardship, you master it! Whether the reward is the activity itself or even if there is recognition of your mastery, the sense of accomplishment creates a sense of happiness and personal satisfaction. Why should your training be any different? All fitness regimes (regardless of personal goals) take commitment, discipline, motivation, education, challenge and mastery. It is a high achiever indeed that takes on the challenge of better health and fitness.
I have worked as a professional Group Fitness instructor for 12 years and my first real experience of finding strength through the ‘no pain, no gain’ principal came in my 11th year. Don’t get me wrong! I challenged myself on numerous occasions; attended gruelling workshops and spent hours training and perfecting my technique on numerous disciplines. However, I had never really hit my wall… After 10 years as a cycle instructor I decided to do my RPM training. I didn’t really think that I would teach it, I just thought that I could be on call and back up any instructor that needed my help (I think I even thought that the training would be easy!)… Day one was gruelling, lots of technique and a Race of Truth challenge that kept us working at high intensity for 2 hours non-stop. After that I was tired but still feeling confident about presentations the next day. Day two…. reality hit! Our trainer demanded perfection! And as a dancer with a turned out, anti-cycle posture instructor I had some work to do. The bike, that I held no ill-feelings towards in the past, became my new torture chamber! My body was in agony and felt so contorted out of its comfort zone that I was reduced to tears and imagined myself walking away from the course all together. Then the most amazing realisation occurred to me! All these years thinking I was a hard core Body Attack and Step instructor, I was holding back! My wall was so far beyond where I thought it was and suddenly I was even fitter and stronger than I thought! I just hadn’t been challenged to the extreme before now to realise that! Now I realise that there is more effort to be found, more technique to master and the energy I can muster is boundless! There is always more if pain is not your barrier.
The critics of the ‘no pain, no gain’ concept (and there are a lot of you) must have been comfort zoners; lost in the pleasure principal and like Sigmund Freud’s ‘id,’ afraid that any sense of pain brings on a sense of danger! However, high achievers in all realms in life whether it is Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel, Tiger Woods winning the U.S. Open or Einstein inventing the atomic bomb have achieved their mastery by going beyond what is considered comfortable, stepping outside what is often praised as normal and pushing themselves to a level not even considered humanly capable. Achieving results takes work. It often does demand blood, sweat and tears. The pain is momentary, the strength found in your achievements lasts a lifetime
