[1] 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.
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.
[6][7][8][9]The ancient Greek playwright Sophocles (5th Century BC) expresses this idea in the play Electra (line 945).
"[18] In 1859 Samuel Smiles included “No pains no gains” in a list of proverbs about the secret to making money in Self-Help (book).