Feeling the burn is your body’s way of signalling effort, but you don’t always have to suffer to make progress
T
he words may have been printed on gym vests for decades, but is “no pain, no gain” actually true when it comes to the benefits of exercise, such as improved cardiovascular health or increased muscle mass?
“Not strictly,” says Dr Oly Perkin from the University of Bath’s Centre for Nutrition, Exercise and Metabolism (CNEM). “A better way of putting it is that you may make more gains if you experience a bit of pain.”
The kind of “pain” we’re talking about isn’t necessarily harmful. It’s your body’s way of signalling effort – “and more effort tends to signal more reward”. This may include a feeling of discomfort and a desire to stop if you have a racing heart or burning muscles: a stress response that evolved to regulate exertion. Perkin adds: “If exercise didn’t induce some discomfort, we’d all just do it constantly, and be fatigued.”
