Is the phrase, ‘No pain, no gain true’?

How hard should we exercise?  A question rather like what is a healthy diet?  Everybody has an opinion.

Here are six facts about exercise:

1. In order to get an improvement, we have to step outside our comfort zone.  I suppose a simple rule is that we should be able to breathe through the discomfort.
2. If we push too hard we either injure ourselves or, over time, end up over training.  Both of these reverse progress.
3. It is very different for a professional athlete.  Professional means their whole life is dedicated to their sport; if they are going to be successful, they will be paying great attention to rest, to what they eat and drink as well as to their training. Most people regard this as the opposite of fun! When they come to retire, it is normal for them to be burnt out and never want to go anywhere near that sport again.  It is not healthy to be addicted to exercise.
4. If we feel pain when we exercise, we should stop or at least back off.  Pain is there for a reason, not to annoy us.  And it is telling us to stop.  Indeed, the pain may be temporary – due to sleeping on a bad mattress, due to an unusual amount of sitting about, due to a sudden energetic attack of gardening and so on.  But we should honour the pain, work out the cause and start the possibly long journey to find the cure – as a clue, come and See Me.
5. For maximum contribution to health and happiness, it is good to do a variety of exercise: which means getting out of breath, doing some strength work and some serious stretching – also something easy, like going for a nice walk or gentle swim.  Which means that just running or cycling will lead to pain down the line –  however, if doing no exercise at all, decide what most appeals, and start there.
6. The exercise should suit you.  Look in the mirror: are you naturally muscular or naturally skinny or something between?And your exercise should reflect that: short hard bursts, emphasis on strength v long slow distance, paying attention to strength.  Everybody needs to pay attention to flexibility, but the naturally flexible will enjoy yoga and dance more than the naturally stiff.
7. As a bonus fact: everybody needs to pay attention to how their brain and body communicate with each other.  The better this is, the more fantastic all forms of exercise are.

All of which means that No Pain No Gain is a load of old hooey.  Pain, No Gain is rather more accurate!