No Pain, No Gain - What's the source?

[Mr.Cynical]

I recently heard that this phrase originated with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sadly, I haven’t a clue where to go to try and find the commonly attributed source. Where may one find phrase etymology?

[John_Kentzel-Griffin]

I don’t know where the phrase came from but:

No pain, no gain - sounds fair to me!

[Shayna]

I can’t tell you who originated that phrase, but Arnold himself certainly doesn’t take credit for it. From http://www.fitnesszone.com/features/archives/oct97/4100497.shtml

Myth #2: No pain, no gain.

Arnold: This philosophy can eventually lead you to injury and overtraining, neither of which are very conducive to fitness gains. High-intensity, advanced training may stress your system to the point of temporary unpleasantness, but it should never cause you pain. Pain is not, and should not be, a normal part of exercise or training. If you experience pain during or after your exercise training, cease all activity for the day and maybe even the next day. If the pain persists, seek medical attention. Perhaps a better saying would be: “Less pain and strain, more gain!”

Myth #3: If your muscles are not sore after exercise, you didn’t work hard enough.

Arnold: As with “no pain, no gain”, the person who came up with this statement was probably working toward a major injury of his or her own. <snip>

*Underlining mine.

[cmkeller]

Well, there’s a well-known (amongst Jews, at least) Talmudic statement that goes: “Ben Heh Heh says, “According to the pain is the reward.”” So the sentiment, at least, dates back almost 2000 years. I don’t know who gets credit for the specific English verbalization that you’re referring to, though.