BAD ADVICE: “No Pain, No Gain, No Shame”

I have a client who’s full of hilarious sayings, like:

• “If I don’t get hurt, how will I know I worked out?”

• “We don’t do it because it’s easy. We do it because we THINK it will be easy!”

I like him because he doesn’t throw around clichés like “No pain, no gain”—because, let’s be real, that’s just not true. As a personal trainer and massage therapist, I take a mindful approach to both physical and mental pain points.

But his jokes got me thinking about the sheer amount of bad fitness advice I’ve encountered since transitioning from a career in marketing to owning my own personal training and massage business.

So, welcome to Post #1 in my Bad Advice series. (In no particular order.)

“No Pain, No Gain, No Shame”

Sigh. Where do I even start?

Anytime you shame someone, it’s bad advice. Sure, criminals and mean people could probably use a little shame. But are we really shaming a mostly sedentary person for being cautious about their sore back? What about a former athlete with knee injuries? Or even a current pro athlete managing chronic pain?

Is the real message here “To get fit, you must be willing to get injured—with possibly life-altering consequences or ‘shame on you’”?

Let’s rethink that.

Would You Say This to Someone You Love?

Sometimes, stepping outside of ourselves helps put things in perspective. Imagine this:

Your Grandma Sue can’t walk because of a back injury she got from back-squatting at the gym in her mid-30s. She ignored her body’s warning signs because she was pressured by the “no pain, no gain” mentality.

Was it worth it?

Were today’s results worth avoiding shame from a group of people she no longer sees—people who don’t have to live with the consequences of her injury?

Didn’t think so…

Pain Shouldn’t Be the Goal—Consistency Should

After 10+ years in this profession, I can confidently say that I have a client whose success comes from staying below her pain (and fear) threshold. She’s made consistent strength and stamina gains because she can fully engage—both mentally and physically—during training.

And guess what? I feel ZERO shame about that.

 “No Pain, No Gain, No Shame” 

Pfffft Go home with your bad advice.

What’s the Worst Fitness Advice You’ve Heard? Drop your #badadvice fitness quotes in the comments!