Welcome to English in a Minute, where we teach you about idioms in American English.

Like most people, Americans want to look good. And many people exercise every day.

Have you ever heard this phrase?

No pain, no gain.

A: Hey, you look great. Have you been exercising?
B: Yeah, every day for the last three months.
A: Well, it must be so hard to exercise for so long.
B: Yeah. But I want to look good. And you know -- no pain, no gain.

In American English, to "gain" something means to get something. And often, it takes hard work, especially when you are exercising.

So in our example, although it might be hard to exercise so much, in the end she gained the look she wanted.

No pain, no gain.

And that's English in a Minute.