What is the English expression for “rafting to the upstream, swimming to the edge”

Question

What is the English expression for the state that someone has to be "sick" beforehand, then at the end achieving the best result?

In my native language, it's said:

Rafting to the upstream areas (of water)[having sickness beforehand because of hard efforts], swimming to the edge (of the river bank)[achieving the best result at the end].

Answer 1

"No pain, no glory." - I think this is a relevant expression.

"No pain, no gain." - This, too, is almost the same. - you'd gain something (result; desired effect) after the 'pain' (either physical pain, or some other things that may be 'sacrificed')

(I also remember this related line: 'No guts, no glory.")