What's the point of stretching, again? Do you always do it, after exercising?

[Fauve]

I kind of resent the time I devote to stretching in the gym and could do with some motivational reminders about why it's good. I admit that I feel better for it, but I find it a bit boring, as well as using up my valuable time

to warm up/down the muscles

It stops your muscles from seizing up.

Thanks - but what if you didn't bother? Touch wood, I've never had an injury, so I feel a bit cavalier.

Always do it before and after. Stops me being so stiff I can't walk the next day
Find it a bit embarrassing in the middle of Regents Park though

You don't find it boring?

No, I actually quite like it, don't know why!

Last time I went thru a phase of not bothering stretching I pulled a ligament at the side of my knee very badly. Ended up having physio and been unable to exercise for months. So I always do it now.

Ow, I see what you mean. Maybe I've just been lucky so far.

Do you do weights in the gym? If you don't stretch then your muscles have more chance of going like a body builders. If you are aiming for a lean and toned look then do the stretches and think that you are making yourself look streamlined.

Personally, I love stretching

Oh, thanks, that's quite motivating I suppose I do vaguely enjoy some of the stretching, it's mostly that I resent the time I spend doing them - daft, really. I now at least do most of them on a (stationary!) treadmill, with my headphones plugged in.

I pulled my achilles tendon a few years ago after not stretching enough before running. I now do yoga most days and that's a hell of a lot of stretching. It's also nice to be more flexible than just about anyone else I know.

I never do it

I just walk home slowly which I think has the effect of letting them cool down slowly rather than suddenly stopping

I am pretty sure someone once told me that stretching after exercise had sort of been shown to be unnecessary? Or was that wishful thinking?

Thing is, I am already very flexible [preen]. And I do also do yoga. I'd love it if you're right, F&Z.

I found this:

"Cool down after exercise and get your heart rate back to a resting rate by doing a scaled-down version of the main workout. For example, if your main workout was jogging or a brisk walk, easy walking is a good cool down exercise. You may elect to stretch after cooling down, but it's not necessary."

will keep looking

Have scanned loads of sites - most seem to advocate stretching, sorry

but some say only some form of cool down is essential, ie gradually decreasing activity to bring your heart rate back to normal, rather than stopping cold.

I do do the cool down bit, F&Z - thanks for looking for me! I might just spend less time doing the stretches. My card says 30 seconds on each stretch, which if you count one elephant, two elephants, etc, is really a long time if you have a lot of stretches to do. Maybe I could miss out on the elephants.

Yes I would do meercats instead

or sloths