Do you need streching after bodyweight workouts?

Question

Following a couple of stellar reviews, I decided to end a period of indecisiveness, got myself You Are Your Own Gym, read through the explainy part and started the Basic Program.

I wonder why YAYOG never once speaks about stretching after the workouts.

Is it so obvious that you should do them that omission is not an issue? That sounds wrong, given how the book seems to be written with absolute beginners in mind (some basic points are made over and over again).

Or is it that you don't need to stretch? Today I did back lunges which certainly strain and stretch the same muscles alternatingly, but other exercises don't seem to have this property.

While I am new to the whole fitness workout thing, I used to play team handball competitively so I have some concept (however inaccurate they may be) about of how to approach doing sports. We always stretched, and after these workouts I sure feel like I should stretch.

So, was is the general doctrine/consensus on stretching after bodyweight workouts?

Answer 1

I searched some more and found this post by Mark Lauren, the author of YAYOG, himself (emphasis mine):

There are key components that an effective workout should contain. Among these is a proper warm-up.The intent of a warm-up is to prepare the body for the physical activity that is about to follow. [...]

The cool-down is often neglected despite its vital role in an effective training program. Just as the warm-up gradually takes the body from a state of inactivity to a state of moderate or heavy activity, the cool-down reverses the process, taking the body gradually back to a state of rest. [...] An excellent addition to the cooling-down process is static stretching. Static stretching improves overall flexibility, mainly static, but most importantly, it is a great tool to promote relaxation, improve recovery time, and increase blood flow. A cool-down that includes static stretches will prevent the negative effects of an abrupt stop in activity while promoting improved recovery time, greater relaxation, stress reduction, and static flexibility (limited dynamic flexibility).

So even though there no mention of warm-up or cool-down in the book -- presumably because they add to the advertised 30 minutes a day -- both are clearly recommended and stretching is mentioned as being very valuable (if not strictly necessary).