Far too many people—even hardcore exercisers—view stretching as an annoying and optional chore for bookending their workouts. Even worse, it\'s something that they\'ll skip after exercise for no other reason than they can\'t be bothered to actually do it.

After all, you\'ve just run a few miles or completed a totally killer HIIT circuit—and your body feels warm, loose, and great—so who cares about going through a tedious stretching routine?

Well, we all should. Science shows that stretching isn\'t actually literal—you\'re not even \"stretching\" your muscles at all. In fact, the true purpose of stretching is to lengthen and mobilize the connective tissue around your muscle, which does wonders for both your joints and your muscles.

What\'s more, stretching helps your blood flow, reduces your risk of injury, helps you lose weight, and—as millions of yoga practitioners across the world will tell you—even relieves your stress.

You\'ve probably heard a million times that stretching is crucial after a workout. Well, newsflash: It\'s true. Whether you\'ve just rowed 20 minutes on an erg, you\'ve been walking the steps at your nearest high-school football stadium, or you\'ve gone through an amazing weightlifting routine, it\'s crucial for you to take a few minutes to stretch after sweating.

If you don\'t, it doesn\'t do your body any favors. For more on what happens to your body when you skip your post-exercise stretching, read on.

You Could Feel Sick

You won\'t be surprised to know that when you exercise, you raise your heart rate for a period of time. While it\'s great to get that blood flowing, the experts at Austin Physical Therapy will tell you that it\'s just as important to \"get your heart rate back to a normal level after the workout is over.\" This is also known in the fitness world as \"cooling down.\"

\"After physical activity, your heart is still beating faster than normal, your body temperature is higher and your blood vessels are dilated,\" write the health experts at the American Heart Association. \"This means if you stop too fast, you could pass out or feel sick. A cool-down after physical activity allows a gradual decrease at the end of the episode.\"

Your Muscles Will Likely Become Stiffer and More Sore

When you exercise your muscles, it produces an inflammatory response in the form of lactic acid, which is actually what causes your muscles to become sore. When you rest—or \"recover\"—in the time between bouts of exercise, your body naturally breaks down and gets rid of that lactic acid.

One thing that helps your body dispose of that lactic acid? You guessed it: Stretching. Stretching helps your distribute oxygen throughout your body and muscles, which, according the Healthline, \"can reduce lactic acid production and rid your muscles of any accumulationof lactic acid.\"

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