Originally Posted by livedarklions

I'm posting as someone who doesn't think the OP has anything to do with the sort of stretching a gymnast might do.

And yeah, I would bet money that gymnasts are generally "born" more flexible than average people. Genetics does play a large role in this.

Also, it's nice that people attribute postural changes to the stretching exercises, but that doesn't mean there isn't a huge placebo effect there and they might have been able to get into those positions 3-4 weeks out without the stretches. Nothing in the literature where they've actually studied it shows effects on joints as dramatic as what you're describing.

I'm posting as someone who does a rather large amount of riding in various postures, doesn't do stretching, and isn't missing it at all.

OP's question was essentially "do I have to, and when?" My answer is still that he doesn't have to, but if he likes it, go ahead.