I think it’s a really good combination of both the workout profile and the storyline and soundtrack. If the profile was a NoVid, it wouldn’t be nearly the same. The storyline takes what is a good physical recovery and adds a great mental reset to it.
I think one of the reasons it’s done so much is that there’s not any other workouts that fill that exact slot of recovery, short efforts (both power and cadence), and engaging storyline. The Week With Intro workouts can come close, but still don’t quite fill that same niche. For many of the other workouts, there are often a few options for a particular workout style - e.g. Nine Hammers & AVDP.
I think it’s a combination of a whole lot of thigs that results in a package that truly delivers what it promises. I always feel re-energised afterwards.
The scenes that vary from relaxed chatting and joking around in the peloton to quiet country roads where you feel like it’s your shadow.
The music - spot on and very uplifting.
The instruction.
The humour.
The graphics - that little battery indicator top right.
The pyramids (both types) - enough to give a tiny kick that makes you smile.
And of course, the “Oops!”
Now, @Francois-Wahoo, having put your magic touch on Tapers any chance you could spend some time with Openers? Like others I sometimes use that instead of Primers. Personally I don’t find Recharger good for testing my legs, but do find Openers great for such if I’m not up to Primers. At the moment, Openers is out in the cold, with even the intervals not individually timed (see below). Please!
Hey Sir Craig, it’s Tapers that has seen Sir @Francois-Wahoo’s magical transformation. Primers remains without music. Also, funny thing about Openers, I’m thinking that’s an Oops. Paging Sir @Cody.Moore
For me it’s great as you’re not doing any one thing for very long; cadence and power constantly vary which makes the time go quickly, even if the actually variations aren’t huge. I always dread a workout and seeing a long section at exactly the same power output. The section that drags the most for me in Recharger is the breathing part, as it there’s less variation there than the rest of the workout.
I can’t really say why, but somehow on days when I struggle to gon the trainer but feel like I need something to “Recharge” me, I just go for recharger, music, the “sparkles” of energy, and the blackout “oops” at the end just makes it a fun ride!
I’m late to the party here, and echo most of what has been said.
One other insight: The name is great. In a sea of pain, misery and agony, sometimes (rarely)I want to be nice to myself. I want to reward my hard work and recharge. The name has me in a good state already.
If I’m sleep deprived, it’s raining, I’m at the end of a 3-week block and it’s cold, but I’m up early so may as well do an unscheduled session - I’d load up Energiser, Reviver, Regenerator, The Restorer or The Great Refresher. Give me “Bounce Back” or “Phoenix”.
Better yet - how about a 3-day plan I can slot between those moments in my calendar when life/sickness got in the way for a few days. A randomly-selected 3 “positive” workouts that get me pumped up and ready for the next battle?
Recharger is, as already said, very immersive, varying, engaging, has a great video, awesome music and things to think about.
It never gets boring due to lots of changes and even the pro Peloton having Alaphilippe with them is in a sparklingly good mood. The scenery is beautiful and gets you in a weekend or holiday feeling in the recovery parts.
It really frees the head and does not at all feel like riding inside. While being in the lockdown Suf videos and this one especially being among them really felt immersive. Almost like riding outside and helped me a lot.
Sometimes when I ride down a flowing relaxed road the music from Recharger just pops into my head and makes me even happier.
It would be interesting how often someone started it outside of a current training plan.
My most rides should be:
Recovery Spin 78x (for extra cooldown after hard rides)
Recharger 15x
Cadence Builds 15x
Shovel 5x
Blender 5x
I did the 15 Rechargers
9x in my plan
3x as something easy before a long ride/group-ride/race in the middle of a plan
2x unfit/recovery after sickness
1x instead of an inspiration ride
I wonder which rider most of the users think of when “Recharger” asks them to think of a rider who inspires them and reflect on why that is (at around 7 minutes into the workout). Would you fancy reading that from your collected data and sharing these insights @Francois-Wahoo?
I do 90% of my rides on self designed plans. In looking over my usage, I have only done Recharger once by design. The other times were all part of a Systm plan. I do agree that the frequent inclusion in designed plans may be skewing the numbers a bit.
@Thomas, I tip my hat to you for your impressive insights into your training patterns. It’s an inspiration for me to get better at my post-ride note taking and monthly reviews. At some point, we all want to take our game to the next level and this level of understanding can make the difference vs feeling frustrated and stuck.
Scotty Pippen alley-oop!
