Great review. Never thought I'd want a Nordic machine because you can adapt many existing gym tools to that purpose. Your review may have changed that. Takes up less floor space than my back extension station and does double duty so it is on the Christmas wish list now...
I’m reeaaally hoping you can review and compare the Nordic Back Extension from @thetibbarguy and this one. I’m pretty sure I know the answer of quality comparison that this one will be nicer, but as a budget friendly option I’d LOVE to know your thoughts on the Tib Bar Guy’s one!!
Hi, Whilst we understand the price might be a point of contention for some people, we truly think ours is a better value for money. Whilst the initial investment is higher, we offer the highest quality possible and have a better warranty period. Each of our units comes with a serial number, so we can offer the best support and service if any issues might arise. Also, our product is the only one that has truly undergone a proper R&D process, we spent almost a year developing the product and went to multiple iterations to test optimal function and durability. The other companies simply saw our product and decided to make something that looked like it.
@@shogunsports I think you should find a way to promote you product without throwing shade at other products. TheTibBarGuy is generally well liked in the fitness and ATG community, and I think saying "Well, they all just copied us!" is a pretty week sales point (especially considering tibbarguy has had this on his page and has been taking preorders for months now. Same with baseblocks). Be better than that
Tib bar guys also released one of these. Nice to see competition in it! Cant justify the price though, Can just get a Nordstick and a Valor back extension
make the foot rest rotatable, put the foam roller up, make the bar of the support pad significantly longer and you could use the thing for chest supported rows, having something relatively close to those supported t-bar row things they have in commercial gyms (for no extra cost) would be awesome
PSA: if you watch the video of Mr. Infinity doing an explosive nordic on this bench, you'll see that the back comes off slightly from the ground. However, page 22 of their instruction manual (available on the shogunsports site) says: "ADJUSTING THE LENGTH CAN ALSO HELP WITH MINOR ROCKING MOTION CAUSED WHEN PERFORMING EXPLOSIVE NORDICS." From the diagrams, it looks like the height of the handles when flat are designed to match the height of the base, so when you extend the pad out on a nordic, it essentially lengthens the entire base.
Hi, thanks for printing this out, yes, by extending the length of the NORD-EX in the flat Nordic position, can eliminate the minor rocking motion, extending the length also helps for progression and makes it more comfortable for taller users
I have the tib bar guy Nordic. It’s not great. Feels like it was made by Titan ten years ago when they were just starting out. Packaging was a joke. The unit is wobbly. The padding isn’t great. The vinyl isn’t great. But, it was half the price of this unit reviewed here. So what’s important to you?
Very cool. My mind gets to turning. Looks like 3 or 4 more adjustments and you could have a hip thrust and sisy squat. Sell some additional attarments snd you could make a reverse hyper, ghd. To the workshop i go!
I had a play with this product at a trade show and was really impressed. Quality vs price is spot on with free shipping and 15% discount meaning actual product price is more like $650. I think Tib Bar Guys "cheap" bench is $500 plus shipping and that's only on a limited run discount so... I know which one I'd choose!
So this makes me want to ask about the Base Blocks version of this, I don't think it's out yet but I think it is set up to do both Nordics and Back Bends. Also would love to see y'all review the Baseblocks line.
ShreddedDad’s channel showed this off doing some reverse hypers as well. Not meant for it but you could get another use for this with some of the benefits of a traditional RH (not all like spinal traction but still, if you don’t have a RH this could be a good bonus)
Coop, can you stand this unit on it's end for easy storage when not in use? That's a feature you've discussed was missing from units like the Freak Athlete. Interested if it stores away easily.
The Tip Bar Guy has almost the exact same thing, might not be as high of quality build, but has all the same features and functions. it is Nordic, with progression, and it is a back extension. Plus this one can be used as a full bench or a small or compact Nordic piece of equipment as well. About $600 with no discount.
This feels like a home gym product with a commercial gym price. Footprint looks nice. Multiple exercise capabilities looks nice. But 4X the price of the freak athlete Nordic with only 1 more exercise is a bit ridiculous. This product looks to be in a similar category as the Rogue westside scout reverse hyper and should be priced like that. Once this thing crossed over the $600 shipped threshold, it’s no longer a deal.
Thanks for this review. Can you try out the Nordic Pro by the Tib Bar Guy? I know that one will not come close to quality to the Nord-Ex by Shogun, but it would be helpful to know if the Tib Bar Guy's Nordic Pro gets the job done in terms incremental nordic curl progression.
I agree with 100% it is a little pricey, however it's really built. well. I would consider it, but I would also be willing to go a less expensive route as well. I like Mercedes, but a Lexus can get the job done too. Thanks for the content.
Hey Coop, Can you please in the next few months do a review on abdominal machines. Both commercial and home gym style No one has done one and I want to get something, either plate or cable loaded that works
Great review! Question: If you could only fit one more machine in your home gym would recommend the Nordic-EX or the Rogue Donkey or the BodyKore dual leg ext/curl machine. I already have a quality Functional Trainer and dumbells and free weights. Looking to provide more options for glute and leg workouts. Appreciate your advice.
I just finished assembling the tib bar guy version. Every part of it is scratched and the pad is ripped. The mechanisms to switch are rough and it’s missing pieces. Going to return it and get this instead. Thanks Coop
I bought one a couple of weeks ago, wish I could have went with the Garage Gyms discount but $150 off is good. Glad Coop liked it so much as it makes me feel better about my purchase..
Love to see this vs the freak athlete version. I got the freak athlete version and it’s so complicated to put together, instructions suck, and the Nordic is worthless. I bought for the 45 degree hyper but very disappointed as a few of these genotypes have come out lately and seem a bit better put together
I bought the Nordic back extension, if this was Facebook I could attach my receipt, I got 150 off as I pre ordered it, or I could attach the 45 texts David from tib bar guy and I exchanged regarding me the crap extensions and him trying to help me get it back together.
@@lindathompson2897a mini Nordic is worthless, they sell Nordic straps that you can just use with your door and a pillow. I have a GHR from Elitefts as well so didn’t care about the Nordic portion of the machine.
Nope, too much adjusting…. Yes I’m that guy! I passed on the BFE Isolator and bought a stand-alone leg curl, extension machine because I could never see myself removing and attaching and adjusting….. I’m actually looking at the Vulcan Kraaken instead of this
That's $850 with free shipping, which is about what a GHD of similar build quality will cost you. A 500 lb capacity Roman chair with similar build quality will also probably cost you 80% of that and not give anywhere near this level of "space savings," nor will it allow you to progressively overload Nordic Curls. That said, I do think their first iteration should have been cheaper. They could have cut on costs in enough places to probably make the same margin on this thing at $600-$700 which would have let them grow faster. I definitely think products like this are going to replace the GHDs in home gyms -- they're better for overall posterior chain development with a smaller footprint.
@melkorbane I can't disagree with anything you've said. There are a few places they could cut cost without making this feel like a piece of budget equipment as well. Good regular pad and nickel plated versus stainless, but I also can understand wanting the first iteration to be the "tank" with "lighter" versions to come. It is a nice combo piece with good weight capacity
Be careful ordering from this company. I ordered a Nord-Ex on July 16 and as of Sep 23 they still haven't shipped even though the Nord-Ex shows as in stock and ready to ship on their website. Emails to the company go unanswered unless I threaten to contact my credit card company in which case they give promises that they don't keep.
Did you ever end up getting the product? If so, how long in total did it take? It’s been 3wks since I purchased and have yet to hear anything about my order shipping.
@@GermanAztec My Nord-ex arrived in late September. The unit is solid and hasn't given me any problems. Shogun Sports overpromised on delivery time but not on the product itself.
I was looking at that one but realized the back extension portion doesn’t adjust up or down so you have to be the perfect height for whatever it’s dimensions are to use that. The tib bar guy model has that adjust feature.
You guys are so slow, all products you review, I've know for quite some time. There is this and also the Thetibbarguy machine which is also both a Nordic Curl & Back Extension machine.
@@Invictus13666 My videos are great, but that has nothing to do with this. And who said I make gear reviews? what a big ass fail comment, typical online loser. Gl.
I think the main difference, aside from looking a much higher level of quality, is that only this Shogun Nord-Ex machine offers actual Nordic curl progression training, those other two don't offer progression training for Nordic curls, they simply have an inclined Nordic curl where knees are elevated, it's a similar but different movement where the body's ending position is still flat.
Hi! Few main differences: 1) Quality of materials used, we have cut no corners to offer the highest possible quality for the price 2) True Nordic progression. The NORD-EX is the only product that offers true progression with our patented design, the other products simply elevate the entire base 3) True R&D and testing process. We spent almost a year developing and testing multiple iterations of this product, we also submitted the product for 3rd party testing to ensure safety and durability, the other brands simply saw our product and decided to make a cheaper copy
@@MarkClayton Hi Mark, thank you for your comment. There are multiple different ways to regress the Nordic curl movement like you said & we decided in testing to allow ours to train in the full range of motion.
@@thetibbarguy Yeah but then that's not actually helping with progression in the same way, it doesn't allow you to focus and train different parts of the hamstring whilst building strength up to your first full Nordic curl, i.e. the progression. It still something, but different, not proper regression for progression IMO.
I love ATG, so my training also includes Nordic Curls and Back Extensions. $1000 ($850 after discount) is a lot to swallow. A Nordstick and a $150 hyper extension go a long way. But can you please compare this to the new "The Nordic Back Extension Machine" from "The Tib Bar Guy" (TBG). It's $500 after a $150 discount and appears to have nearly the exact same feature set as the "Nord-ex".
Expensive as hell,.. but man, why I. The heck has no one done this before... This seems like a brilliant concept with simple execution and so much less space. I would buy one of these made out of trash materials just to have the option of these movements at home without commuting the floorspace.
Hi there We think ours is a superior product and better value for money, here are a few reasons. 1) Quality of materials used, we have cut no corners to offer the highest possible quality for the price, our unit will outlast the cheaper alternatives. 2) True Nordic progression. The NORD-EX is the only product that offers true progression with our patented design, the other products simply elevate the entire base. 3) True R&D and testing process. We spent almost a year developing and testing multiple iterations of this product, we also submitted the product for 3rd party testing to ensure safety and durability, the other brands simply saw our product and decided to make a cheaper copy. 4) Warranty. Each unit comes with a serial number so we can trace the product and offer the best support possible, we offer a 3 year warranty period, others don’t event mention their warranty period
I’ve had the privilege of extensively testing an early production unit of the Nord-Ex for the past 3 months, and this review by Coop really hits the nail on the head. This is a fantastic piece of equipment and worth every penny for any serious gym enthusiast. I can see a lot of comments regarding the price, and while I understand this may be out of many people’s budget, I do think you need to deeply consider the build quality and longevity of a piece of equipment in your assessment. One of the cheaper knockoffs available may be lower in initial purchase price, but the inferior materials and build quality will result in a product that is unstable and unsafe after a few years (or less - ref: see the review of the TBG Nordic in one of the comments below!) In my progression to a full Nordic journey, I actually used bands that easily fit over the foot support and then my shoulders to provide additional support and an additional level of regression that wasn’t mentioned in this video. I personally feel the Nord-Ex’s regression is much more effective for progression to a full Nordic curl than some of the cheaper alternatives in the market that basically feature a knee-elevated incline Nordic as a means to progress. While the incline Nordic may be a useful supporting exercise, nothing beats training the Nordic in the true flat plane of motion and focusing on your exact weak points/sticking points of the movement with banded support, isometric holds, and slow eccentrics (lowering) to a given set point paired with explosive concentrics. The best comparison would be with a powerlifter and the bench press, while the incline bench is a good supporting movement, their focus to progress will always be the flat bench, and from there, partials, board presses, floor presses, or use of equipment such as the Slingshot to target specific weaknesses within the exact primary movement. Here is a really informative video by @NsimaInyang that demonstrates the full range of regressions and progressions available and touches on some of the carryover the Nordic curl can have as an exercise to sports like BJJ: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-LWfqK8-w1J4.html I’ve also noticed that with almost all of the cheaper models, the users’ toes seem to hang off the end of the foot plate during usage. This really concerns me, as one of the key cues I used on my Nordic progression journey was to really focus on pushing through the toes during the eccentric portion of the movement. I also use my Nord-Ex for a lot more than Nordics and back extensions. This also works for side bends, reverse glute raises, incline dumbbell laterals, preacher curls, incline dumbbell rows… I even use the handles for dips! I love my Nord-Ex, and the Nordic curl and back extension combo has become a key part of my daily fitness routine. This is a rugged, quality piece of equipment built to last. As the famous quote states, ‘quality is remembered long after price is forgotten’.
Looks like Freak Athlete's Nordic Hyper is available for pre-order right now, so if there's any sorta "Coop VIP advanced access" situation, then I think it is begging for a comparison. At first glance, the Freak Athlete seems more versatile, but perhaps less primo, but I am eager to see what the verdict is after a good ol' Coop diagnostic.
We would like to invite anyone who wants to see the NORD-EX in person and test it, we will be at the Idea Fit Show in the LA Convention Center, ext week July 14-15, booth 707
and it's $150 off right now. Just ordered mine... we'll see how good it is when it arrives in August. I was trying to decided between the tib bar guy one and the shogun one, and $1k is just too much for me.
@@jerrod1457 Thank you for ordering our product! We have been getting excellent reviews from customers who ordered back in April and think you will love the product!
Given the quality the saying buy once cry once is applicable here. Seems like a good overall value especially if the rest of your home gym is top like rep or rogue.
Hi, thanks for pointing this out! We wanted to offer a premium product that would last a long time and users would be able to use it without worrying about durability or safety. It’s certainly an investment that will last for a long time
I just got the Nord-ex. When I ordered it, I did not get any emails with an order confirmation or order number. However, the Nord-ex arrived 3 days later. It is a very well built machine with very high quality parts. The only complaints are that the pads should be significantly farther apart for better comfort (it can be uncomfortable if you are male and not very careful). Also, I am 6 feet tall and when I do the back extensions, I have to set it a the lowest setting. That works very well for me but I am not sure that shorter users would be able to find a suitable setting.
Thanks for mentioning the hip pad height issue. From this video I had the same impression that it would not go low enough for shorter folks. That really makes a difference for home gyms that will be used by families with shorter members. IMO that's a pretty surprising oversight by the manufacturers.
Hey Coop, can you do a review if The Tib Bar Guy's "The Nordic Back Extension Machine" It is essentially this, but it has been out for a few months and it only costs 350 bucks less than the Shogun one here. Edit: I'd also like to see what coops thoughts are on the methods of regression. Shogunsports keeps saying "True Nordic Progression", but I think the method of regression used by TheTibBarGuy's product - allowing for full range of motion and focussing the regressions on trainging the extended knee angle rather than partial rom reps is a better approach.
Received mine today! Overall the quality is exactly what Coop says in the video - very premium. I did notice that they changed the logo on the side. No more “Mr. 1nFiN1ty” logo. Now it’s a (much nicer) Shogun logo all by itself. I wonder what happened? My only complaint is this thing DOES NOT stand up for storage very reliably. Coop doesn’t claim it does, but they do show it standing upon its own for a second. The unit is too heavy on one side (the pad side) making it a bit shaky, so that kind of sucks. Other than that, it’s a great piece of equipment!
