Freak Athlete Hyper Pro – Better Than The 1st?

Last updated on December 14th, 2024 at 07:05 pm

I just got done declaring the Freak Athlete Nordic Hyper GHD as my favorite Nordic Combo Machine. And then they went and dropped the Freak Athlete Hyper Pro.

This is a revised version of the original, with new features, designs, exercises, and what is touted as a better experience overall. Essentially, we have the past year of feedback and experience gathered from reviewers like myself, Freak Athletes customers, and comments and questions around the home gym community, all culminating into a bigger and badder product.

Alongside the Freak Athlete Hyper Pro itself is the new GHD Attachment as well as the Leg Developer and Upper Body Kit. I was an early tester for the Leg Developer, and I pushed Freak Athlete to make a better and better product over the course of several months and multiple tests.

I received the final versions of all three of these this past week, was able to snag some quick pictures and details as I work towards a full review on all of them.

Transparency Note

Freak Athlete sent me the Hyper Pro, GHD Attachment, Upper Body Kit, and Leg Developer free of charge, for sake of review. As an early product tester for all three, I’ve had a hand in helping push these forward a bit. That said, my plan as always is to provide a clear and detailed review that can help YOU make the right decision for your home gym.

Freak Athlete has recently discontinued Discount Codes. That said, the links provided throughout are my affiliate links for Freak Athlete. Clicking them helps me get a kick back for my work, while costing you nothing. These funds go towards managing this site, producing YouTube videos, and more. I appreciate your support.

Freak Athlete Hyper Pro Overview

The new Hyper Pro shares a lot of the same features as the old model. We have Nordic Curls and regressions, Back Extensions, Hip Thrusts, Decline Sit-Ups, Glute-Ham Raises, and Freak Athlete claims the Reverse Hyper which I believe is incorrect.

They have also launched their Leg Developer, which adds in Leg Extensions, Leg Curls, as well as an Upper Body strap for rows, curls, and other odds and ends. There are still other options like bulgarian split squats, QL Raises, and you can get creative and do other things like DB curls or whatever crazy stuff your head comes up with.

Freak Athlete Hyper Pro Specs

• Brand: Freak Athlete
• Made In USA: No
• Dimensions: 60″ X 23″ X 22″
• Vertical Storage Dimensions: 23″ X 22″
• Weight: 108lbs
• Suitable Athlete Height: 5ft to 7ft tall
• Steel: 14 gauge on base frame and tubing, 8 gauge on footplate
• Finish: powder-coated steel outside, galvanized steel inside
• Weight Limit: 500lbs for EACH set-up
• Additional Notes: 14 total incline/decline adjustments at 5° increments
• Assembly: About 30 minutes
• Warranty: Lifetime manufacturer warranty
• Return Window: 100 days to give it a shot, and return if it doesn’t work for you
• Military Discount: TBD

Freak Athlete Hyper Pro FAQ

Shipping & Assembly

The Freak Athlete Hyper Pro made some nice improvements over the Nordic Hyper GHD in this area. They took a note from Shogun and packaged all of their assembly parts into individual baggies, which are labelled, and coincide with the steps in their instructions.

This means you are no longer having to search for what bolt they are talking about, or find the washers, or matching nuts. On top of this, the entire machine ships in one box, which is firmly packaged. As long as this doesn’t get tossed around and something penetrates the box, everything should be fine. There is still some room to improve here if they want to make this a true premium experience. The Shogun NORD-EX is STILL the best shipped product I’ve ever received. Now keep in mind, you pay for that experience, so Freak Athlete might have to charge an extra $50 or more to make that happen.

Assembly took me about 30 minutes, but I was working without any installation videos or instructions. I have also assembled a number of these, so I think that probably balances out. So expect 30 minutes if you are fairly assembly capable, maybe closer to 1 hour if you haven’t put anything together and have to use their included wrenches instead of a socket wrench.

Shipping is, overall, adequate. Their assembly process is improved. So we are making strides here with the Hyper Pro.

Nordic Curls

The Freak Athlete Hyper Pro has 10 Nordic Curl regression angles, ranging from Flat to 45 degrees in 5 degree increments. This allows you to progress from wherever you are today, all the way to flat Nordics. When I began using the original Nordic Hyper GHD, I was doing Nordic Curls at about 35 degrees, and now I can bang out flat Nordic Curls without a warm-up. This is all because I was able to progress, much like you would with a barbell, by adding just a little more every time I was ready to progress.

On top of that, the Hyper Pro has added additional Decline Nordic Curl options. The previous model had TWO options, this now has FOUR options. This makes Decline Nordic Curls more approachable and easier to progress. Same model for the incline regressions. This will be what I’m working on here soon.

Back Extensions

The Freak Athlete Hyper Pro uses the same angle adjustments for Nordic Curls, as it does for Back Extensions. Most people probably won’t choose a 35 degree back extension, but it is an option. 45 degrees is the more common go to, and you simply need to set it up, take the pad off, adjust the hip pad to your desired length, and ready to rock.

This is likely going to in a similar fashion as before, where it works great for Dumbbells, Medicine Balls, Weighted Vests, but struggles with barbell work. The new version has an improved “schlong slot” where instead of having an extra pad, you simply slide the pads apart to make room for your dangly bits.

Back Extensions were one of our favorite exercises with the original Nordic Hyper GHD, as it allowed us to replace our previous back extension machine. This was an upgrade in every way possible, and something we use nearly every single week between myself and my wife. Audrey is just a TAD too short to fit, but with a little help I can hold her feet down on the ankle pads and she can do back extensions.

You can also set the machine up in a horizontal fashion. This is a more low back dominant back extension, compared to the 45 degree angle which hits the hamstrings and glutes harder. This is far from my favorite option, and something we rarely use in our gym. But I don’t complain about extra features, just gladly accept them.

Hip Thrusts

Freak Athlete surprises their customers on a regular basis with new functionality, and the Hip Thrust pad falls into that category. This was added after customer comments during the original design and launch process. You take the back ankle pad off, drop it out front, and you’ve got a nifty hip thrust pad. This can also be used for bulgarian split squats.

The one downside here, compared to something like the Booty Sprout, is that there is no room for bands. Hip Thrusts and bands are an awesome combination. So you will need to get creative here. But I tested well over 500lbs on the original Nordic Hyper GHD for Hip Thrusts, and it passed. So I’m excited to see where this bad boy gets us to.

Decline Sit-Ups

This is something I almost NEVER did before owning the Nordic Hyper GHD. It was an uncomfortable exercise, and a pain in the butt. Not to mention you often needed an extra bench attachment to do it. Having it built in, made me reconsider my decisions here.

I consider the Freak Athlete Hyper Pro to have a couple main features. Nordics, Back Extensions, and Hip Thrusts. For what essentially works out to be an “extra” feature, the decline sit-ups are a pretty nifty one to sneak in there.

Reverse Hyper

Freak Athlete took some heat for claiming that their original Nordic Hyper GHD was a Reverse Hyper. I confidently said in both my First Look video, as well as my full review, that this is just simply NOT a Reverse Hyper.

Here is my simple argument. If you laid down on your couch, put your legs up, and pressed them into the air, is your couch now a Leg Press? Of course not. A Leg Press is a machine built with a specific purpose, that can be loaded and trained efficiently. The same can be said for a Reverse Hyper. A Reverse Hyper is an actual machine, with a pendulum arm, that can be loaded and trained effectively.

This is simply a tall bench that you can swing your legs backwards on. There is an exercise here called a Reverse Hip Extension, which is coined by Bret Contreras. It is a difficult bodyweight exercise, and something worthy of considering in your workout. But the Freak Athlete Hyper Pro is still, not a Reverse Hyper.

Freak Athlete Leg Developer

Freak Athlete connected with me shortly after they had officially announced the Leg Developer attachment. This was meant to allow Leg Curls and Leg Extensions to be added to their Nordic Hyper GHD, making it a full 8 in 1 machine.

They sent me what they thought was a “mostly finished product”. I tore it apart. I had a full page of notes after the first day of testing, and managed to find a safety fault they hadn’t found in Day 2. The benefits of being a big dude and pushing 4+ plates on leg extensions.

The good news is, the Freak Athlete Leg Developer didn’t end there. The team was committed to making a better product, even if they thought what they had was already pretty good. After multiple weeks of my feedback, they fixed the safety issue. A couple more weeks and they had a working draft for improving stability. A few more weeks and we had an even better solution. In the end they managed to put together something that I felt was about as good as you could get for an official V1, that is realistic to what they could offer.

This isn’t a Prime Fitness Leg Curl/Leg Extension machine. But it might just be the best bench attachment on the market. We shall see in the upcoming weeks of testing. I’ll be comparing this to my experiences with Leg Developer attachments from HOIST, Inspire, Powertec, Ironmaster, and of course the Bulletproof Isolator.

Side note, their assembly process for the Leg Developer leverages the same separated and numbered baggie approach as the full Hyper Pro. Because I received this before the launch date, I assembled it without any instructions. I only made one mistake, flipping one bolt for another. So with actual instructions, this should be a breeze.

Freak Athlete Upper Body Kit

This is another one of those “tricks up their sleeve” kind of releases. If you take a look at the Leg Developer, you can see an Eye Bolt at the top far end. This is where the Freak Athlete Upper Body Kit attaches to. This allows you to perform rows, curls, and other various exercises. I think we are going to see a lot of people get REALLY creative with this one. I used to rig something up on my old HOIST adjustable bench and leg extension to do this. Having the ability to do it out the gate with no “hacking” should be fun.

Freak Athlete GHD Attachment

I’m not a huge strap on fan. Let me clarify. The old Nordic Hyper GHD had a strap on, velcro based, GHD pad. It worked really well actually, but it had some give. The pad was fairly small, and overall it was “Ok”. I was impressed with the creativity and the usefulness of the pad, even if it definitely had some room for improvement.

Well the team realized that they already had a functional rail system built into the machine by means of the Back Extension adjustment post. So they created a GHD pad that would go on top of said rail, pop in and lock, leverage the front hip pads for improved stability, and would be fully adjustable. With the decline and incline adjustments, you now have the most adjustable GHD machine on the market. Whether you are trying to do sit-ups, Glute-Ham Raises, or anything else with a GHD pad, this is a big winner upgrade.

What is Different From The Nordic Hyper GHD?

If you haven’t checked it out, I put together the most thorough review for the original Nordic Hyper GHD. This will give you about 80+% of what the new Freak Athlete Hyper Pro is about, minus some nifty upgrades and tweaks.

There are a handful of BIG changes, and a bunch of little things. I’ve mentioned a lot above, but one of the most standout changes is with the new padding. They completely changed the material to a new “premium” padding design.

They also increased the size of the Rear Base, which makes the unit longer, but also more stable in every position/exercise. This means no more need for the back weight pin for ANY exercises. The new Hyper Pro has a new kickstand vertical storage feature as well, making that more stable, but also able to get out of the way in use.

Several changes came in the last Nordic Hyper GHD release, like the knurled step-up bar, color coded pop-pins, the new back extension man gap adjustment, and the more stable front end for Nordic Curl regressions.

There are other noteable changes with knurling added to the decline handles, items I mentioned above including more decline options, and other stuff. I’ll dig into all of it soon and share in my upcoming review.

Freak Athlete Pro Upgrade Kit

If you own the original Nordic Hyper GHD, the team created a Pro Upgrade Kit. This consists of the new GHD attachment and Pro Padding. As well as the Pro Rear Base. There are some of the items mentioned above that are NOT included. So you can not take your Nordic Hyper GHD and turn it into a fully “PRO” version with the upgrade kit. But you can get pretty close.

Do you NEED to upgrade? I don’t think so. But it also definitely depends on your use case. If you plan to grab the Leg Developer, I’d also grab the Pro Upgrade Kit. If you do decline sit-ups regularly, or GHD work, I’d 100% grab the Pro Upgrade Kit. If you do Nordics and Back Extensions, I might skip it. Save your couple hundred bucks for the next shiny toy.

If you own the original Nordic Hyper GHD and are considering selling it used, I’ve managed to get around $600 for mine, so you could go that route. Sell it, and grab the new Pro outright with all the fixing. It would be an expensive upgrade, but possibly worth it, again, depending on your space.

What I’m Looking For In The Freak Athlete Hyper Pro

The original Nordic Hyper GHD came in at around $699, plus a $50 discount code, and was regularly on sale. The Hyper Pro is coming in at $750 for their pre-release launch sale with no discount code. So we are talking a solid $100 price increase, maybe more after the sale ends. Plus the GHD attachment is now $200, and the Leg Developer is $350. All in we are talking ~$1500 after shipping and taxes.

We are now outside of the pseudo middle ground that the original Nordic Hyper GHD resided in, in terms of budget vs premium products, and are now in the premium category. You could get a Prime Fitness Shorty Bench with a good amount of their attachment for the same price. $1500 is almost a Beyond Power VOLTRA I. You get the idea.

With increased prices and more focused marketing on “premium”, this will be a stricter review. I’m going to get nit picky on metal on metal applications. I’m going to complain about movement, annoying adjustments, and things that aren’t very refined… or PRO!

Ultimately, do I think Freak Athlete went in the right direction, or not? Should they have camped in that under $600 range? Or was this a great move for them? Do they still have some things to address in a Pro V2? We will find out soon.

Other Nordic Combo Machines On The Market

I owned all four of the big names in the Combo Machine market, all at one time. I spent multiple months testing and training, and put this video together. The Tl;Dr is that the Freak Athlete Nordic Hyper GHD was our favorite, while the others all had some pros and cons that could make them the right fit for YOUR home gym, or not.

Nordstick The Nordbench

New to the scene in late 2024, is the Nordstick The Nordbench. It recently arrived in my garage and I have the initial write-up with pictures and specs.

Save 10% on the new NordBench and all NordStick products w/ Code: GML10S

The Nordstick Nordbench clocks in REALLY close to the Tib Bar Guy price, and depending on discount codes and details might end up being THE budget option. They have some unique features including a wall mount, squat wedge, and more.

Check out the initial write-up here.

Sign Up For More

✅ I’ll have a full review on the Freak Athlete Hyper Pro at the end of September here and over on my YouTube channel. If you have something specific you’d like answered, let me know.

I plan to also cover the new Leg Developer, Upper Body Kit, and GHD Attachment. So you’ll know everything about the entire set of options there.

• Want to snag a Freak Athlete Hyper Pro during their Launch Sale? Click Here.

• Looking to add the Leg Developer to your current Nordic Hyper GHD? Click here.

• Want to upgrade with the Pro Upgrade Kit? Check it out.