Shogun Nord-EX
Last updated on April 16th, 2024 at 10:13 am
There is a strong chance you have checked out some of my posterior chain reviews. The Booty Sprout, maybe the HOIST Back Extension, or the Freak Athlete Nordic Hyper GHD… We like some back side builders in my gym. And the newest addition is the Shogun Nord-EX. Why add another? For science, of course!
A lot of you are going to be adding one of these to your gym in the near future, and my goal is to be able to demystify that buying process. With the Shogun Nord-EX here, I can dig into it, share pros and cons, and give you some feedback on whether it is the next best thing, or somewhere farther down the list.
Key Notes
The Shogun Nord-EX has a lot of premium features from the shipping and assembly to the padding and powder coat. Does that translate to a better product? Lets find out!
Transparency Note
Shogun was nice enough to send me the Shogun Nord-EX for sake of review. I want to clarify out the gate that this was a customer return model, so there MIGHT be some minor cosmetic issues. But in my initial assembly, I didn’t notice anything. Shogun has provided an affiliate link for us, so if you use it it will help me continue to do more cool stuff in my garage. As always, I hope I can provide a clear and detailed review so you know what to do for YOUR home gym.
Shogun Nord-EX Specs
As I mentioned, this will be far from the first posterior chain machine added to the garage. But this might just be the most refined from shipping, to assembly, to the features and materials.
Assembly
The unit gets shipped in three different boxes, each is packaged BEAUTIFULLY with custom foam inserts. The only way this thing is getting dinged up in transport is if the Fed-EX guys hates you. Luckily mine likes me.
Then you have the tools and install notes. They individually packaged all of the nuts, bolts, washers, everything into steps, and labelled the bags. This is a super unique and super helpful install piece to the puzzle. Then tools themselves, honestly, I have lower grade tools in my tool chest than these wrenches.
I will state that there are a couple of small hiccups in the install process. Mostly around the fact that to install one of the plastic pieces, I had to turn the unit on its side and STEP on it to get it inserted. But other than that, it was straightforward. This might have been the first thing I’ve put together in years that I didn’t go straight for my tool box, impact wrench, and socket sets. The tools provided are now included in my garage set of tools.
What Else
Obviously the big win for the Shogun Nord-EX is that we get a small package item that can do Nordics (with regressions) as well as back extensions. It does this with the premium materials like thicker guage steel, custom molded, highly engineered, self-skinning polyurethane foam, and more. Out of the box, it just looks nice. I’m excited to see if it performs as well as it looks.
Specs List
- Brand: Shogun
- Made In USA: No
- Footprint: 41 x 25 inches
- Weight: 126lbs
- Suitable Athletes: All ranges
- Finish: black with polished steel adjustment posts
- Assembly: claims roughly 30 minutes, mine took a bit longer
- Additional Items: none
Things I’m Looking For in the Shogun Nord-EX
I love my Freak Athlete Nordic Hyper GHD. It isn’t perfect, but cramming a lot into a small package requires some tradeoffs. I’m curious to see how the Shogun Nord-EX compares. Side by side Nordics, side by side back extensions. Which one wins? The Freak Athlete has additional opportunities with the hip thrusts, flat back extensions, and the GHD pad. So that is certainly part of the decision making process. But maybe you just want Nordics and Back Extensions?
Will the premium parts make for a premium experience? Will the smaller footprint make for an easier storage solution? In the end… which one am I keeping in my gym? and why?
Other Options On The Market
The obvious one is the Freak Athlete Nordic Hyper GHD.
BaseBlock The Nordic Plus
Looking for something a little more streamlined and simple? The BaseBlock Nordic Plus can do regression style Nordic Curls, as well as 45 degree Back Extensions. It is also a little bit cheaper, with free shipping, than the Freak Athlete model.
We are currently reviewing this product.
The Tib Bar Guy Nordic Back Extension Machine V2
One option on the market is the Tib Bar Guy’s Nordic Back Extension Machine V2. Their machine is a little cheaper. And their V2 model takes some HEAVY influences from the Freak Athlete model.
We are currently reviewing this product.
Will one be better than the other?
This will almost certainly come down to your needs, budget, space, and time available. But we will have a comprehensive review for all 4 of these units, as well as a side-by-side-by-side-by-side look at all four, so you can make the right decision for YOUR home gym.
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✅ I’ll have a full review on this in a few months. Myself, my wife, and my daughter will play around with the Shogun Nord-EX to see what we like, what we don’t, and share our thoughts. If you have something specific you’d like answered, let me know.
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Joe Gray
My name is Joe Gray - aka Gray Matter Lifting - and I've been lifting at home since 2013. In that time I've built a badass gym, deadlifted over 600lbs, helped grow r/Homegym to over 1 Million subscribers, created the Garage Gym Competition and written a ton of posts here on this site. I love the Garage Gym Community... If you do too, I hope you stick around.
