Test Freak Review
Madison Rapelyea
The original Test Freak had a solid foundation of ingredients known to support healthy testosterone levels and developed a huge following in Canada and overseas. Bodybuilders swore by using it as part of post-cycle therapy (PCT) to bridge, while natural bodybuilders were on it to help them do all they could without taking prohormones, SARMs, or gear. Formula-wise, fenugreek and tribulus topped the list, along with a proprietary blend of saw palmetto extract and stinging nettle extract for testosterone support and production. For a well-rounded product, the combination of vitamin B6, magnesium, and zinc (as found in ZMA) aided in recovery, hormone optimization, and a deep GH-inducing sleep. The whole formula truly helped you get more from hitting the gym strong day after day. Test Freak became the number one selling testosterone supplement at GNC Canada and received rave reviews from bodybuilders, powerlifters, strongmen, and other competitive athletes.
LJ100 tongkat ali is a powerful herb that was patented in 2015 and has since become a staple in test-boosting products. The Malaysian plant is known for its medicinal benefits, specifically in increasing testosterone levels and improving male fertility. Test Freak 2.0 delivers 100 milligrams of LJ100 in a complete serving. A study that directly focused on an increase in lean mass saw a significant change in the group who consumed 100 milligrams of the extract. This ingredient is a solid addition to the new formula, raising Test Freak to a higher standard.
Yes, testosterone is the king of hormones, especially when it comes to muscle growth. However, when testosterone converts to dihydrotestosterone (DHT), several negative health effects can happen. Hair loss and prostate diseases such as enlargement of the prostate and even prostate cancer can occur with an influx of DHT. Test Freak 2.0 formulators recognize this and have included ingredients such as saw palmetto extract and stinging nettle to counteract this issue. Both ingredients are dosed on the lower end (at 80 milligrams and 60 milligrams, respectfully), but with the host of other hormone-balancing ingredients, they yield an advantage.
Your friends here at Garage Gym Reviews offer unique industry expertise with a group of certified personal trainers, CrossFit Level 1 Trainers, gym owners, and Olympic-level athletes coming together to test the best home gym equipment and write equipment reviews.
In July of 2023, Freak Athlete released the Nordic Hyper GHD machine, which shook the fitness world with the convertible six-in-one design. This machine offers six distinct movements, all focused on building posterior chain strength (aka your backside including hamstrings, glutes, and lower back).
If you are someone who prioritizes a balanced training approach to quads and hamstrings, the Freak Athlete six-in-one machine offers a way to build your hamstrings, glutes, and lower back in a space barely bigger than the best weight bench.
At the time of writing this review, there is no other piece of equipment on the market that can function in the same way as the Nordic Hyper GHD. It essentially replaces six different gym machines, all bulky and costly as standalone pieces.
For reference, the Rogue Abram GHD 2.0 is priced at $740 and is over 6 feet in length and nearly 4 feet wide. The Vulcan Kraaken-Hyper Machine is a combination unit featuring the ability to perform the GHD and weighted reverse hyper. The Kraaken goes for about $1,700, measures over 6 feet in length, and weighs 565 pounds.
Not one of these machines offers the functionality of the Freak Athlete Nordic Hyper GHD, which is priced at $999, measures under 5 feet long, just shy of 2 feet wide, and 105 pounds. Our callout on this Freak Athlete machine is the fact that the materials are not the highest caliber.
In short, yes, the Freak Athlete Nordic Hyper GHD machine is worth it for the average garage gym or home gym owner with a 4.5-out-of-5-star rating for overall value. For the under-$1,000 price tag you get six different machines:
You can use the Nordic Hyper GHD as an ab board for flat or decline crunches, leg lifts, or sit-ups. You can even use the GHD pad for decline sit-ups and support the space under your knees. This function performs as it should.
The hip thrust modality allows you to take a leg roller off and pop it into an upright on the opposite end of the machine. The leg roller acts as a back support for hip thrusts with a bodyweight, band, or barbell. The leg roller can also be used for Bulgarian split squats, couch stretch, and reverse Nordics.
Coop also points out there is quite a bit of plastic on the moving parts. For example, the channels on all the moving uprights are made from plastic. The problem is this plastic is not a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) so it will be susceptible to cracking over time.
The Freak Athlete Nordic Hyper GHD might compare more to a Swiss army knife than another piece of gym equipment. And like the handheld multi-tool, you have to know which levers to pull on to access the tool you want. Same goes for this Freak Athlete machine.
However, Coop notices that while there are no labels on the pop pins, the adjustable arms are all numbered with engraved numbers (or angle measurements) on the interior portion of the steel uprights.
But, both the Shogun and BaseBlocks machines offer only two things: the Nordic hamstring curl bench (with incline capability for regressions) and a back extension machine. Neither machine will allow you to perform glute ham raises, reverse hypers, hip thrusts, or GHD sit-ups.
RELATED: Shogun NORD-EX review
When it comes to customer experience, Freak Athlete earns a 3.5-out-of-5-star rating. This category is based on a few things including methods to contact the brand, warranty policy, return policy, and financing options.
Even though the Nordic Hyper GHD has three adjustable arms and seven pop pins, putting the whole thing together is fairly straightforward. The box comes well-packaged and the instructions are clear and easy to follow. Overall, this Freak Athlete machine earns a 4-out-of-5-star rating for ordering and assembly.
This Freak Athlete six-in-one machine is still new to the market, which means there are not a ton of reviews to scour through. At the time of writing this review, there are seven, all of which feature a 5-out-of-5-star rating (and one is from shreddeddad.com).
Although there are not many customer reviews yet, the theme is the same: The Nordic Hyper GHD offers a unique and space-saving way to rep out Nordic hamstring curls (progressions and regressions) along with five other back-building exercises, which would normally take up more than triple the floor space.
None of the functions will offer the same amount of stability as any of the given standalone machines because of the adjustable arms and pop pins. Ultimately, there will be some wobble, but not so much to make your workouts unsafe.
While the movement and concept of a Nordic curl and GHD are similar, your legs will not be anchored on a flat surface during a GHD. The GHD pad offers a curved angle that the knee pivots around. To make the GHD more similar to a Nordic curl, do not fully extend into the 90-degree back extension.
The Freak Athlete Nordic Mini is 38 inches long and 18 inches wide. The actual Nordic board is 24 inches long and 18 inches wide. You can read more details, specs, and check out our in-depth review in our Freak Athlete Nordic Curl review.
A glute-ham developer (GHD) is an excellent way to strengthen your back muscles (and your glutes and hamstrings, which help support your lower back). That said, if you are someone who suffers from chronic back pain, the GHD is a super difficult movement, making it a tough starting point for beginners and anyone with back pain. Glute bridges, reverse hypers, and a 45-degree back extension are exercises that can help you prepare for a GHD.
Almost every day in my well-used home kitchen, I work with a double standard. I pop something in the oven and dial in a specific temperature, say 175C. However, on the stovetop, I settle for the vagueness of low, medium, or high. When I go see my mother-in-law, and swap my electric range for her gas flames, is my "medium" the same as her medium? No, it is not.
Set for release today, Breville PolyScience's Control Freak is a restaurant-grade induction burner that allows a chef to dial in either the surface temperature of a pot or the temperature of the liquid inside it. As someone with the disposition to experiment with the options this presents, this gave me a little frisson, accompanied by the feeling I was seeing the future.
The setup of the Control Freak (OK, I'm dropping the "" from Freak now) is similar to a traditional induction burner, but this one has a spring-loaded nubbin that pokes a quarter-inch out of the center and reads the pan's surface temperature. Fill a pot with liquid, mount a temperature probe to its side, and switch to controlling the temperature of the liquid. Cooks can also control how quickly a liquid approaches the target temperature, giving lots of control for something like tempering chocolate, which requires a fair amount of finesse.
Take eggs. I put a whole, large egg in water set to 65C (French food scientist Herv This's favorite egg temperature) for 25 minutes and got a white that was just set, and a nice, runny yolk. I tried again, this time putting a dozen eggs in the water and heard the machine rev up to keep the water temperature where I wanted it. I ended up with a dozen perfect eggs. I watched superchef Heston Blumenthal poke a thermometer in a pot of water set to 80C and poach an egg for four minutes that emerged with a nicely set white and runny yolk.
Next, I whisked some raw eggs and poured them into a small pan set to a constant 95C, mimicking the slow-scramble technique that typically requires a double boiler, and created one of the richest, creamiest scrambles I've ever eaten. I made plans to convert my double boiler into a planter.
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