Freak Athlete Leg Developer Review

The Freak Athlete Leg Developer turns my Hyper Pro into an 9-in-1 machine!

As if the Hyper Pro didn’t do enough, the gang at Freak Athlete keeps adding more versatility to their flagship product.

Now I can do leg extensions and lying leg curls that feel just like using a dedicated machine at a commercial gym.

Plus…I can do several upper body exercises by hooking up an upper body kit strap to it.

Let’s check it out!

Unboxing

Everything came neatly packed with no damages to report.

Here’s everything out of the box.

This version comes with handles which is great to have something to hold on to when going heavy.

Specs

• Weight capacity: 225 lbs

• Leg developer weight: 25 lbs

• Finish: Powder coated

• Padding: 2″ thick (5″ diameter)

• Leg extension pad adjustments: 4 vertical settings

• Leg curl pad adjustments: 12 horizontal settings

• Weight horn length: 9 3/4″ long

• Weight horn plate compatibility: Works with Olympic sized and standard sized weight plates

What Is The Leg Developer Attachment?

The Leg Developer is an attachment that connects to the Freak Athlete Hyper Pro (formerly known as the Freak Athlete Nordic Hyper GHD).

With the leg developer I can workout my legs and do some upper body exercises.

It turns the Hyper Pro into a seated leg curl, prone (lying) leg curl machine, and upper body pulling machine.

Installing The Freak Athlete Leg Developer

How long does it take to attach the leg developer?

There’s two steps and combined they take less than 10 seconds…

First, I match the notches on the leg developer hooks to the frame on the Hyper Pro.

After that I pull the red lever down until it clicks.

The bottom is locked when the bolt comes in contact with the black handle at the front of the Hyper and the red lever is down.

Second part of the installation is to secure the top of the leg developer.

I do with by pulling down a piece until it sits in between the back extension pads.

Here’s what that looks like once I lock it down in place.

And that’s it…

It literally takes seconds to do!

Leg Extensions Set Up

The leg extension set up is straight forward.

Only thing I have to do is set the Hyper Pro so that the bench is horizontal and at the same height as the top leg extension rollers.

To get the Nordic Hyper at the right height, I set the front end to 20 degrees.

Then unlock the other end until it’s horizontal.

Once that’s done, all I have to do is throw some weight plates on the loading bar and I’m good to go.

One thing I did notice with the thigh rollers, is that they come in direct contact with a bolt.

With enough friction and use, this could cause a tear in the upholstery so that’s something Freak Athlete needs to look into.

An easy fix solution would be to add plastic end caps to both sides of the bolt.

Freak Athlete did comment on the leg developer bolt after seeing my review video and here’s what they said:

They’ve tested the leg extensions and leg curls over 10,000 times and haven’t had any issues so that’s good to hear.

And if the vinyl were to get damaged, they do have a 2 year warranty that’ll cover it at no additional cost.

Now that I’m all set, I have a set of rollers right under my knees and another on top of my shins.

The roller pads on top of my shins can be adjusted vertically to 4 different settings with a pop pin.

It also comes with a pair of handles that I insert into the back extension handles.

They look like this once they’re pushed in all the way.

I like the handles because they give me something to hold on to and keep me from going forward when I go heavy.

And here’s the leg extension.

Notice how the weight plate doesn’t go completely vertical which helps to keep constant tension when I’m at full extension.

This makes it feel just like a dedicated leg extension machine which is great to have in my garage gym.

Lying Leg Curls Set Up

For lying leg curls, I need to attach this piece to the Leg Developer.

This piece has 12 adjustment settings for the rollers that sit on the back of my leg.

I attach this piece to the top center portion of the Leg Developer.

I secure it in place and remove any wiggle by inserting the pin with the grey head and twisting the red knob all the way to the right.

Then I can adjust the position of the leg rollers by pulling the pop pin.

And the last thing I do is set the footplate side all the way down so that the bench declines.

Once I’m on the bench, I hang on to the handles on the footplate for stability.

The decline set up keeps the footplate rollers away from my face and also creates a small forward tilt on my pelvis.

This slight tilt gives my hamstrings a pre-stretch before starting the exercise so I get full range of motion.

Once I’m anchored down, I do my leg curls.

And again, the weight plate never goes completely vertical which keeps tension in my hamstrings.

Upper Body Kit

The Upper Body Kit is an adjustable strap that connects to the leg developer by clipping it to an eye bolt.

This allow me to do several pulling upper body exercises in a way that’s similar to the Bulletproof Isolator.

It has multiple D-rings on it that allow me to make it shorter or longer.

I like that they added several patches of velcro next to each D-ring so that the strap doesn’t flap around when shortened.

Here I’m doing seated rows…

For skull crushers I set the bench to decline and shorter the strap.

For bicep curls I set the Hyper Pro to decline and made the strap a little bit longer than the previous set up.

I like the idea of the strap because it adds more versatility to the product.

Top Benefits of The Freak Athlete Leg Developer

Works Quads and Hamstrings

I can work my quads and hamstrings through opposing strength curves in one machine.

For my hamstrings, I can do Nordic curls and lying leg curls.

And for my quads, I can do reverse Nordics and leg extensions.

Full Range Of Motion With Constant Tension

Notice how my shin is angled back (not at 90 degrees) at the start of the leg extension.

This gives my quads a pre-stretch so I get full range of motion and feel tension right from the beginning of the exercise.

Same happens with my hamstrings because my pelvis is slightly tilted forward.

To add to the pre-stretch, the weight plates are angled at 45 degrees for constant tension.

Best Leg Developer Features

Padding

The roller pads are 5″ in diameter and 2″ in thickness all around.

This gives me plenty of cushion and feels comfortable when I load weights on the Leg Developer.

Weight Horn

The weight horn is 9 3/4″ which gives me plenty of room to load it up.

You’ll notice there’s a bolt at the tip of the weight horn and that’s because it’s a metal sleeve that can be removed for standard weight plates.

Here I took off the sleeve to show you the smaller diameter weight horn.

So if you’re someone with older 1″ center hole weight plates, you can still use this attachment.

Weight Capacity

The Leg Developer has a weight capacity of 225 lbs and of course I had to test it out.

So I grabbed a bunch of bumpers and loaded it all the way to the tip.

I was only able to load it up to 200 lbs since my bumper plates are thick but it held the weight without any issues.

Adjustable Leg Rollers

Having the ability to adjust the leg extension and leg curl rollers is a big plus so that people of all sizes can use the attachment.

Storage

When I’m done using the Leg Developer, I stand it up vertically in a corner.

Since it’s about the same width as the Hyper Pro, it’ll take up just as much space.

Leg Developer Pros & Cons

Pros

• Adjustable: Leg rollers can be adjusted so it fits people of different heights

• Comfortable: Leg rollers are 5″ in diameter and 2″ thick so there’s plenty of cushion for my legs

• Constant tension: The 45 degree angle on the loading bar allows for constant tension at the top and bottom of the exercises

• Full range of motion: I get full range of motion on both leg extensions and leg curls

• User friendly: Takes me about 10 seconds to install and it’s easy to adjust the rollers

• Upper body kit: Gives me the ability to work on pulling exercises

Cons

• Bolt: There’s a bolt coming in direct contact with the upholstery which could cause a tear over time but this is covered under their warranty. Plastic cap would be an easy fix.

• Space: Even though it’s not very big, it’ll take up just as much floor space as the Hyper Pro when stored

Freak Athlete Leg Developer Price & Discount Code

The Leg Developer retails for $300 but I’ll show you how to get a $50 discount.

Click the red button below to reveal the discount code…

My Experience Using The Leg Developer

I dig the way this was designed from a muscle contraction stand point.

Getting a pre-stretch before the exercises allows me to get full range of motion and keeps constant tension on my muscles.

I’ve reviewed other machines like this one where I lost tension at the bottom of the movements and it threw off my mind-muscle connection.

The constant tension on the Leg Developer makes my muscles work efficiently for better results.

And the addition is of the eye bolt for upper body pulling exercises is a nice bonus.

Freak Athlete Hyper Pro Review

The leg developer has its benefits but that’s only a portion of what the Freak Athlete Hyper Pro can do.

Watch my full review above so you can see how versatile this machine is.

Conclusion: Should You Buy The Freak Athlete Leg Developer?

I really like the Leg Developer attachment because it allows me to train my legs through different strength curves.

Leg extensions and leg curls are isolation exercises I’ve always done ever since I started going to the gym.

And having this as an attachment to the Hyper Pro takes up less space than having a stand alone leg extension and curl machine.

This is a great addition to the Freak Athlete Hyper Pro that adds more versatility without sacrificing too much gym space.

Freak Athlete Leg Developer

4.75

Adjustable

4.8/5

Comfortable

4.8/5

Constant tension

4.8/5

Range of motion

4.8/5

User friendly

4.8/5

Check Out The Leg Developer

Shredded Dad

Garage gym athlete, gym hacks, DIY gym projects, and garage gym equipment reviews

ShreddedDad.com