Shogun Sports Flex Review

The Shogun Sports Flex is a nifty home gym cable machine attachment that does A LOT more than I thought.

Just by looking at it, you wouldn’t be able to tell this thing has 6 training modes so it’s more dynamic than a regular cable machine.

And there’s no time wasted changing plates since everything is controlled through a phone app.

Needless to say, I’m impressed with how much they packed into a compact device.

Let’s check it out!

Unboxing

Shogun Sports sells each Flex unit individually but I wanted to recreate a functional trainer so I picked up two.

The beauty about this set up is that I just attach it to my weight rack so it doesn’t eat up space in my garage gym.

Each unit comes in its own carrying case and all the accessories needed for a full body workout.

It comes with with a handle, ankle strap, foot strap, triceps rope, and door anchor.

I’ll give you a breakdown of each item and how I use them so make sure to keep reading to get all the details.

Specs

• Weight: 1.5 lbs

• Variable resistance: 4 lbs to 44 lbs in 6 different resistance modes controlled through phone app

• Accessories: Comes with a handle, foot strap, door anchor, ankle cuff, and triceps rope

• Exercise library: 100s of exercises available on the Flex app

• Workouts: On-demand and custom workouts available on the app

Features

Flex App

Inside the Flex app I can select the type of resistance I wanna work with.

I can choose from 6 resistance types: Standard, eccentric, concentric, constant, chains, and generation.

Under the app’s Library tab there’s exercise demonstrations for every body part.

And they even have on-demand workout plans which I thought was cool for those who don’t follow a specific program.

Shogun Sport Flex

The Shogun Flex only has one button on the unit (Power button) since everything is controlled through the Flex phone app.

I turn the unit on by long pressing the button or by pulling the strap on the top.

Once it’s on, the power button turns white.

The strap on the top is connected to a carabiner.

This is where I connect all the accessories except for the foot strap (I’ll show you that later).

And the bottom of the Flex has a keyhole where I insert the foot strap and door anchor.

Both of these attachments are the anchor points for the unit.

The side has a USB port for when I need to recharge the battery.

I keep track of the battery life from the app.

And this is what the back looks like.

Not much going on back here, just a rubberized grippy texture.

Handle

The handle looks and feels great and has a double D ring which I’ve never seen before.

One thing about Shogun Sports is that they don’t cut corners on quality.

I own their Nord Ex and multi purpose sled and they are as premium as fitness equipment can be.

Here’s the handle connected to the Flex.

Now I need to anchor the unit to my PRx weight rack using the foot strap.

Foot Strap

The foot strap is adjustable and has two purposes: (1) Attaches to my foot and (2) wraps around posts to anchor down the Flex cable machine.

Right at the bottom of the foot strap there’s a rubber flap that helps to secure my foot to the strap.

This rubber piece also keeps the strap from sliding on my weight rack’s uprights.

The center of the foot strap has an adjustable quick release buckle.

These are the same buckles used by climbers so they can hold a ton of weight.

I’ve tested similar ones on my OmniStrap ankle straps and they are legit so I’m glad Shogun went with this kind of buckle.

And the other end of the foot strap has a key that matches the Flex’s keyhole.

Once I insert the key into the hole, I like it in place by twisting it counter-clockwise.

Now it’s time to anchor the unit to my weight rack.

Weight Rack Attachment

First thing I do is unbuckle the strap so I can wrap it around the uprights.

Then buckle it and pull on the strap until it’s snug around the post.

You wanna make sure the rubber piece is touching the post so the strap doesn’t slide when exercising.

And here’s what it looks like once I got both Flex units on my rack.

Notice they’re staying in place since the rubber piece on the foot strap is gripping the post (make sure you do that).

From here I can do pressing or pulling exercises just like on a functional trainer.

And I can anchor the unit at different heights on the weight rack to hit different angles.

Here I pulled my PRx bench off the wall to do incline chest flys.

These feel great because I can get constant tension throughout the movement and I can play with the other resistance modes as well.

Even though the Shogun Flex comes with its own accessories, don’t let it stop you from experimenting with your own.

I have a cable machine bar that lets me do exercises like if I was using a barbell.

Here I’m using it to replicate a barbell row.

So now I’ll show you how to anchor the foot strap to your feet in case you don’t have a post.

Foot Attachment

I get my foot inside the foot strap loop with the rubber piece on top of my foot.

Then I push the rubber piece down until it’s snug around my foot so the strap is not moving around.

From here I can do exercises from the ground up like bicep curls, lateral raises, and shoulder presses.

So far I’ve shown you upper body exercises so next I’ll show you a few for the lower body.

Ankle Strap

The anle strap is straight forward.

There’s one D-ring and nicely padded.

And the velcro strap has Flex sown into it.

Just like most attachments, I clip this on to the carabiner while the other end is anchored down.

So here’s how I’m set this up for leg extensions and leg curls.

I anchored the Flex to the bottom of my rack and at the top I have the Infinity Arm so I can sit on it.

This can be set up with a chair or a weight bench also but they might be too low to get clearance at the bottom.

I get the ankle strap on my leg, clip carabiner to it, sit on the Infinity Arm, and do my leg extensions.

Then I switch sides (I keep the other ankle strap on to make it faster).

For leg curls, I change the angle on the Infinity Arm and face my weight rack.

I usually do these two exercises on my Isolator but the set up time on the Flex is way less so the time saved is awesome.

Here’s a set up I came up with to replicate a reverse squat strap to strengthen my hip flexors and lower abs.

I connected both ankle straps to the Flex.

The curl both legs up against resistance.

This is an exercise I learned from the Knees Over Toes Guy and you feel an insane burn on the lower abs and hip flexors.

Triceps Rope

The triceps rope is adjustable in length and also comes with a double D-ring.

The ends are nicely padded just like the ankle straps.

I anchored it down on my pull up bar this time just to show you different ways the unit can be mounted.

Here I’m doing tricep extensions.

Then went on to do some face pulls.

And some overhead triceps extensions.

Door Anchor

And the final attachment is the door anchor.

I don’t use this one too much since I have the garage gym but I can see it being useful for people traveling or small home gyms.

The set up is just like another door anchor.

Throw the strap over the door, shut it, and give it a tug to make sure it’s secure.

Shogun Sports Flex Accessories

Swivel Rack Mount

Shogun recently came out with a swivel rack mount and this is more stable than the strap set up.

It’s adjustable so it’ll fit any weight rack 2″ to 4″ wide with holes between 5/8″ and 1″.

The rack mounts secure to the uprights with quick release push nuts which I really like because they’re quick to screw/unscrew.

I push the button and slide the nut all the way down then give it a twist and it’s on there tightly.

They’re similar to what other rack mounted cable machines use (Ancore Trainer and Beyond Power Voltra use it)

Here’s a quick showing you the swivel motion on the rack mounts.

This gives the cable a natural movement when I’m pulling it from different angles.

I can insert the Flex into the rack mount in two different ways.

The first one is with the cable sticking out from the front for any exercise where I’m pulling in a horizontal line of drive.

And the other has the cable coming out of the bottom for exercises where I’m pulling from top to bottom.

Here are both units set up like a functional trainer.

From here I can do a bunch of exercises but my favorite are cable flys and cable crossovers.

Shogun Flex Platform

The Shogun Sports Flex platform is a nice addition for ground based exercises (bicep curls, lateral raises, front raises, shoulder presses, etc).

It’s made out of wood with 6 built-in rails where I can attach swivel cages to anchor the Flex (cages work similar to the rack mount).

The bottom has a metal frame screwed to the wood.

Besides having my weight on top to keep it from shifting, it also has 6 rubber feet along the metal frame.

The dimensions of the platform are 27.5″ L x 13.5″ D x 1.25″ H.

I use a 9.5 shoe and here’s what it looks like on the platform.

In order to use the platform with the Shogun Flex you’re gonna need the swivel cages so I’ll show you those next…

Shogun Flex Swivel Cage

The swivel cages work just like the rack mount except the attachment point is different.

These slide right into the rails and lock in place with a pull pin so the cages won’t slide out unless I manually unlock it.

Here’s a close up of the pull pin.

Here’s what it looks like when I have both Flex machines on each side.

From here I can do bicep curls, shoulder presses, shoulder raises, rear delt flys, etc.

I can also add other handles like the Stroops Fit Kit bar to mimic barbell exercises.

I tested using my squat harness with the platform and it works but if I get real low I lose cable tension because of the height of the Flex.

But for other ground based exercises involving my upper body it works well.

Shogun Sports Flex Alternatives

First three rack attached cable machines that come to mind when making a comparison with the Shogun Flex are the Unitree Pump, Ancore Trainer and the Beyond Power Voltra I.

Unitree Pump

The Unitree Pump is identical to the Shogun Flex in design and functionality.

What’s different is that the Flex comes with more and better quality accessories so that you get the most out of one machine.

Ancore Trainer

Out of these three home gym cable machines, the Ancore Trainer is the only one that’s not battery and app operated.

Everything on the Ancore is done manually through resistance plates that attach to the unit.

With a 1:1 ratio, Ancore’s max resistance is 55 lbs of constant tension so there is no variable resistance like on the Shogun Flex.

The Shogun Flex caps at 44 lbs of variable resistance and is less than 2x the price of Ancore.

Beyond Power Voltra I

Like the Shogun Flex, the Voltra I is app operated and has variable resistance modes, but it also has a touch screen.

The biggest difference between the Beyond Power Voltra I and the Flex, is Voltra’s 200 lbs max resistance.

It’s the highest resistance I’ve seen on a home gym cable machine that’s not plate loaded, which is impressive.

Price wise though, the Voltra I is about 10x more than the Flex but the Flex has similar functions.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Multiple training modes: 6 training modes for workout versatility and dynamic resistance (keeps me from getting bored).

• Compact/Portable: I can easily fit two Flex units and accessories inside a backpack so I can take it anywhere

• Full body workouts: Comes with all accessories needed for upper and lower body exercises so it’s versatile

• Library: The Flex app is full of exercises and workouts

• Affordable: It’s the most affordable rack attached cable machine I’ve used (that’s not plate loaded)

Cons

• Resistance: Max resistance of 44 lbs doesn’t feel like much for compound exercises but is good for isolation exercises or rehab

Shogun Sports Discount Code

Each Shogun Sports Flex machine sells for $349.95 and if you buy the pair you get an 11% discount (2 for $624).

To me it made sense to get two because I can use the cable machine like a functional trainer.

So here’s how to use my exclusive coupon code that’ll get you a 10% discount (this works whether you get one or two units).

Click the red button below to reveal my exclusive coupon code

Shogun Sports Flex Review

I’m impressed by how much exercise versatility and the variable resistance modes the Shogun Flex offers.

I can anchor it to my weight rack, door, my own feet, or any solid post to recreate a functional trainer.

And they’ve made it affordable so anyone can get a full workout without needing a ton of space.