Our Three Cents

The price is right — with a coupon.

The MERACH Ab Machine MR-2314 retails for about $60. I was eyeing it for awhile, but felt that $50+ was little steep for equipment with quality I wasn’t sure of. Honestly, I didn’t even know how the ab machine worked.

MERACH Ab Machine coupon code.

After buying it, I would say the MERACH Ab Machine is a good deal even at full retail. However, it’s a must-buy if you can get it on sale. For example, I found a coupon code for $20 off and paid only $35. The machine is solidly built: it’s mostly steel and it even has a digital display. I don’t know how they’re making money off of this product, but I feel like it’s a steal.

MERACH Ab Trainers compared.

The MERACH Ab Trainer assembly takes about 30 minutes.

This is not a pull it out of the box and unfold it situation. This is a pull it out of the box and realize that it’s a bunch of separate parts that have to be put together. As soon as I see a hardware packet with nuts and bolts, I know I’m going to have to do some work.

Assembly isn’t that bad, but set aside at least 30 minutes. A QR code on the instruction booklet leads to video instructions, but the video goes too fast to be helpful. I ended up just following the booklet steps. It gets easier as you build: the direction of the first few big pieces is the hardest.

The good part of self-assembly products is that they can always be disassembled. If I ever move, my MERACH Ab Trainer is coming with me, in pieces.

An awkward, but foldable footprint.

The MERACH Ab Machine is a bit bulkier than I expected. As mentioned, I actually had no idea what I was ordering and how it worked: I just knew it was cheap, had good reviews, and would help me hone my six-pack.

You can see from the photos that while it’s not huge, it’s not inconspicuous by any means. The official dimensions are 49″x19.9″x7.1.” The main issue is that it’s awkwardly shaped when it isn’t folded.

Luckily, the MERACH Ab Machine is lightweight at only 17 lbs. It’s super easy to move around the house, since I don’t have a dedicated home gym area. I can lift it with one hand, though the metal parts are prone to banging my shins when I do this.

The machine is also foldable, which is convenient. When I want to make even more room, I just pull out the two safety pins, fold the MERACH Ab Machine flat, and slide it under my bed. These safety pins are little finicky to re-insert — they get lost in the hollow chamber of the frame —but not to the point where they’re a headache.

The bigger problem is forgetting about it under the bed. There’s something about home gym equipment that attracts inertia and obsolescence. So, I recommend leaving your MERACH Ab Machine out and assembled. I use it at random times when I’m bored: in-between cooking, cleaning, etc. And the pink and white color scheme is actually pleasant to see in my living space.

The MERACH Ab Machine is solid workout equipment.

As mentioned, the quality is good for such a cheap piece of equipment. The ab trainer has a 440lb weight limit, which is pretty substantial. I’m almost 5’10” and had no problem with the length.

The MR-2314 isn’t top-tier gym-quality, but it’s more than good enough for a daily home workout. The foam is soft enough, the digital display turns on/off automatically when I mount the machine, and the kneeling pad slides smoothly up and down the rail.

At the same time, the MERACH MR-2314 is a basic, cheap machine, and some parts aren’t perfect. As mentioned, the safety pins are annoying. The ab trainer is also a tad wobbly: this is probably because I’m using it on carpet, but also because it’s so lightweight. Finally, the included arm workout bands are useless unless I weigh down the base of the machine.

Does the MERACH Ab Machine workout actually work?

So does the MERACH Ab Machine actually work? Yes, but only for the ab workout.

According to the instruction manual, you can do 4 exercises on this ab machine. Honestly, you can and you can’t, as we’ll discuss below. I’ve also seen videos of people doing resistance band rows, pushups, leg extensions — a bunch of stuff on it. Don’t be fooled: the MR-2314 is just too lightweight to get an effective workout from those movements.

That being said, the ab trainer trains the abs really, really well, and that’s all I want it to do.

MR-2314 difficulty adjustment.

The MERACH ab trainer is a single-track machine, but you can still adjust the difficulty level. The same pins that allow you to fold it also let you change the slope and height. When it’s at the widest angle and lowest height, it’s an easier workout. When it’s at the steepest angle and tallest height, it’s a harder workout, as you would expect.

There are 2 angle options (safety pin holes) and there are 5 height options. So you have some room for growth with this machine. I recommend starting on the easiest difficulty because this thing burns your core.

MERACH ab workout instructions.

Toning those abs is the whole point of this machine. Kneel on the kneepads, rest your forearms on the arm pads, grab a hold of the handles, and use your core to pull your knees all the way up the machine.

The machine is built in such a way that you can’t really do it too wrong. Even if you go really fast and only make it halfway up the slope (as I noticed a lot of users doing in their review videos), you’ll still feel a burn.

But to avoid compensating with other muscles, I move slowly up the slope while exhaling and engaging the core, holding the contraction at the top, and then slowly moving back down the track.

I’ve been starting off with 5 sets of 12 reps. Post-workout, I feel the soreness more in my lower abs — which is the 6-pack area I’m trying to target the most.

Other exercises — fail.

Glute workout and lateral ab workout.

The single-track MERACH Ab Machine doth protest at these exercises in the instruction manual. Because your weight is unevenly distributed on the knee pad in both, it kind of grinds up the single rail. If you’re really trying to target your glutes and obliques, you probably need to upgrade to the dual-track MERACH Ab Trainer.

Band workouts.

The included bands are a nice bonus, but they definitely aren’t the star of the show here. You’re supposed to attach them to the front foot tube (the base on the handle side), then do resistance workouts: bicep curls, triceps extensions, lateral raises, and so on.

I have to stand on the machine to keep it from lifting up with every rep. It’s just too lightweight to act as an anchor for any kind of resistance. Instead, I just take the bands off and stand on them, and do my resistance arm training like that. In other words, don’t buy the MERACH Ab Machine for the arm workout.