Merax Vertical Climber Review
Merax Vertical Climber is high-capacity and rather affordable climbing exercise machine, designed to provide not only quick cardio sessions, but also full body workouts. Merax Vertical Climber features simple but effective folding mechanism, saving precious spaces, regardless if it is 'just' one more exercise machine in the home gym, or single exercise machine at your home.
Vertical climbers are often underestimated exercise machines, but at the same time, they tone full body, burn plenty of fats and increase strength and stamina.
Published: December 21, 2018.
Merax Vertical Climber Features and Specifications
When the unit arrives, it must be assembled, which can be done quickly and easily, even by someone not used to DIY projects - and yes, instructions/manual could be better written :)
Merax Vertical Climber Dimensions: when the unit is assembled, it weighs 38.5 pounds (~17.5 kg) which is very light when compared with other exercise machines commonly found at home gyms (treadmills, steppers, ellipticals etc.), but note that there are similar vertical climbers on the market that are even lighter than Merax Vertical Climber.
When the unit is folded for storage, its dimensions are (W x L x H) 27.2 x 16.5 x 62.4 inches (~69 x 42 x 158.5 cm). When the unit is unfolded and ready for use, its dimensions are (W x L x H) 27.2 x 35.8 x 62.4-74.8 inches (~69 x 91 x 158.5 - 190 cm).
Note: 62.4-74.8 inches (158.5 - 190 cm) height difference is thanks to the 5 different handle heights, allowing the user to set the climber height according to the individual needs and preferences.
Maximum allowed user weight is 350 pounds (~158 kg), which is very good for almost 10x lighter climber.
When ready to use, unit is stable and it doesn't wobble, vibrate or anything similar - if it does, check the bolts once again. Merax Vertical Climber is made using square steel tubes and although it looks kind of 'skinny', it is strong and rather durable exercise machine. This is home exercise machine, NOT designed to be used for hours, day after day - if it is going to be used by few people, each few times per week, it will last for a long time.
Although 38.5 pounds is relatively easy to carry around, it is recommended to place the unit on the permanent location and use it regularly. In order to protect the floor, it is good practice to place the protective mat under the climber, just be sure that the mat is not too thick, or it can make this unit (or any climber in general) slightly unstable.
Merax Vertical Climber features two sets of handles - one pair is placed in fixed position, slightly above the LCD monitor, and another set of handles is positioned on the tubes with foot pedals - and these handles feature adjustable height.
First pair of handles is used for mostly lower body exercise, although the hands are used for positioning the body, providing some upper body workout. These handles are positioned ~48 inches (~122 cm) above the floor.
Second pair of handles is used for full body exercise, which closely mimic natural vertical climbing motion, providing great exercise for legs, trunk, back, arms ... Maximum height of these handles is ~87 inches (~221 cm) above the floor (most upper position, adjusted to maximum height) - thus the unit should not be used in the rooms with the ceiling below ~90 inches (~228 cm).
Handles are paddles and not too soft, providing good grip during the exercise.
Pedal dimensions are 4x4 inches (~10 x 10 cm) and are going their job well. People with large feet and especially with issues with calves should position their feet more forward - personally, I would prefer slightly wider and longer pedals for better foot support.
Control panel is very simple, featuring smallish LCD monitor displaying time, speed, distance, and burned calories.
Note: calorie counter is not very accurate since there is no way to input user's data like age, gender, bf%, height, weight etc., so it should be used for comparing the workouts. But, don't worry about calories since climbers can burn lot of them rather quickly.
Merax Vertical Climber Workout
Generally, beginners should use a vertical climber 3x per week, for about 10 minutes per session, for total of 30 minutes per week.
If this sounds too short and too little, wait until you try it - this is full body exercise machine where the trainee lifts whole body with the power of arms and legs requiring plenty of strength and stamina.
Cardio workout or not? Many people wonder if workouts on the vertical climbers are cardio workouts or not. Well, they are great exercises that melt plenty of fats and increase strength and stamina - how to call it, IMHO is irrelevant.
My personal vertical climber session looks like this:
- alternate 3x 2 minutes of light workout on the vertical climber, combined with the light, gentle (gentle!!!) stretching of the whole body. During warm up, I periodically change length of the strokes, starting with short strokes, ending with longer/deeper strokes/strides. Don't pause more than 60-90 seconds - that is more than enough for light stretching.
- HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workout on the vertical climber - since I am very busy guy and at the moment of writing this article I am also 45+ old (young!) guy, I prefer to do HIIT workouts when doing cardio with watch or chest strap heart rate monitor, with the alarm set to certain heart rate (this is personal, but highly recommended).
HIIT sessions are highly demanding to the body, but also provide excellent results in terms of building strength, stamina and burning fat and they should IMHO never be done without the doctor's approval.
Personally, I prefer Tabata workout on the vertical climber - 20 seconds of high intensity workout, followed with 10 seconds of low intensity workout, done 8 times in the row for the total of 4 minutes. And that is it. After that, I step down off the machine, walk it slowly for few minutes and the vertical climber workout is over.
Although vertical climbers provide full body workout, personally I find burpees excellent complement for vertical climbers.
Of course, doing few burpees after HIIT/Tabata vertical climber is great, but doing Tabata burpee session after Tabata vertical climber session is much much better.
And such workout combination can be done easily in less than 20 minutes ...
Long Story Short: Merax Vertical Climber is affordable and reliable home exercise machine. It enables the user to do proper workout relatively quickly, saving plenty of time, but also making one healthier and more fit.
Vertical climbers in general are underestimated exercise machines, but they should be part of every home gym - they are cheap, doesn't require much space, easy to maintain and when combined with other exercise, like burpees for example, they provide great results.
Note: No workout or exercise machine can outrun bad diet! Also, before starting any rigorous diet or exercise plan, check your health first!
If you are looking for a vertical climber exercise machine, consider this one.
For more reviews and recommendations, check Merax Vertical Climber
Amazon link (link opens in the new window).
