By Jack Atkins, Home Gym Equipment Specialist · Updated 5 October 2026
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Marcy's MWM988 is a single-stack home gym that tries to fit an entire commercial circuit into a 173cm by 107cm footprint. You get a 150lb (roughly 68kg) selectorised stack, press arms that switch by pin between a chest press and a pec dec, a removable preacher curl pad and a leg developer for extensions and curls, all on a steel frame that weighs about 127kg. It was £499 and in stock on Amazon UK on 5 October 2026, which is half the price of the Strongway 100kg station we reviewed yesterday.
We give it 3.9 out of 5. The station list is better than you'd expect at this price, and the leg developer is something several pricier machines leave out. It loses marks for a listing that can't agree on how heavy the stack is, no warranty term anywhere on the page, and a top weight that a trained back will reach inside a year.
How we review
This review is based on research rather than hands-on testing. We worked from Marcy's Amazon UK listing (checked against Amazon's catalogue on 5 October 2026), compared it with the multi gyms we've already covered, including Marcy's own MWM-990 and Strongway's 100kg station, and read the research on machine training. We haven't built or trained on this unit, and we couldn't find an MWM-988 spec page on Marcy's own site, so figures appear as the listing gives them and we flag the gaps.
Beginners and people coming back to training after years off are the right buyers. Every station is pin-select, so there's no plate loading and no bar that can pin you under a chest press, which makes training alone at 6am perfectly safe. The NHS asks adults to do strengthening activities that work all the major muscle groups on at least 2 days a week, and this machine covers chest, back, arms and legs without you leaving the seat for long.
It's the wrong machine if you already bench 80kg or pull heavy on a commercial lat pulldown. You'll hit the top of the stack quickly, and a selectorised stack can't be topped up with plates.
Check the Marcy MWM988 price on Amazon£499.00This is the first thing to sort out, because the listing gets it wrong somewhere. The product title promises "90kg resistance", but the bullet points describe a 150lb weight stack, and 150lb is about 68kg. Both can't be the plate weight.
Our best guess is that the 90kg figure describes felt resistance at a station where a pulley or lever multiplies the load, which is common on home gyms with a leg developer or press arm. Marcy doesn't publish those ratios for this model, though, and we couldn't confirm the figure on the manufacturer's site. So we'd plan around 68kg of actual iron and treat anything above that as a bonus at specific stations.
Is 68kg enough? For a beginner on chest press, pec dec, curls and leg extensions, yes, for a long time. The lat pulldown and seated row go first, since an intermediate lifter can often pull close to bodyweight. Once that happens you can still progress by adding reps instead of weight: an 8-week trial in trained lifters found that increasing repetitions at a fixed load built muscle about as well as increasing the load. That buys you time, not forever.
| Weight stack | 150lb (approx 68kg), selectorised with safety lock |
|---|---|
| Resistance claim | 90kg in the title; ratios not published |
| Press arms | Dual action: chest press and vertical butterfly (pec dec) |
| Arm station | Removable, adjustable preacher curl pad |
| Leg station | Leg developer (extensions and curls) |
| Seats | High-density boxed upholstery |
| Dimensions | 173cm L x 107cm W x 198cm H (68 x 42 x 78in) |
| Machine weight | Approx 127kg (280.5lb) |
| Price (5 Oct 2026) | £499, in stock |
| Warranty | Not stated on listing |
The dual action press arms are the centrepiece. In one position they give a seated chest press; pull a pin and they swing to a vertical butterfly, which is the pec deck movement most gyms put on a separate machine. You get a compound press and a chest isolation exercise from one set of arms, and the swap takes seconds.
Because both movements share the one stack, a pec dec set at 68kg would be absurd for almost anyone, so the ceiling matters less here than on the pulldown. Expect the press to feel heavier or lighter than the pin suggests depending on the arm geometry.
The preacher pad is removable and adjustable, which is the right call: it stays out of the way when you're using the seat for presses, then clips on for curls. Done on a cable, a preacher curl keeps tension at the bottom of the rep, where a dumbbell version goes slack.
The leg developer is what separates this machine from cheaper upper body stations, and from the Strongway 100kg. It handles a seated leg extension and a leg curl, so quads and hamstrings get direct work. It won't replace squats for building lower body strength, and leg developers on single-stack gyms often feel light for strong legs; for a beginner, though, it's a genuine station rather than an afterthought.
Plenty of people worry that a machine is second best. The evidence says otherwise for muscle size: a 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis found no difference in hypertrophy between free weight and machine training, with strength gains tending to show up most in whichever mode people trained. You give up the balance work and heavy lower body loading a barbell offers, and nothing else of much importance for a general fitness goal.
The listing describes heavy-duty steel tubing, guard rods around the stack and high-density boxed upholstery, which is the standard Marcy recipe. At about 127kg it should sit still under load. It's also an old design, first listed in 2012, and the listing mentions none of the newer touches, such as a dual pulley system or micro cable adjustment, that the Strongway advertises.
Two practical points. First, the build: a selectorised stack with several cable runs is a long job, and two people make it much easier, so set aside an afternoon. Second, the space. At 198cm tall it fits under a typical 240cm ceiling with room to spare, but a garage with a low beam or a loft conversion may not take it, and you need clearance around the 173cm by 107cm frame to sit at the leg developer and load the pin.
Marcy's MWM-990 is the closest relative: the same 150lb stack and much the same layout of press arm, preacher pad and leg developer. We rated it 4.1, but it showed as currently unavailable on Amazon UK, so for most buyers the MWM988 is the one you can actually get. The Strongway 100kg multi gym has a heavier 100kg stack and a dual pulley system, but no leg station and a £999 price. If your back and chest are already strong, the Strongway's extra 32kg matters more than the leg developer. If you're starting out, the Marcy gives you more stations for half the money. Our best multi gym UK guide covers the rest of the field.
See today's Marcy MWM988 priceThe listing contradicts itself. The title says 90kg resistance, but the bullet points describe a 150lb stack, which is about 68kg. The likeliest explanation is that some stations use a pulley or lever arrangement that makes the stack feel heavier than its plate weight, but Marcy doesn't publish the ratios, so we'd plan around 68kg of actual iron.
The listing gives 78 inches, roughly 198cm, with a 173cm by 107cm footprint. A standard UK room with a ceiling of around 240cm is fine. Low garages, sloped lofts and some garden rooms won't be, so measure before you order.
The press arms switch by pin between a chest press and a vertical butterfly (pec dec). There's a removable preacher curl pad and a leg developer for leg extensions and leg curls. Check the listing photos for the cable stations, which on Marcy stack gyms of this type usually cover pulldowns, rows, curls and pushdowns.
They're close relatives with the same 150lb stack, press arm, preacher pad and leg developer layout. The MWM-990 showed as currently unavailable on Amazon UK when we checked, so the MWM988 is the one you can actually order right now.
Budget a full afternoon with two people. A 127kg machine with a selectorised stack, guide rods and several cable runs takes hours rather than minutes, and getting the cable tension right is the part most people rush.
Our Strongway 72kg dual pulley multi gym review: the 72kg stack, chest press and pec deck, preacher pad, leg curl station, 165cm footprint, £469.95 price and how it differs from Strongway's 100kg machine.
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