How to Build A Slosh Pipe For Your Kids – Cheap and Easy DIY Project Under 10 Minutes
My daughter has been in the gym since we brought her home from the hospital. She’s lifted some kind of weights for years, and I’ve spent a lot of hours making sure she knows how to move properly, lift, hinge, squat, press, carry, you name it.
As a coach of kids, I don’t get hours and hours to spend with one kid to perfect one movement pattern. I get an hour or two a week with 8 to 10 kids, where we have to warm up, practice our sport, include some conditioning, strengthening, and team dynamics stuff. So spending any amount of time on movement patterns is a tough decision.
But having a kid build a rock solid foundation of core strength and coordination is also potentially one of the best attributes they can have in sports, and in life. So we have to find a way to build that, quickly, safely, and with a little fun. That is where the Slosh Pipe comes in.
Table of Contents
The Downside Of Weights
Weights are awesome, but if mistreated and misunderstood, people get hurt. A 7 year old can make one bad decision and end up with a broken arm. Not a good look for a coach. Plus, dragging a bunch of weights to the soccer field is a pain. Weights often require a bar or dumbbells or something as well. The metal heats up and becomes potentially dangerous in the sun. And kids who haven’t built hands to withstand knurling, can quickly get callouses.
Basically, weights pose an issue for kids in the group sport setting. I have no problems working with weights with a kiddo or two, where I have a constant set of eyes on each, can keep them engaged and focused, and perfecting their movement patterns.
But in a group setting this becomes problematic. It is why CrossFit got such a bad wrap for awhile with their group classes doing Power Cleans on Day 1. Sometimes you have to get the job done in a more user friendly manner. So how can we get the benefits of weights for kids, to strengthen their growing bodies and prepare them for sports, without having to have 7 days a week of coaching to teach the deadlift?
We need something else… The Slosh Pipe.
What is a Slosh Pipe?
Popularized by Dan John, the Slosh Pipe is fairly simple. A long PVC pipe filled about 2/3 of the way with water. You treat the pipe like a barbell, and the water works as your “weight”. The water sloshes around, side to side, as you lift or carry the pipe, which creates a dynamic need to brace the core, and basically every other muscle in your body, so that it doesn’t just topple over to one side and come crashing down. Simple, yet effective. And it works great for kids team sports because it is easy to travel with, easy to make, super effective, unique and fun.
If the kids carry it on the field and drop it, it doesn’t weigh very much. It’s not likely to hurt anyone, or do any damage to the field, nor the Slosh Pipe itself. It is fairly budget friendly, and decently easy to make with a quick trip to your local hardware store and a few minutes of prep time.
You can also adjust them depending on if your kids are smaller, bigger, or even if you want one. So there are some ongoing opportunities for using this as the kiddos get bigger and stronger.
How Do I Make A Slosh Pipe?
The original Slosh Pipe was 10 ft long, 4 inches wide, with capped ends. This is likely your approach for making one for adults. If you want one for lighter athletes vs bigger, just play around with the amount of water in the tube, or consider dropping to 3in PVC. For my 7 year old soccer team, I went with 2in PVC. As a frame of reference, the adult Slosh Pipe weighs about 45lbs, where the kids Slosh Pipe weighs about 5lbs.
Both of those might sound light, but remember that a traditional barbell doesn’t move and shake and shimmy, and you aren’t carrying it around in awkward ways. For the kids, we want to start fairly simple to get the kids into this, exploring how the Slosh Pipe works, but also succeeding. You wouldn’t walk into the gym and immediately squat 405lb the first time. You’d get hurt and demoralized. Let your kids get stronger both physically and mentally with a unique but doable challenge. Once they crush it, feel free to explore bigger and badder options.
Tools at home
- Tape measurer
- Reciprocating Saw with PVC pipe blade
- Can use any saw here
- Two Saw Horses
- Safety glasses
The above aren’t all necessary. You can use a hack saw, cut on the ground, etc. just makes your life quicker and easier.
Purchase List
- 1 x 10ft x 2in PVC pipe
- 2 x 2in PVC Pipe End Caps
- 2 x 2in PVC pipe threaded end adapters
- 2 x 2in PVC pipe threaded ends
- 1 x PVC pipe cement and primer combo pack
This is enough to make two Slosh pipes, which if you have a team of 8 to 10 kids, you are going to want 2. The materials cost me about $50, I already had the tools.
Other Additional Items
- Tape
- Water
- Bleach
- Towel you don’t care about
Instructions
Begin by measuring the PVC pipe, and mark it for the middle. Should be somewhere around the 5ft mark, but double check.
Use your saw of choice to cut the pipe in half. Debur the ends with your hands gently. You should now have TWO 5 foot PVC pipes.
Prepare the primer. Use it on both sides of both pipes, as in four total applications. Add the glue to the same places (follow the instructions on the packaging for specifics as each might be slightly different. This is where we used our towel, because the primer and glue can be messy, and they stain just about everything.
On one end of each pipe, add an end cap. And on the other end of each pipe, add the threaded end adapters. Make then tight, but don’t over force them. Too much pressure lends itself to improper sealing and eventual cracks and leaks.
Wait… Look at the instructions for your package, and make sure you let it cure. Give it enough time, so you don’t have to do this again. If you are doing this in the summer, it should take a few seconds. Might be a bit longer if its wet and cold outside.
Add water, about 2/3 full for the 2in pipes will weight about 5lbs. Add a drop of bleach to each to make sure you don’t get gunky pipes (if you plan to leave them full for any length of time). Then twist on the threaded ends. Give it a quick test, make sure you aren’t leaking water everywhere, and you are good to go. If you have small leaks, you can either ignore it, or use some Teflon tape.
You can use regular tape to mark the center of the pipe, or even mark the pipe like a barbell so the kids have markings for their hands. But that is optional. We did not do that, as it forces the kids to pay attention and find center on their own.
What to do with a Slosh Pipe?
Now that you have it, get creative. The basics are that the kids can use then to pick up, clean, press, and carry in various fashions. They can do zercher carries, front carries, overhead carries, back squat style carries. If their hands can hold, you could do farmers type carries with one in each hand.
Make it fun… Make it competitive… Split your team in two and see what team can run a circuit with them fastest, or the least amount of drops. See who on the tram can hold it overhead the longest. Or incorporate it into their sideline drills… While a couple kids are on the field doing a drill, the kids on the sideline are doing planks, Slosh Pipe holds, and sled work.
As a coach, a Slosh Pipe isn’t the answer to every problem. But it’s a cheap and easy solution that creates some dynamic and safe training for your kids.
FAQs For A Slosh Pipe
What ages is this appropriate for?
The cool thing here, is that you can customize it pretty easily. The ones we built hold about 5lbs and are a good challenge for our 7 year old kids. If you are getting closer to teenagers, you might just go with the full sized 4in and 10ft pipe, just don’t load it as much. Or you can go with the 2in pipe, but don’t cut it in half.
If 2/3 water is good, is full water better?
Nope! You need some empty space so it moves around a lot. That movement is the difficult part. It needs to be filled enough that it is heavy and challenging, but not filled entirely to encourage the struggle of balance.
Can Adults use a Slosh Pipe?
Of course! Use the 4in and 10ft pipe option I mentioned, and you are golden.
What muscles does a Slosh Pipe train?
Primarily, if you carry it, it’ll work everything in your midsection. Similar to a good plank, or pallof press, where you are resisting movement in the trunk, this is going to do the same. You have to fight to stay upright, tall, and strong. Which reinforces good posture.
You’ll also likely feel it in the upper back, shoulders, hips, arms, hands and more. This is going to depend on the variation you choose of course, but get creative and find weaknesses and new ways to make this a difficult challenge.
Why is this so good for kids?
Sports are about a couple of things. Sport specific skills are definitely one. Conditioning and cardiovascular abilities is another. Speed, as they say, kills. But an often overlooked aspect of sports performance is strength. Being stronger lends itself to being faster. The stronger your kid is, the less energy they exert trying to do basic skills like shooting, kicking, passing, and jumping. And strength has HUGE injury prevention improvements. Watch a kid who is a tank on the field get ran into, and watch the other kids bounce off them while they keep going.
Slosh Pipes, especially in a weighted carry fashion, build your ability to move while being strong and resilient. I can’t think of anything more applicable to a high performing and long lasting athlete than that.
I Love THIS! What Other Ways Can Kids Train Like This?
The goal again, is to produce some strength gains, on the field, in a group setting, safely… and ideally in a fun way.
Medicine Balls and Sandbags are a killer option here. Again, you can buy smaller options, load them up lightly, and adjust as you go. Medicine Balls give you an opportunity for weighted carry options, med ball tosses and slams, and even using them like Atlas Stones for a little mini-Strongman Event.
Sleds are a great low impact, easy way to get kids working too. Drag it, push it, pull it. And when in doubt, make it a circuit that involves your sport.
Play soccer? Set up a goal on one end, have your kids dribble through some cones, then pick up a medicine ball and carry it for 10 feet. Drop it, push the sled for 10 feet. Hop off and carry the Slosh Pipe for 10 feet overhead. Then grab a second soccer ball and dribble and SHOOT! They will build some strength and power to get through those defenders, learn to work hard and stick with it, and control the ball and take a big shot even when tired. They just built strength, conditioning, coordination, and sport specific skills in one drill. WAY TO GO COACH!
Wrap Up on Slosh Pipes
There are a ton of ways to incorporate strength training with kiddos. We’ve written about a few of them here over the years. But what I honestly enjoy with the Slosh Pipe, is that the kiddos find it fun. They don’t see it as “exercise”, but play. They think it’s funny that it bounces everywhere, and don’t realize that they are becoming unbreakable athletes while doing it.
So build your kiddos a Slosh Pipe, and watch them crush the competition in the next sports season.
