The concept is simple...fill a pipe about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way with water and do exercises with it. There needs to be enough room in the pipe for the water to "slosh" around, creating an unstable resistance. Thus, you have to constantly have your shoulders, trunk muscles(sometimes referred to as the "core") and hip stabilizers active in order to stay balanced, no matter what exercise you're doing!
Many strength coaches and personal trainers tout bosu balls, stability balls, balance boards, etc as a great way to build "core strength", "core stability", or prevent injuries in other ways. There is some research out there on these things, though it is actually very inconclusive. These things may have some merit for injury prevention, but the point is, the research showing that these things definitely works is just not there.
Why might this be? Think about it - bosus, stability balls, and balance boards create an unstable surface, forcing the body to correct the position of the surface in order to balance. Now ask yourself...what sports, or activities of daily living (ADLs) for that matter, EVER take place on something other than solid ground? Surfing and kayaking maybe? Almost all our sports and ADLs take place on a solid surface. Almost all sports and ADLs require our muscles and skeletons to transmit forces to a solid surface in order to balance ourselves. Using your body to stabilize a surface vs. using a surface to stabilize your body are two different things!
These both require some skill, and may be fun, but how do they teach your body to apply force to a stable surface?
Now imagine this scenario flipped around. Imagine standing still on solid ground, holding some kind of weight that is unstable. The slightest deviation in your posture, and this weight continues to pull you in that direction. Instead of correcting the plane of the surface you're on, you have to push against a solid surface to change your body position in order to stabilize the unstable resistance. This is what happens in sport and everyday life, and this is exactly what the slosh pipe does!
This video may help you understand better what I'm talking about. I start off by explaining how I made it. The exercises start at 2:50. Keep in mind the bar weighs only 49 lbs, barely any more than a standard barbell...
See how the pipe moves around by itself? See how I have to constantly correct what it's doing in order to maintain my balance on a solid surface?
I'm not saying that unstable surface training/devices are useless, but I think they're overused, and they don't do all they claim to do. I AM saying, however, I think a slosh bar is better than all those things for a lot of different purposes!
Earlier I said there isn't a lot of scientific research on the efficacy of unstable surface training. Well, there isn't a lot on the slosh bar either. Everything you just read is simply my theory on the matter. It all makes sense to me though, which is why I plan on researching it myself. In addition to seeing whether or not these things can enhance athletic performance, I think it would be worth looking into physical therapy applications, as well as balance/fall prevention training in the elderly. The possibilities are endless really.
One final thing to consider. The cheapest Bosu trainer I could find on amazon.com was $70. The cheapest stability ball I could find was $16 (though admittedly, these can be even cheaper). The cheapest balance board was $10. I won't say what the max prices I found for these things were! As I said in the video, I bought the materials for and made those two pipes for $35. If you get creative with the exercises, you can use a slosh pipe for everything a bosu, stability ball, or balance board can be used for. Why spend extra $$ on tons of extra stuff that will take up extra space when you can just get a few slosh bars?
If you still aren't convinced, take about 2 hours and make your own. After a few minutes of exercising with it, you'll see what a difference it can make.
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