Slosh Can

A slosh can is basically a large container partly filled with water. It is part of a huge array of items which can come under the phase ‘odd object lifting’. I made my slosh cans (‘made’ is used loosely) from old jerry cans I scavenged off a local greenhouse for free (they were just piling up), and I remember seeing scores of them thrown out when I worked in a factory. So depending on who you know or ask, it should be easy to find a few jugs for free or cheap. Any container which can hold a reasonable amount of water for your strength level will work. Anywhere from 10 to 50 litres will be perfect; I know I would max out at 50 litres. 

Once you have your container all you need to do is fill it up (mostly full). Since I’m rather particular about these things I weighed mine out to 20Kg each (but you can just eyeball it or go by feel). 20Kg worked out just right for me, they are about 4/5 full, with room for the water to slosh around, making it harder to lift and carry. This effect helps to recruit your stabiliser muscles into your exercise and probably reflects the movement of a fresh kill being carried home.  Just make sure you put the lid on tight; it won’t be fun to lose that water down your back during an overhead lift. Note- for those in a cold climate you might need to think about adding a bag of salt or less ideally some anti freeze to stop it from freezing up on you.

If you are interested in weight alone for odd object lifting you could fill your container with something other than water, such as sand or gravel.

So that was easy, but what kinds of movements can you do with a slosh can (or two)?

-Use as a stand for depth press ups and declines.

-Dead lifts: Good morning, suitcase etc. 

-Overhead lift, hold and carry (hell on the arms, shoulders and core)

-Squats: Zercher, bearhug, sumo etc. (nice to add a bit of weight to squats)

-Walking lunges (this can double as a farmer’s walk)

-Farmer’s walk (build up grip strength)

-Do a plank on them

I need to work on keeping my feet forward and my back straight.

Use your imagination for different moves; keep in mind that you probably won’t be able to lift as much as you can with a solid weight which isn’t a bad thing. And remember to keep good position, back straight, shoulders back, knees out on the squats.