I swam this afternoon with a friend who I used to swim with in high school, she showed me this sculling drill:
Start in a streamlined position on your back - hands pointing TOWARDS the wall, your feet will be pointed toward the opposite end of the pool. Scull with your hands, keeping your arms stretched out behind your head. (Note, you may get water up your nose). It’s harder than it sounds! and kind of fun.
I’m not sure if it will help your swimming, but it is entertaining!
I’ll try that as soon as synchronized swimming is part of triathlon 
.
I had a masters coach a couple of years ago that would have us do this drill on occasions. I never really understood what I was supposed to get out of it, aside from the water up the nose and general frustration.
scott
haha. she’s on a college team and said they did it in practice… I reason it must have some benefit.
we have done that drills a few times…i call the the crab style…not sure if it really give anything to my swimming but it s sure entertaining to do and to race each others…
but i cant swim today…victoria is under attack from the mighty snow…so no swimming today…the pool is close!!! People here really dont know how do deal with snow… i will go do the same drills in the snow now…i call it making angles!!!
The City of Edinburgh squad do this occasionally - they are one of the feeder groups for the GB team.
It’s interesting to see them move faster feet first than most of the ‘good’ swimmers in area. using freestyle. I guess we have a lot to learn from real swimmers…
sculling drills are great for helping you learn to feel the water and how to move fast without much effort/movement.
Oh yeah, I remember that one! I’ll have to try it next time I swim. I do remember sculling drills are to help you develop a feel for the water. I do lots of balance drills, I should add some sculling in too. Right now I am working on incorporating SlowMan’s ‘Swimming over a Barrel’ technique. I need all the help I can get.
Good drill! It does have a function other than frustration.
Sculling is a great way of gaining a “feel” during a single or multiple phases of the stroke but this one is for BALANCE in the water. It’s a way of teaching a person to keep level in the water.
For many, keeping the feet up during that drill or sucking in water up the nose are ways of pointing out balance issues, not side to side (long axis), but front to back (short axis). It also points out breathing patterns that are detrimental to proper buoyancy. The best swimmers know what will happen to their body when they breathe in or out. Thy can also manage the effects of that in any position in addition to being able to move across the pool in any manner they choose and still retain proper body position for the most efficient movement.
If you can master that drill and move an entire length without sucking water up the nose or dipping your feet consider yourself a better swimmer than before you could do it.
I swam this afternoon with a friend who I used to swim with in high school, she showed me this sculling drill:
Start in a streamlined position on your back - hands pointing TOWARDS the wall, your feet will be pointed toward the opposite end of the pool. Scull with your hands, keeping your arms stretched out behind your head. (Note, you may get water up your nose). It’s harder than it sounds! and kind of fun.
I’m not sure if it will help your swimming, but it is entertaining!
Ummm…nope. Doesn’t sound like fun.