The Art Of Sculling

The Art of Sculling  

An important drill for me is sculling [a stroke in which you move your arms back and forth in small figure eights]. It really helps me maintain my feel for the water.” - Michael Phelps, Mens Fitness

What is ‘feel for the water’ and why is this drill so important to freestyle? Feel for the water is simply the connection of your hands and forearms with the water in an effort to provide propulsion. 

Scull drill focuses on a constant light pressure on the palms and forearms and is the same pressure you want to feel at the beginning of your catch.

When performing the drill many swimmers keep their arms straight out in front of them, close to the surface of the water. Attempting to scull in this position will cause the swimmer to struggle to make forward progress and likely result in a pulling motion resembling breaststroke. 

Proper sculling technique has the arm angled toward the bottom of the pool (similar to the freestyle arm entry) with the fingers below wrist and wrist below elbow. The swimmer maintains a constant lightpressure on the hands and forearms with their palms facing back.

Perform this drill often and you will develop greater awareness of the position of your hands and forearms which will enhance your feel for the water. Check out my video below demonstrating a proper scull set-up. 

Goal Setting

A goal without a plan is just a wishAntoine de Saint-Exupéry

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This summer, I attended a 5-day workshop with Jack Canfield (author, motivational speaker) where I learned to hone my goal-setting skills. I learned the most important aspect of goal development is being as specific as possible. You can do this by asking how much and by when? 

Some athletes may have a goal to swim faster or lose weight. Both are great aspirations but they can be more specific. For instance, say you currently swim a 1:35 for a 100 free. You can make the goal more precise by saying, I will swim a 1:33 for the 100 free. Now let’s add the second part, by when. I will swim a 1:33 for the 100 free by April 1, 2017.  It’s now stated in a way that anyone can determine if you have accomplished your goal. Come April 1, you will either swim a 1:33 for the 100 free or you will not. 

Once you have created your goals, write them down and share them. Tell your coach, friends and lane mates. Support and encouragement can come from many areas so be sure to share your objectives with others. I love it when athletes share their goals with me. When they do I am instantly invested in seeing them succeed. 

 

Welcome to the Modern Swimming Blog

mod·ern - ˈmädərn/ adj.
1. of or relating to the present or recent times as opposed to the remote past

Photo:  Ederle record break 2011

Hi, I’m Lance Ogren. I am a swimmer and coach.

I have swum competitively nearly my entire life and swam Division I at St. Johns University. After a brief hiatus from competing, I returned to the sport in 2007 as an open water swimmer. Since then I completed the Triple Crown of Open Water Swimming which consists of the English Channel, Manhattan Island Marathon Swim and the Catalina Channel. I am the current world record holder for the 17.5 mile Ederle Marathon swim (2011) and have competed in many other open water swims along the way.

When I returned to swimming in 2007 I started researching stroke technique to see what had changed since my college days. Information was abound now that I was equipped with the internet (not available in 1992).  I soon discovered that the internet could be too much of a good thing with lots of conflicting, confusing information. I also found that many of the same stroke techniques I learned as an age group swimmer were still being taught, such as the S shaped catch and pull, thumb first entry, catch up timing and gliding for “efficiency” even though better stroke technique methods had replaced these long ago.

My quest for quality stroke technique led me to Swim Smooth. After years of study and application I took a two week trip to Perth, Australia to become the first Swim Smooth Certified Coach in the United States. I have been privileged to learn the most effective swimming techniques by standing next to some of the best coaches in the world.

Last year I decided to start this blog to create another resource for adult swimmers and coaches to learn about truly efficient freestyle swimming, along with other swim related topics such as dry land training, gear, and nutrition. 

My intention for this blog is to get athletes engaged in thinking, not just doing. I hope to approach confusing topics with simplicity and clarity. Swimming is not rocket science and often it is made more complicated than necessary. I hope to gain your trust by providing straightforward information based on years of experience, personal trial and error, and a passion for continued education about human movement both in and out of the water.

I hope you join me.

Lance

 
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