Plate Pinch
Trains the Forearm Flexors and Forearm Extensors.
- Equipment
- A weight plate
- Mechanic
- Isolation
- Force
- Static
- Level
- Intermediate
How to do it
- Stand two flat weight plates together with their smooth sides facing outward.
- Pinch them between your thumb on one side and your fingers on the other, near the top edge.
- Stand up with the plates hanging at your side, arm straight, shoulder pulled down.
- Hold until your grip is close to giving out, then set them down under control rather than letting them drop.
- Repeat with the other hand, matching the time.
Common mistakes
- Letting the plates drop from height when the grip fails. Bend the knees and lower them, or stand over a mat.
- Curling the fingers around the edge. A pinch grip means the thumb opposes the fingers with nothing hooked — that is what makes it different from every other grip exercise.
- Doing it for repetitions. This is a hold; the useful measure is time, not count.
- Treating it as complete grip training. Pinch strength and crushing strength are different qualities; carries and holds on a bar train the other.