Arms · Bodyweight
Plate Pinch
How to do the plate pinch, the muscles it works, and the mistakes to avoid. Pulled straight from the Kovo app's exercise library.
- Equipment
- Bodyweight
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Logged as
- time
- Movement
- Isometric
- Mechanic
- Isolation
How to do it
Stand tall and pinch one or two weight plates together between your fingers and thumb, smooth sides facing out. Hold the plates at your side with your arm straight, gripping hard so they don't slip, for the prescribed time, then set them down and switch hands.
- 1Feel your fingers, thumb, and forearms straining to hold the pinch
- 2Keep your wrist firm and the plates pressed flat together
- 3Stand tall with the arm hanging straight and shoulder packed
Common mistakes
- Don't let the plates slide or rest against your leg
- Avoid hunching or shrugging the shoulder to hold on
- Don't drop the plates suddenly; set them down with control
Muscles worked
The plate pinch mainly works the forearms.
- ForearmsPrimary
- BicepsMinor
- Upper TrapsMinor
Kovo programs the plate pinch for you and tracks it every session.
We build your whole program, drop the right lifts into each workout, and adjust your weights as you get stronger. Free on iOS and Android.
More forearms exercises
- How to do the wrist curl
- How to do the conans wheel
- How to do the farmers walk
- How to do the forearm extensor stretch
- How to do the forearm flexor stretch
- How to do the medicine ball hussafel carry
Last reviewed June 2026.