How to do the Plate Pinch Exercise

The plate pinch exercise might sound made up, but it’s an excellent way to strengthen your grip and build forearm mass.  Plate pinching is valuable because it trains often-ignored muscles, resulting in numerous benefits that make you functional and athletic. Plate pinch curl or press is always a good exercise to add to your workout routine. 

What is The Plate Pinch Exercise?

The plate pinch is an isometric exercise that develops grip strength and builds your forearm muscles. As a result, you become more functional and many gym activities, including the pull-up and deadlift, become easier.

To perform the plate pinch, you must take two or more weight plates and pinch them with the fingers of one hand. Hold for as long as possible, grab the plates with your other hand, and repeat for the same period. 

What Muscles Does The Plate Pinch Train?

Plate pinches are an excellent movement for training all the major muscles in your forearms, promoting growth and contributing to a muscular look. 

Pinching plates are also beneficial for strengthening the hand muscles involved in pinching. The activity also makes these small muscles more resilient, boosting your performance on many endurance-based activities that rely on grip strength. A typical example is the farmer’s walk.

Plate Pinch Exercise Variations

1. Plate Pinch Press

The pinch plate press is an overlooked exercise for developing your grip, shoulders, chest, triceps, and midsection. One popular way to perform the exercise is to place a few small plates between your hands and begin pressing them in front of your body as you stand tall. Alternatively, you can perform the same movement from a lying position.

2. Pinch Curl

The second notable plate pinch exercise variation is the curl. Pinching plates strengthens your forearms, and including a curl (bending of the arm) promotes bicep development, leading to more balanced arm growth. 

You can hold a single heavy plate with both hands or pinch multiple small ones between the fingers of one hand to train one bicep at a time.

3. Plate Pinch Row

Plate pinch rows are another excellent movement for strengthening your grip while working on your biceps, shoulders, back, and midsection. The objective is to pinch several plates with one hand, bend forward, and row them repeatedly. 

How to Add It To Your Training

The great thing about plate pinches is that you can add the exercise and some of its variations to your training without making significant adjustments. One option is to replace some of the activities you traditionally do with a plate pinch variation. For example, do:

• Plate pinch curls instead of dumbbell curls
• Plate pinch rows instead of dumbbell rows or lat pulldowns
• Plate pinch press instead of shoulder press

You can also add plate pinch exercise holds at the end of your workouts to exhaust your forearms and promote grip strength. For example, as you finish your workout, grab a few plates and hold them for as long as possible, repeating the activity two to four times.

Plate pinching is a unique and versatile activity that brings great benefits to your workout. You can introduce the exercise into your training and pick from several variations.