A set of generally rectangular flat plates for aquatic exercise that create drag when moved through a body of water. Each flat plate is provided with an arcuate finger slot for receiving the user's four fingers and an aperture for receiving their thumb. The finger slot and thumb aperture are strategically located such that when the plate is gripped, the center of the palm of the user's hand lays over the center of the flat plate on one side and the fingers and thumb are folded over to engage the opposite side and the user's forearm lays parallel to and over the longitudinal center line of the flat plate. Drag produced by moving the flat plate through the water is transferred to the center of the flat plate and the center of that force passes through the center of the palm of the hand.