MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Motoring
  • Video
MensHealth
  • News
  • Health
  • Fitness
  • Sex
  • Nutrition
  • Style
  • Weight Loss
  • Life
  • Podcasts
  • Motoring
  • Video
Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

The Exact Workout Chris Hemsworth Used To Build God-Like Arms

The Exact Workout Chris Hemsworth Used To Build God-Like Arms

Cast Your Vote Now For The MH People's Choice Cover

Cast Your Vote Now For The MH People's Choice Cover

Jack Black Tried Chris Hemsworth's Thor Workout In New Avengers Audition

Jack Black Tried Chris Hemsworth's Thor Workout In New Avengers Audition

The Viral Workout Hack That Eliminates All Excuses For Not Working Out

The Viral Workout Hack That Eliminates All Excuses For Not Working Out

{headline}

{headline}

Can You Train For A Marathon, Without Sacrificing Your Hard Earned Gains?

Can You Train For A Marathon, Without Sacrificing Your Hard Earned Gains?

Hugh Jackman Showed Off His Abs During a Shirtless New Years Polar Bear Plunge

Hugh Jackman Showed Off His Abs During a Shirtless New Years Polar Bear Plunge

NRL Star Nathan Cleary Has Bulked Up In A Bid To Boost Panther's Chances

NRL Star Nathan Cleary Has Bulked Up In A Bid To Boost Panther's Chances

{headline}

{headline}

Meet Your MH People's Choice Cover Winner

Meet Your MH People's Choice Cover Winner

7 Reasons Why You’ve Stopped Gaining Strength And Muscle

7 Reasons Why You’ve Stopped Gaining Strength And Muscle

28 Ways To Turn Bacon Into Muscle

28 Ways To Turn Bacon Into Muscle

5 Early Warning Signs You're Not Building Muscle, And What To Do About It

5 Early Warning Signs You're Not Building Muscle, And What To Do About It

Meet The Man Behind Michael B. Jordan's Body Transformations

Meet The Man Behind Michael B. Jordan's Body Transformations

8 Things To Avoid If You're Trying To Gain Muscle After 40

8 Things To Avoid If You're Trying To Gain Muscle After 40

The Mountain Tried To Keep Up With CrossFit's 'Fittest Woman On Earth'

The Mountain Tried To Keep Up With CrossFit's 'Fittest Woman On Earth'

  1. Home
  2. Fitness

Building Gods: The Man Behind The God Of Thunder

MH talks to trainer Luke Zocchi on how he built superhero muscle for Thor and The Hulk - by Scott Henderson
  • 21 Mar 2018

A few minutes with celebrity trainer Luke Zocchi is all you need to understand why the cast and crew of Thor: Ragnarok count him as one of their own. His jovial nature, superhuman strength, and sharp sense of humour wouldn’t be out of place in the hit Marvel movie.

After spending the better part of the last decade on movie sets, he’s the man behind some of Hollywood’s most impressive bodies, but the personal trainer and nutrition guru hasn’t let that go to his head. “Oh, stop it,” jokes Zocchi when complimented on his achievements.

zocobodypro View Profile
7,545 likes - View Post on Instagram
Here is the workout that will turn your arms in to 🐎 legs!!! ✖️All exercises performed as super sets ✖️Rest time is determined by how long your training partner takes to do a set. As soon as they finish you start😳 ✖️You pick a weight that you can only lift for that rep range☝🏽 ✖️Set 1- 15 reps ✖️Set 2- 12 reps ✖️Set 3- 10 reps ✖️Set 4- 5 reps than straight into a drop set of the weight you did for 15 reps to failure. Still perform super set🤔 ✖️Warm up first✖️ A1. Standing cable bicep curls. A2. Standing cable tricep bar push downs. B1. Standing dumbbell curls. B2. On floor or bench tricep dumbbell skull crushers. C1. Seated dumbbell incline curls. C2. Cable tricep rope push downs. ⚠️Warning be carful leaving the gym you may get caught in the doorway. For your own safety exit all doorways In a parallel manner 😂 If you like this style of workout click on the link in my bio and check out the lean muscle plan that is currently getting built and will be released later this year💪🏽 #twenty40food #twenty40food #leanmuscle #workouts #health #fitness #geitdone

That classicly Aussie blend of humility, hard work, and humour has underpinned Zocchi's journey to the top of the fitness industry. He set out with amateur boxing, learning about nutrition, diet and training in order to get into certain weight classes when he was fighting. It was during this period that he started training with Hemsworth, taking boxing classes and circuits, building his own career at the same time as the Hollywood heavyweight.

Zocchi’s latest triumph was training the cast and crew of arguably Marvel's greatest outing so far, Thor: Ragnarok, which has just hit digital and DVD. After a longstanding relationship with Chris Hemsworth, Zocchi also took on the task of training The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hela (Cate Blanchett), and Kiwi director Taika Waititi (who also played the hilarious role of Korg in the movie).

“I was lucky that I knew Chris, then through that I trained Cate and it snowballed,” explained Zocchi.

Thor Ragnarok GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Whilst muscle was the ultimate goal for Hemsworth and the lads, Luke’s focus with Thor’s villainess was to work on her combat skills. “Cate was fit, but hadn’t done boxing or strength,” says Zocchi. “Because she was doing a lot of fighting [as Hela in the movie] we did a lot of boxing to get her hand-eye coordination ready for those scenes.”

As for training Asgard’s God of Thunder and his large green mate, Zocchi insists that he never trained Hemsworth for more than an hour a day, proving that quality truly does beat quantity. And to be fair, Hemsworth’s work hours are probably a lot longer than the average bloke. According to Zocchi, he can be filming up to 14 hours a day, so efficiency in training is key for the duo.

Supplied
Supplied

“An hour is the max we do a day. We’ll lift at least 3-4 time a week, hitting the main muscle groups, and we try to mix it up as much as we can. We might lift for half an hour and do a 20 minute HIIT to finish, or we might do a half an hour lift session.”

An few key intense fight scenes saw Zocchi and Hemsworth take a slightly different body-building approach on this film. "With Chris on this Thor, he wanted to be big obviously, but he wanted to be more functional because he surfs, and he wanted to be big, but wanted to be able to move," explains Zocchi. This lead to the programming of increased body weight exercises, bear crawls, and more functional agility training.

RELATED: The Exact Workout Chris Hemsworth Used To Build God-Like Arms

Zocchi acknowledges that getting in shape is certainly a priority for movie stars, and whilst easier with dedicated personal trainers, he’s still a firm believer that the everyday man can still achieve super hero results if they’re truly committed and plan their diet.

“I honestly believe 60-70% is nutrition. If you don’t support your training with nutrition, you’re not going to see results. I’ve seen that with myself, and with Chris. There are 3 elements: training, nutrition and recovery. Nutrition is the most important one.”

Chris Hemsworth Muscles GIF by Yosub Kim, Content Strategy Director - Find & Share on GIPHY

Post-Ragnarok, Zocchi’s schedule doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Following the third Thor movie, the Hemsworth entourage went straight into filming of the third Avengers movie, due out next month. Avengers 4 reshoots in Atlanta will round out the year for Zocchi, whilst the fitness mogul also builds his personal brand.

With a book on the way in November, a muscle plan based on his training with Hemsworth, and a lifestyle guide with 20 minute, functional workouts… expect to see a lot more of the man behind the Gods.

Marvel Studios’ Thor: Ragnarok is available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital now.

Supplied
Supplied
  • News
  • Fitness
  • Exercise
  • Strength Training
  • Bodybuilding Workouts
  • Bodybuilding Diet
  • Celebrity
Scott Henderson
Scott Henderson
Scott is the Editor of Men's Health Australia, where he oversees all editorial content of the country's largest men’s magazine. As a fitness addict, adventure sport lover, and passionate story-teller, Henderson is committed to living the Men’s Health brand.

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Subscribe Now-

Subscribe Now
Subscribe Now

Recommended to you

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic
Watch 0:10

Bjornsson Deadlifted 1,026 pounds On The Elephant Bar To Win 2020 Arnold Classic

{headline}

{headline}

The Exact Workout Chris Hemsworth Used To Build God-Like Arms

The Exact Workout Chris Hemsworth Used To Build God-Like Arms

Cast Your Vote Now For The MH People's Choice Cover

Cast Your Vote Now For The MH People's Choice Cover

Jack Black Tried Chris Hemsworth's Thor Workout In New Avengers Audition

Jack Black Tried Chris Hemsworth's Thor Workout In New Avengers Audition

The Viral Workout Hack That Eliminates All Excuses For Not Working Out

The Viral Workout Hack That Eliminates All Excuses For Not Working Out

{headline}

{headline}

Can You Train For A Marathon, Without Sacrificing Your Hard Earned Gains?

Can You Train For A Marathon, Without Sacrificing Your Hard Earned Gains?

Hugh Jackman Showed Off His Abs During a Shirtless New Years Polar Bear Plunge

Hugh Jackman Showed Off His Abs During a Shirtless New Years Polar Bear Plunge

NRL Star Nathan Cleary Has Bulked Up In A Bid To Boost Panther's Chances

NRL Star Nathan Cleary Has Bulked Up In A Bid To Boost Panther's Chances

{headline}

{headline}

Meet Your MH People's Choice Cover Winner

Meet Your MH People's Choice Cover Winner

7 Reasons Why You’ve Stopped Gaining Strength And Muscle

7 Reasons Why You’ve Stopped Gaining Strength And Muscle

28 Ways To Turn Bacon Into Muscle

28 Ways To Turn Bacon Into Muscle

5 Early Warning Signs You're Not Building Muscle, And What To Do About It

5 Early Warning Signs You're Not Building Muscle, And What To Do About It

Meet The Man Behind Michael B. Jordan's Body Transformations

Meet The Man Behind Michael B. Jordan's Body Transformations

8 Things To Avoid If You're Trying To Gain Muscle After 40

8 Things To Avoid If You're Trying To Gain Muscle After 40

The Mountain Tried To Keep Up With CrossFit's 'Fittest Woman On Earth'

The Mountain Tried To Keep Up With CrossFit's 'Fittest Woman On Earth'

MensHealth
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Terms
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Statement

Brands

  • Women's Health

Our Network

  • Paragon Media Pty Ltd
© 2021 Are Media PTY LTD
Get more from Men's Health

Magazine Subscription Offer

Subscribe Now-

Shop This Offer
Subscribe Now