Have you ever found yourself admiring god-like Chris Hemsworth’s character Thor from the Marvel films, you know he’s the one with the chiselled biceps and ripped physique.
You wouldn’t be alone as ask most guys in the gym who they want to look like, and “Chris Hemsworth” is likely to be one of the top answers.
Well, look no further than to Hemsworth’s personal trainer Luke Zocchi for the gun show.
An amateur boxer-turned-PT-to-the-stars, Zocchi has been friends with 35-year-old Hemsworth since childhood and has kept the Aussie actor in shape for the better part of six years now.
Luke tells us that; “I was working at a gym in Melbourne when Chris first asked me to train him in LA,”
Zocchi has long insisted there’s no magic secret to a body like Hemsworth’s and reveals that training hard, fuelling right, then repeating that until you start earning results is key.
“The biggest thing with getting results is being consistent. Consistency is key,”
Only recently, Luke – who Chris called ‘the best trainer in the world’ – shared how you can really get a Hollywood body, no matter your fitness level.
1. Bodyweight exercise
You might think the secret to peak fitness is lifting weights, swinging kettlebells and carting around expensive equipment.
But according to Luke, all you need is the motivation to use your body weight – and a few tips:
“I designed the workouts to be as accessible as possible,”
Luke explained that his workouts feature everything from bear crawls to burpees, lunges and crunches.
Luke revealed; “The best exercise for all-body fat loss is bear crawls,”
‘They’re low impact, but work the entire body. Exercising first thing in the morning is also a great way of encouraging your body to burn fat more efficiently.’
Luke (pictured with Chris) said you don’t need expensive gym equipment to get fit – instead, you need to embrace bodyweight training by doing bear crawls and lunges
2. Twenty minutes is all you need
Similar to the fact that you don’t need tonnes of pricey equipment to get the body of a Thor star, Luke also said as little as 20 minutes daily is the key to getting that Hollywood physique.
“If you commit to training just three times a week for 20 minutes, you will slowly see results,” he added
Luke is a fan of the ‘train smart, not hard’ mentality and added that if you focus on training for a lesser period of time, you are more likely to see results.
Luke believes you should never count kilojoules but rather wholefoods – he said workout days should be higher in carbs, whereas non-workout days should include protein
3. Choose wholefoods
Counting kilojoules is what many people assume celebrities do in order to be lean and fit.
But Luke said you should never count calories, and instead should focus on wholefoods.
‘My recipes are based on eating good meals made from wholefoods, with options for workout days and non-workout days,’ he added
On a workout day, you might eat more carbs, whereas when you’re not working out, it should be a meal that is higher in protein.
“Depending on what we are trying to achieve with a client, it could be three meals a day or even up to six or seven small meals,”
“The ideal healthy day on a plate would feature a breakfast vegetable omelette, a lunch of roasted veggie salad and a dinner of grilled fish with rice and salad,” he said.
“A small amount of dark chocolate to finish is fine, provided you make well-informed choices and create balance and enjoyment with what you eat daily.”
“My recommended way of eating is NOT a diet,” he said. “It is NOT a set of restrictions designed to limit your food consumption. It is NOT a set of rules that you must blindly follow.”
“Instead, it is about empowering you to make choices: smart, well-informed choices.”
Alcohol, fried and processed foods should be limited.
4. Embrace weights
Last but not least, while you can do a lot of exercises with the help of your body weight, Chris also said that embracing weights is the key to getting a physique like Chris Hemsworth’s.
Luke recommends picking up some weights at least two times a week, and making sure your diet is rich in protein.
“A major part of successfully changing your lifestyle is overcoming old habits,” Luke wrote in his new book.
“Breaking unhealthy eating habits is not an easy thing to do – it will test you mentally and physically…”
”’It takes 21 days to create a new habit, so after a few weeks you will notice that you stop craving the unhealthy sugars you were eating and are finding a new way of eating normal.”
TRAIN LIKE CHRIS Hemsworth
Bodyweight exercises are a key part of Chris’ training. Luke recommends doing at least three 20-minute workouts each week and up to six if you want faster results
- HOW TO DO IT
Complete this circuit 5 times, doing each exercise for the specified time according to your fitness level.
- BEGINNER
Work 20 secs/rest 40 secs
- INTERMEDIATE
Work 30 secs/rest 30 secs
- ADVANCED
Work 40 secs/rest 20 secs
- JUMPING SQUATS
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Look forwards, and keep your chest up and shoulders back. Keep your weight on your heels and your back straight at all times as you bend your knees and lower your butt backwards as if you are sitting on a chair. Jump up into the air and land softly. Repeat for the specified time.
- CRUNCHES
Lie flat on your back, with your knees bent. Keep your feet together, or cross them over. Place your fingers on your temples and use your abs to lift your chest up off the ground, then lower back down. Contract your abs with every repetition. Continue for the specified time.
- JUMPING JACKS
With your arms by your sides, plant both feet together on the floor. Quickly jump both feet outwards so that they are spread slightly further than your hips. At the same time, raise your arms upwards and outwards from the sides of your body so that your hands almost meet directly above your head.
Quickly jump both of your feet inwards to bring them back together, while lowering your arms downwards and in towards your body to return to your starting position. Repeat for the specified time.
- BEAR CRAWLS
Start by kneeling on all fours and lift your knees just off the ground. Keeping your spine in a neutral position and your head looking at the ground, crawl forward four steps, then backwards four steps.
Repeat for the specified time.
“Chris loves bear crawls. This is a really good full-body exercise and we include it in every session as part of his warm-up and workout,” Luke reveals.
The A-List Diet and Fitness Plan by Luke Zocchi is published by Plum, RRP $34.99, Photography by Chris Middleton.