After over a decade of playing Thor, you’d think Chris Hemsworth could lift Mjölnir in his sleep. But, apparently, even the God of Thunder hits a wall, especially with the prep required to get superhero-jacked for the forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday. Hemsworth is back in the gym prepping for the upcoming Marvel movie, but I'm shocked to learn that he’s not gunning for his jacked Love and Thunder size. After years of eating and training like a machine to maintain Thor’s legendary physique, Hemsworth is going for a different approach.
Personal trainer Luke Zocchi has been working with Hemsworth for years now, and he recently spoke to The Independent UK about the actor's latest regimen. Zocchi explained that this round of prep is noticeably more sustainable than the near-masochistic routine Hemsworth followed for Thor: Love and Thunder. Recounting the reason behind the God of Thunder’s massive look in the most recent solo flick, the trainer recounted:
We were in a position where we [felt we] had to do it. It might have been the last time he played Thor, so we wanted to look massive and we had a year to train for it. Then this time Chris was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t know if I want to do that again. ’
That’s a big shift. For Love and Thunder, Hemsworth was consuming up to 10 meals a day, roughly 4,500 calories, to fuel intense strongman sessions and non-stop lifting. “Every two to three meals he’d feel sick,” Zocchi admitted, “so I’d run him a protein shake and we’d go again.” The results? A comic-book-perfect body and a less-than-thrilled actor. Given Hemsworth's enthusiastic posts about getting in shape at that point, I thought he was living for that prep, but it seems I stand corrected.
This time, the man behind the loveable Asgardian is sticking to just four or five meals a day, ditching the rigid eating schedule and the discomfort of bloating. The fitness trainer continued:
We’re being a bit more in-tune with our bodies this time. [If Chris says] ‘I’m feeling a bit flat today,’ we might just do some steady-state cardio then come back tomorrow and focus on our lifting.
The goal now isn’t to outdo his Love and Thunder look, but for the star to feel strong, healthy, and aligned with the role. Zocchi even hinted that Thor’s new costume in Doomsday highlights the arms and shoulders more than the chest or legs, so those areas are getting extra focus in the gym. He added:
It will be interesting to see how different he looks in the film. I don’t think he’s as big as he was in Love and Thunder, and that wasn’t the goal either. Chris felt uncomfortable with how big he was on that one and he wasn’t enjoying how much food he had to eat. For this one, he’s eating four or five meals [per day], but his diet is nowhere near as strict. We’re not ramming the food down his throat, but he still looks great.
Recovery is also central. Cold plunges and saunas now happen before workouts (to avoid blunting muscle gains), and post-lift sessions include guided meditation and breathwork to activate the parasympathetic nervous system—essentially shifting the body into “rest and rebuild” mode.
What can we expect when Hemsworth returns to the big screen as Thor in the upcoming superhero movie, which is currently filming and scheduled to open on December 18 as part of the 2026 movie schedule? Well, for Avengers: Doomsday, expect a slightly leaner god of thunder, but still powerful, still jacked, but no longer force-fed and fighting his body to get there. I look forward to seeing the results.
You can revisit Luke Zocchi and Chris Hemsworth’s hard work getting into god-like shape for Thor: Love and Thunder, and all the Marvel movies in order, by streaming them with a Disney+ subscription.
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