Luke Zocchi knows a thing or two about building muscle. As the right-hand man to one of the biggest names—and physiques—in Hollywood, he’s kept Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth in A-list shape for more than two decades.
When not training his long-time childhood friend, penning diet books or devising new workout plans for fitness app Centr, he’s putting Cate Blanchett, Taika Waititi and Liam Hemsworth through their paces or muscling in on gruelling biceps burning sessions with multiple record-breaking athlete Ross Edgley.
It’s safe to say, he knows what works and what doesn’t—and one of the biggest mistakes he’s noticed people make when trying to build muscle is doing way too much way too early.
“One of the biggest mistakes for beginners when trying to build muscle is going too much into isolation and straight into ‘bro splits’, like a chest day, a back day and a legs day,” Zocchi tells me.
“The thing I’ve noticed when training beginners is that they actually pull up super sore due to DOMS [delayed onset muscle soreness]. If you’ve never trained legs before, then do a dedicated legs day, you’re going to be walking like a baby giraffe for the next two weeks. DOMS can really put you off.”
But Zocchi has an approach that avoids this mistake.
How beginners should plan their strength workouts
A better tactic, Zocchi says, is alternating with a day on, day off, and not focusing on one body part. “If you’re a complete newcomer to building muscle, I would start with training three times per week and do a push, pull and legs movement in one session.”
Combining those three elements into one workout means you keep the training volume for each body part low so you never strain yourself to the point of soreness.
For example, workout one could involve press-ups (a push exercise), an inverted row (a pull exercise) and a deadlift (a legs exercise); workout two could combine an overhead press (push), upright row (pull) and squat (legs); workout three could unite triceps dips (push), biceps curls (pull) and walking lunges (legs).
The deadlift is a quintessential pull exercise and using a hex bar can help avoid putting too much strain on your lower back.
(Image credit: SolStock / Getty Images)
“If you train a day on, day off, and do deadlifts one session, squats the next and lunges after that you’re going to be able to execute better quality reps and not be as sore,” says Zocchi. “And you’ll benefit from better training volume over the week.”
Why beginners should focus on strength over size
Aim to gradually progress the amount of weight you can lift for an exercise
(Image credit: Wengen Ling / Getty Images)
When I asked if beginners should train differently if their objective is to build strength rather than solely add muscle, Zocchi is adamant that there is one clear winner.
“When starting out, you should focus on getting stronger,” he says. “In turn, that is going to help you put on muscle. As you get further on your journey you can think about progressing to a hypertrophy phase and putting on muscle with higher reps and greater volume.” But at first, just focus on gradually progressing, he says.
“Train for longevity,” he continues, admitting both he and the Avengers star have had to slow down and train smarter since entering their 40s. “Start slow, think long term and slowly increase. Don’t go like a bull out of the gate because if you go too hard, too early you’re going to pick up injuries for sure.”
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