The Rocky films are Sylvester Stallone’s crown jewels, a marvelous testament to his commendable talent and the reason behind his launch into global stardom; you see the name, Sly Stallone and your mind immediately goes to gritty fights, bloodied tournaments, and tales of raw passion which unmistakably allude to the iconic Rocky Balboa.
But while the Rocky franchise offered Stallone his big breakthrough and the recognition that he truly deserved, the actor gave back just as much of himself to the movies in the form of unflinching devotion. That involved tormenting his body till he achieved the immaculately lean figure that fans drooled over back in the ’80s.
Sylvester Stallone Went All Out for His Rocky III Look
Sylvester Stallone‘s Creed and Rocky ventures have been at the receiving end of both critical acclamation as well as commercial success. But perhaps that victory would have been unattainable had Stallone not dedicated himself to the project completely, which he very evidently did. Going through harrowing physical training and being on an extremely stringent diet isn’t a piece of cake after all. It destroys your body just as much as it gives you an appealing build.
And that’s exactly what happened with the 76-year-old action legend who went above and beyond for Rocky III, and dangerously so.
For his climactic fight against Rocky Balboa’s antagonist, Clubber Lang, in the third installment of the sports drama film series, Stallone took his body fat down to an alarming 2.8%. Weighing only 166 pounds at the time, The Expendables star revealed that was the lowest he ever weighed.
His endeavors to get the shredded physique, however, held some rather serious consequences for the actor and filmmaker.
Why His Ripped Physique Bore ‘Dangerous’ Repercussions
While Stallone did manage to make his body look like a lean, muscled shrine in the 1982 film, it was a pyrrhic victory carried out at the cost of his physical and mental well-being.
“This is prepping for the Mr. T fight. He was one strong dude. Trust me,” he wrote in an old throwback post on his Instagram. “This is also the lowest weight and body fat I ever was. 166 pounds and 2.8% body fat. That was tough.” The diet regimen that he reportedly followed for the same included an insane amount of caffeine intake (20-25 cups is indeed insane) along with some oatmeal cookies and a few scoops of tuna.
Even Stallone himself realized the fallacy of his ways, albeit the damage had already been done long ago by the time he did. “I may have looked pretty good on the outside but inside it was a very dangerous thing to do,” he admitted in a separate post (via Men’s Health)
Rocky III can be streamed on Netflix.
Source: Sylvester Stallone | Instagram
