Sylvester Stallone’s role as “Rocky Balboa” has been labeled as an inspiration for many to get into combat sports. Whether it was boxing, mixed martial arts, or kickboxing, it aided the youth into a natural transition into training a new discipline.
The transition for Stallone to transform into a boxer was less than natural, however. Stallone recently revealed that he was jacked up on twenty-five cups of coffee a day in order to get amped up for filming and to keep his body in shape for the role of “Rocky”:
“Just for fun… A flashback from Rocky three. Between rounds I would get lightheaded and quite exhausted. I was on a very high protein diet which did not provide Much physical or mental energy. During the period I only ate very small portions of oatmeal cookies made with brown rice and up to 25 cups of coffee a day with honey and a couple of scoops of tuna fish. Sounds incredible right? At the time my body fat got down to 2.9 which is a really dangerous level. I may have looked pretty good on the outside but inside it was very dangerous thing to do. But I wanted the movie to be about change. How people have to adapt to different challenges because if they don’t they will be conquered. I will always believe the adaptation is the key to survival and that’s what this story was all about … and while, getting smashed by Superstrong,CLUBBER LANG continuously four months of rehearsal plus the fight, tended to wear a person out so I would literally go to the corner between rounds, when I wasn’t directing and try to get some blood back into my head so I could carry-on with the complicated fight choreography … It’s funny, I never knew this picture existed!”
