Sylvester Stallone Details Steroid Use and Physical Toll of 'Rocky III'

Sylvester Stallone has detailed the intense physical regimen behind his peak action career, revealing he relied on steroids and battled an eating disorder while preparing for the 1982 blockbuster "Rocky III."

Speaking on The New York Times podcast "The Interview," as reported by TheWrap, the 80-year-old actor explained that maintaining an extreme physique required chemical assistance alongside dangerous dietary habits. Stallone stated that he reduced his body fat to 2.6 percent during the production, an obsession that triggered severe bulimia.

"It became an obsession. Really bad. It got to the point where I became bulimic," Stallone said in remarks reported by TheWrap. He noted that achieving and sustaining that level of conditioning for months on minimal calories was impossible without pharmacological help, adding, "nobody does it without additives and drugs, period."

When asked directly about using anabolic substances during that era, Stallone confirmed he cycled them on a routine of "six weeks on, six weeks off." He dismissed claims that such physiques can be built naturally over sustained production windows, describing the process as an abusive, body-worship fixation.

## The Long-Term Toll

The extreme training regimens and chemical enhancements extracted a severe structural toll over the ensuing decades. Stallone disclosed that he has endured 14 major operations, including nine back surgeries, three neck fusions, and two shoulder repairs to manage chronic physical breakdown.

The disclosure pulls back the curtain on the physical demands of legacy action cinema, where leading men faced intense pressure to maintain hyper-muscular builds. As Hollywood Tomorrow notes, Stallone's candid admission cuts against decades of industry silence regarding the chemical and psychological shortcuts frequently required to achieve blockbuster action physiques.