Sylvester Stallone wasn’t just in shape during the Rocky era; he looked carved out of granite.

Lean, fit, and pushing an alleged 2.8% body fat, the now-79-year-old chased an almost superhuman physique for the movie in 1976. So how far did he really go to build that iconic, shredded frame?

Let’s take a look at what TotalRocky and ManOfMany disclosed about his Rocky workout routine.

Sylvester Stallone's ‘Rocky’ Workout Plan

To be as shredded as possible, Stallone took the help of former Mr. Olympia Franco Columbu. Reflecting about his time with Stallone, Columbu told Pop Workouts, "I had to charge Sly a good amount for the training because he wanted to train full out, just as if he were preparing for the Mr. Olympia contest."

Columbu devised an intense training plan for him, which involved working out twice a day, six days a week. Here are its specifications:

• Monday: Chest & Shoulders (AM), Arms & Abs (PM)
• Tuesday: Back (AM), Legs (PM)
• Wednesday: Chest & Shoulders (AM), Abs (PM)
• Thursday: Arms (AM), Abs (PM)
• Friday: Legs (AM), Back (PM)
• Saturday: Chest & Shoulders (AM), Abs (PM)
• Sunday: Rest

Stallone and Columbu never believed in taking the easy way out, and their abs workout was something straight out of a nightmare. Take a look at this one's specifics:

• Lying leg raises = 200 reps
• Crunches = 200 reps
• Side leg raises = 200 reps
• Dumbbell side bends = 200 reps
• More crunches = 200 reps

Apart from that, Stallone used to lift as much as possible. According to sources mentioned above, he dropped around 66 lbs for the film's first edition in 1976. which is startling, considering that there were limited machinery and guidance sources for weight-cutting in that era. Well, what about his diet?

Sylvester Stallone's Diet for ‘Rocky’

Besides Stallone's intense workout regimen, his diet for Rocky was also a tough one to follow. He used to starve himself to stay as lean as possible, and sometimes it became such an issue that it even messed up his memory.

“My entire breakfast would be maybe two oatmeal cookies made with brown rice and 10 cups of coffee because I wanted to keep my body fat down to 2.8 percent,” Stallone stated in his conversation with the Wall Street Journal. “I was forgetting my phone number. I was eating just tuna fish. My memory was shot; it was completely gone.”

His exact Rocky diet remains a mystery, but it’s certain he was also hitting his protein intake and made sure to keep his calories as low as possible.

So do you think you can maintain such an intense workout regimen and taxing diet together?

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Written by

Suryakant Das

Edited by

Souvik Roy