Sylvester Stallone shares a throwback snap of himself at 19 power lifting a man over his head: ‘I would lift anything just to work out!’
Sylvester Stallone’s longevity in the movie industry has been legendary with the success of such films as Rocky, First Blood, The Expendables and Creed.
And on face value it’s easy to see how much the actor’s physical fitness has played a role in those films turning into money-making franchises over the decades.
In a new Instagram post, the 74-year-old showed off his need to build up his muscles, as well as his comedic touch, when he shared a throwback snap of himself as a teenager power lifting a man over his head.
Throwback: Sylvester Stallone shared a photo of himself at 19 in 1965 powerlifting a man
The image shows a shirtless Stallone back in 1965, looking fierce as he keeps the man steady over the top of his head.
‘A good friend sent me this old photo from when I was 19 years old,’ he shared in the caption.
‘Funny, when I couldn’t go to a gym I would lift anything just to work out! Crazy right?#chuckzito’
Still powering his way: Stallone, 74, is set to star in two superhero action films this year: Samaritan and The Suicide Squad
Rocky in waiting: Stallone, who is pictured at 22 in 1968, was a struggling actor and writer in the years before Rocky became a massive sleeper hit beginning in 1976
It would be just over 10 years after that photo was taken that Stallone would have his breakthrough as an actor and writer with Rocky (1976), a sports drama about a struggling boxer who takes on the reigning heavyweight champion.
Over the course of the proceeding years into the 1980s, the New York City native would step up his workouts and physical training as seen in Rocky II (1979), Rocky III (1982) and First Blood (1982).
In more recent years, Stallone has taken to his Instagram page to reveal that he has replaced much of his old workouts with weights for a regime of elastic rubber bands, in an effort to gain flexibility and minimize the pain in his knees and joints.
Training to become a fictional boxer: Stallone became a massive star as Rocky Balboa in Rocky, which he also wrote the screenplay
Pain: The actor revealed he got bloodied while auditioning former heavyweight champion Joe Frazier for the role of Clubber Lange in Rocky III (1982), which eventually went to Mr. T
Stallone is the only actor in the history of U.S. cinema, to have starred in a box office number one films across five consecutive decades.
Most recently he reprised some of his most famous characters in suck films as The Expendables III (2014), Creed (32015), Creed II (2018) and Rambo: Last Blood (2019).
Despite being in his mid-70s now, Stallone has two new action films slated to drop this year: the superhero thrillers Samaritan and The Suicide Squad.
Ripped: Stallone’s physique became more ripped as he headed into the 1980s with his John Rambo character in First Blood and the Rocky sequels