SYLVESTER STALLONE - STALLONE PANICKED AS HE GOT FAT FOR ROCKY SEQUEL

SYLVESTER STALLONE panicked when he quit working out to play a chubby ROCKY BALBOA in the ROCKY sequel - because he got so fat so fast he struggled to walk up the stairs. Studio executives advised the star to give up his fierce workout regime as he prepared to reprise his movie boxing hero - because they feared he wouldn't be believable as an ageing fighter. But Stallone was shocked when he started piling on the pounds and immediately returned to the gym. He says, "I could hardly walk up the stairs, that's how fat I was. So I did everything I could to get in decent shape. "I lived in the gym, I sucked down protein shakes, saunas, sweat."