Sylvester Stallone has blasted the public's "archaic" view of human growth hormones, insisting the drug isn't a quick fix to get a muscular physique.

Stallone was convicted on charges of importing the muscle-building drug into Australia, where human growth hormones are illegal, last year. But the 61-year-old dismisses speculation he was taking the drug to quickly build up his physique in advance of shooting new sequel John Rambo.

Speaking on TV show "Today," Stallone said, "It's not pumped up… What people don't understand about HGH is it's an amino acid. A long time ago people didn't understand what they were talking about so they lumped everything together. It's really archaic the way people perceive HGH.

"I only wish that it were true, that you can just take something like that and you're in shape. You've got to put years and years and years of hard labor to get in shape."

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)