Rugby legend Ritchie McCaw shares the smoothie recipe he swears by to build muscle

For fans of rugby, F45 ambassador Ritchie McCaw needs no introduction. The legendary All Blacks captain has won two Rugby World Cups and cemented himself in sports history forever.

Since retirement, he hasn't slowed down. McCaw has completed Godzone four times, a challenge that sees one dropped out in the bush and given five days to run through the forest to the finish line, the ultimate mental challenge.

Fresh off a bike-racing adventure, McCaw is now heading into F45's Trials Week: seven days of performance-based workouts, allowing members to log and monitor their results and compare them to the rest of the community.

The sports legend sat down with 9Honey Coach to reveal exactly what he eats to fuel his active lifestyle for our Day on a Plate series.

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Breakfast

I usually eat eggs on toast, maybe cereal as well to make up my breakfast.

Lunch

I like sushi or usually a sandwich or wrap.

Dinner

I grew up on a diet of meat and three veg, living on a farm. I still have a little bit of veg still but my wife likes to cook chicken or lamb salads.

Not too out there, but that would probably be the normal daily diet.

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Snacks

When training, I have smoothies in between or after training, or for snacks, my wife makes bliss balls.

For smoothies, I usually add banana, cacao powder, natural yoghurt, peanut butter, and protein powder and I usually go for almond milk and some ice to keep it nice and cool. Every now and then I mix it up with berries.

Is there anything in particular you have before/after a F45 session for fuel or recovery?

If it's early I'll have a banana, make sure to have plenty of fluids. If it's mid-morning, I'll have cereal and toast and some eggs afterwards.

What's your number one favourite food when you want a treat?

I've got a soft spot for chocolate, when training hard I usually allow myself a little bit of chocolate before or after dinner. That's what I enjoy the most.

As a team sports player at heart, what's the benefit of healthy competition like what F45's Trials Week offers?

When you're training with others, you end up doing things you wouldn't normally do, because you have that extra motivation just to do that extra one or two reps.

When you have people egging you along or see others doing it, you can get a bit more out of yourself.

When I used to train in the team, you want to keep up with everyone else and egg each other along which I enjoyed. When training with other people, the social side and the connection, which is an important thing for us as humans, it gives you a bit of extra energy I reckon.

F45 Trials Week runs from November 27- December 3.