Rugby sensation Ilona Maher in training gear has fun with dance partner Alan Bersten

Rugby star Ilona Maher is clearly having a lot of fun Dancing with the stars– also during dance rehearsals. Maher, 28, shared a video posted by her dance partner Alan Bersten in which she is wearing purple workout clothes and sitting on a trainer, watching him clown around. “It’s not much, but it’s honest work,” Bersten captioned the post. Maher is an athlete, model and now a dancer – which is how she stays fit, strong and happy.

Maher's diet is tailored for athletes and she can't start the day without coffee. “Eggs taste so good at breakfast because of the amount of protein that I always eat eggs,” she said Eat well. “I love bacon – it makes me happy – so I'll have some bacon with it and a piece of toast or other carbohydrates, whether it's oatmeal or potatoes.”

Maher enjoys high-quality protein from real foods. “My lunch and dinner are about the same. I’m going to eat a lot of protein, carbs and a lot of vegetables,” she said Eat well. “I snack a little more than before. I love having a protein source in this snack, be it an apple with peanut butter, beef jerky, or cold cuts, but I don't really like protein bars.”

Maher is trained to play in different environments. “We sometimes play in such hot environments – like Singapore, Hong Kong, Perth, Australia, in heat waves and up to 114 degrees – so we get used to the heat,” she said Mind-Body Green. “Preparing to perform in this environment starts at home… For example, after a bike ride, we sit in a heated room wearing sweats and sweatpants in the sauna.”

Maher relies on her teammates to help them bounce back after a tough game. “You’re not alone out there and you’re not losing alone,” she said Mind-Body Green. “You lose out to this other group of women who are going through the same thing. So it's really important to be with them and connect with them, laugh about it, talk about the parts that went well, the parts that went bad, what you can take away from it.

Maher says her “beast, beauty, brain” mantra is about being diverse. “I think we put people in boxes like, 'Oh, they're rugby players. Oh, they're nurses,' although people can be so much more than that,” she said Eat well. “For me, I'm a rugby player and everyone can see that, but I'm also smart. I like to be beautiful and feminine in my own way. I think girls are afraid to try new things.” I'm afraid of being pigeonholed, but I can be all of those things because I get to decide that it's my own narrative that I get to write.