This is going to be a little bit of a Meet MRV blog today, Strongman style. The following will share some fun about one of our own here at MRV and also include us sharing a little insight—about us and about dairy.
In addition to wanting to make your dairy buying simply better, we are champions of dairy. Not just dairies, but dairy product—and not just ice cream for dessert, although that rolled ice cream we profiled earlier was definitely good!
We like it!
So the short of it is we like milk. We like dairy products. Not just because if more people buy dairy products, more dairies sell dairy products and everybody wins. It’s also because milk is good for us. We didn’t have to go too far beyond company meetings where the drink of choice (before the evenings at least) is often milk. Skylar Rivera, who many of you know from his many roles in the company, is a Strongman competitor and has been competing in that and PowerLifting for years. To compete in Strongman, he needs to lift objects many of us rarely encounter, and then run frustrating distances carrying said objects. But more importantly, he needs to be strong.
“Milk specifically is essential for me for these main reasons,” Rivera says. “First, it’s an effective and easy source of protein, carbohydrates, electrolytes and other vitamins and minerals. Second, it’s versatile so we can mix it for a protein drink. Third, it has quality calories to help sustain you post-workout. And fourth, it’s liquid food so it can be pretty filling, too.”
Rivera isn’t alone in that analysis. In an article in bestfoodfacts.org, Dr. Brian Roy, Brock University Professor of Kinesiology, says, “There are two main types of protein found in milk, casein and whey. Casein tends to be digested more slowly, while whey tends to be digested more rapidly. Both of these types of protein are eventually broken down into amino acids. These are then absorbed into the blood and delivered throughout the body allowing muscles to recover and adapt. These proteins found in milk are also rich in a specific type of amino acids that help to turn on the repair processes in muscles. Not all dietary proteins are rich in these types of amino acids, but milk is.”
Consumption Junction
Not surprisingly, after Rivera’s workouts, he usually consumes 12-16 ounces of milk, sometimes unflavored and sometimes chocolate milk. “From a nutritional standpoint, milk is great for an athlete—or anyone really—to recover,” Rivera adds. “For me, it’s mainly fluid milk, although I do have whey protein powder as well because it combines with milk well. Milk has calcium, sodium, potassium, proteins, carbohydrates, fats and more. And since there is lactose free milk, unless you really just don’t like the taste of milk, there’s really no reason not to drink it. And it curbs your hunger after a workout—or anytime. I know many of my friends joke that is something they need when constantly wanting to snack.”
Rivera has a PowerLifting competition in August and has been invited to Regionals for Strongman in 2023. It seems milk is definitely doing his body good.
