Wed, Apr 18, 2018 at 11:45 AM

TherapyPlus South regulars lose to win in statewide competition

Dave Bischoff and Jim Lawley took the challenge and teamed up to collect $1,000 in Scale Back Alabama.

A winning team at work translates to a winning team at the gym. That proved to be true for two TherapyPlus South members who lost a total of 32 pounds as a Scale Back Alabama team and won $500 each for their effort. 

“It was awesome,” said Dave Bischoff about the win. “We worked hard at it and it was well worth it. We’re pretty happy about it.”

Bischoff, a project manager at Progress Rail, and the company’s CIO Jim Lawley regularly spend their lunchtime exercising at TherapyPlus South. When they decided to add weight loss to their workout, they formed a team, named it Deacon Blues for the Steely Dan song, and signed up for Scale Back Alabama. After 10 weeks of dieting, they declared it as a success. Bischoff lost 21 pounds and Lawley dropped 11. 

“It’s mostly for accountability,” said Lawley of their team effort. “Camaraderie is one thing but accountability is the main thing.”

Lawley and Bischoff drive five minutes from work to the gym behind Marshall South three to four times a week. Lawley hits the elliptical and works on cardio while Bischoff lifts weights and does lunges. They sometimes shake things up by hitting the walking trail outside. 

“It’s super-convenient,” Bischoff said. 

Motorcycle motivation

Bischoff has been working out at TherapyPlus for 16-17 years. This is the first time he’s been on a Scale Back team. His motivation to lose weight is a motorcycle race in October. Called Enduro, it’s an extremely challenging dirt bike race.

“That’s my goal now,” he said. “You want to be strong. It’s grueling.”

Lawley said a ruptured disc in his back got him into the gym about a year ago. Now that the two have built up momentum, they want to keep it going.

“It’s been good,” he said. “We’ve met a lot of people here. It’s a good environment.”

Bischoff is married to Ruth Bischoff, director of nursing at Marshall South. The couple has two daughters and two grandchildren. 

Lawley’s wife, Jill, is a teacher at Westbrook Christian School in Gadsden. They also have two daughters. 

The 11th Annual Scale Back Alabama kicked off in January. Weigh-Out Week ended on April 8. Both Marshall Medical Centers’ TherapyPlus locations served as official weighing sites. Winners were announced April 17. 

Scale Back Alabama (SBA) is a free statewide weight-loss program designed to encourage Alabamians to get healthy and to have fun while doing it. Since the first competition in 2007, Alabamians have lost more than one million pounds!

Did you know that Marshall Medical offers a wide range of Fitness and Wellness programs at two convenient TherapyPlus locations? For more information visit https://www.mmcenters.com/serv...