TBL 7×12 – PIGS. IN. MUD!
Previously on The Biggest Loser the contestants faced the fear of public speaking in front of a group of strangers and were rewarded with letters and photos from home.
And then, as if to punish them for feeling good about themselves, they faced a twelve hour lockdown in their bedrooms with piles of tempting foodstuffs and the delicious aroma of fresh meat pies and sausage rolls.
Whichever team ate the most calories during the lockdown would receive Immunity for their entire team.
Tonight we find out if White has managed to top Blue’s 2,745 calories.
Also the weekly challenge kicks off. It’s a long obstacle course through the rain and mud.
As we get past Hayley repeating the count from last night we pick up the action as Hayley starts spelling out how many calories each Blue Team member ate. Luke did 818 calories, all by himself.
836 calories for Ryan. Both had around 500 calories left to consume for the day. So they both blew their food budget.
Hamish did 1,091 calories. All by himself. And doesn’t look too ashamed of it, either. Considering he didn’t even want to take part originally that’s just appalling.
Now, White Team, you’ve been under the Yellow Line both times so far. How tempted were you?
Very, Bek says.
And Hayley says they must be backing themselves this week since they ended up consuming 0 calories!
That means three teams did not take part and two of those teams will now end up facing elimination.
But not Blue! They’ve porked their way to staying for at least one more week!
And now it’s time for training. Shannan’s off to see his Blue Team first. He’s watched everything that transpired at Temptation so he’s not going to be caught unawares.
So who got Immunity? They did. What’d they eat?
Luke starts spelling out what he ate. Cops to cheese and crackers, a strawberry milk and a sausage roll. Hamish cops to the same, plus a chocolate bar.
Shannan drops down into a crouch and lets out a puff. He asks Hamish how the chocolate bar got in there and Hamish says it was him, he did it. Shannan tells him he was going so well, why’d he have chocolate? And Hamish admits it was because he wanted to have some chocolate.
He regrets it now, he tells us.
Luke says they burned over 600 calories each during the time of the Temptation. Doing what, Shannan asks? Just lying on the bed?
Recreate what the exercise entailed, Shannan instructs them. He’s already seen it, of course. What will he do if they lie about what the exercise was? Bwahahaha!
Luke starts walking around a gym ball and passing a medicine ball back and forth with the seated Hamish and Ryan.
Shannan’s disgusted! He wonders when he’s ever taken them for training and had two of them just sit down. He’s trying his best not to lose it at them.
Gotta stay calm, Shannan. Don’t blurt out the secret of the bunker!
After an ad break Shannan’s still fuming. He’s going to push them hard today. Says he wants Hamish and Ryan to push themselves till they’re sick and Luke to go harder than he’s gone before.
This could get messy!
Shannan’s pushing Hamish to go at 11km/hr on the treadmill. 3km/hr faster than he’s done before. Shannan wants him to push through the pain today and realise just how much he can do now.
Hamish does it tough but he doesn’t fall off or break down in tears so he’s done well.
Luke, meanwhile, has his treadmill up to 17km/hr! Even faster than he’s done it before.
After another short break he bumps it up to 19 and Shannan says nah, go to 20. It only goes to 20 anyway, go for it. It’ll be the first time anyone has clocked it in week 3, it usually takes people up to week 6 to crank it all the way out.
Shannan points at the faces on the walls around the gym and says he’s been there for every one of those guys in the past. He’s got to back himself like those guys did.
Luke knows Shannan’s looking to him a bit to set the example for the other two guys and be a sort of leader for them.
Cranked up to 20 Luke is hurting by the halfway mark but manages to make the full thirty seconds and is knackered afterwards. Shannan is very pleased, telling the boys that’s his idea of exercise. Not sitting around on beds passing a ball around.
Red Team are out on the verandah when Mish arrives, limbering up for training. Brenda thinks Mish will be pleased that none of them took part in Temptation.
But Mish knows better. She’s going to get the big stick out over their lack of exercise in the entire twelve hour period.
She does congratulate them for not eating any of the food but then asks what they actually did do.
Brenda? Gave herself a manicure. A MANICURE. You have got to be joking.
Lisa? Waxed her feet. Because you don’t want to look like a hobbit at Fat Camp, I guess?
Margie slept and snored.
Lydia? Read a book.
Mish shrugs and asks, “Nothing?”
Lydia says they should have trained and Mish nods. Mish does tell us she’s pleased the girls didn’t try and use any excuses but the lack of training still shows a bit too much complacency.
Mish takes them off to their room for training today. After a talking to.
She asks them what they thought she was going to say about their report on Temptation?
So she’s brought them back to their room to show them what they could have been doing with those twelve hours. You don’t have to be in a gym to work out, you can use things around the house. Lift things, hop back and forth, do lunges, roll over beds, situps, squats. Lots of things!
Lisa says the training session was really hard. She worked up a sweat. Who knew all the things you could do in a bedroom, she asks us with a grin on her face. Dirty birdy!
After the session they’re all impressed by how tough a workout it was. Mish tells them they can’t afford to think like overweight people anymore, they’ve got to stop giving each other permission not to workout.
Lydia doesn’t feel like she’s earned Mish’s respect back yet but she’s going to keep trying.
Ad break! Come back to the four white vehicles taking them off to Glenworth Valley for their weekly challenge.
As they walk to the start area where Hayley is waiting for them they can catch glimpses of what’s looking like an obstacle course setup.
Hayley tells them they’re in the home of the Valley Stampede. It’s a 2km course of punishing obstacles they have to climb over, under, through and generally run run run as fast as they can!
Today’s challenge is to not come last. Coming last comes with a 2kg weight penalty at the weigh-in.
So Blue should just take one for the group and lose on purpose to keep it a fair fight between the other teams. Right? Hmm. Somehow I don’t think that’ll happen.
Or not on purpose, anyway!
Each team has to pick two members to do the course. Pick the fittest or the least wounded, but don’t forget they have to work well together because you have to cross the finish line together and can only move on to the next obstacle when both have finished.
So this could take them a while if one person is dragging their heels.
To that end, Hayley’s brought them some extra encouragement – their trainers!
Shannan doesn’t care about his Team having Immunity. They won an eating contest at Camp Biggest Loser, big whoop!
Blue’s chosen Luke and Hamish. Luke’s already worried because he knows they don’t work too well together. But I guess their only other option is Ryan and that’d be a disaster. Especially when it comes to fitting under things!
White’s got Bek and Kasey on the course. Graham and Simon are representing Black with Lisa and Lydia for the Red Team.
After the first obstacle – under one log, over the next – White Team are in the lead as Hamish struggles through the logs and Luke waits for him to finish.
Blue go through in second place with Red not far behind and Black quite a ways behind.
But Steve’s not letting his team off the hook. He’s jogging alongside Graham and telling him to keep jogging and catch up to Hamish, who’s already walking. “He’s young, he’s weak in his head. You’re stronger than that!”
Luke’s concerned that Hamish is already slowing down and decides Hamish might be the hardest obstacle of all.
Bek and Kasey are still in the lead, much to Tiff’s excitement. Red have managed to close the gap and go past Blue due to Hamish’s slowdown.
Graham manages to get over the second obstacle – a cargo net slung over a bus – ahead of Hamish which is a big victory for Black.
But the next obstacle is a hard slog through some deep mud. Lydia and Lisa see their chance to pull ahead of the White Team at this point with Lydia charging past them and Lisa trying to keep up.
White’s taking their time a bit more, Tiff’s suggesting they not go too fast so as to avoid injuries.
Red’s still in the lead but both girls have had to resort to crawling through the mud to continue making progress as the water gets deeper over some very sticky mud.
Bek’s done the same and started crawling through parts and when she stands up from doing so it looks like she’s on the Black Team. Her white shirt is plastered with very dark mud which is going to make the remaining obstacles even more uncomfortable!
Simon’s trying to go past the Blue boys at every opportunity to try and play on their minds a bit, break Hamish’s determination.
But Graham is finding it very hard to get through the mud. His weight means he keeps sinking further than anyone else.
Simon eventually comes back and helps Graham up and onto a slightly easier path through the mud, much to Graham’s relief. Working together they soon catch back up to Hamish who has started floundering again.
Hamish is grunting and groaning a lot which is helping to lift Simon’s spirits!
Shannan tells him there’s no use sitting around crying, man up and get moving!
Red’s still in the lead after another ad break. They’re crawling underneath a net through the mud and floodwater and sludge. White’s doing it a bit tough, Bek in particular as her hair keeps getting trapped in the netting. Ouch!
Mish is calling out encouragement from the sidelines. She says Lisa is one tough mo… One hell of a mother!
Go on, Mish. Call her a tough motherfucker! The camera’s not on you, you can get away with it!
After crawling through some low pipes they’re walking through some shallow mud while a guy on the sidelines hoses them off a bit. Fun job!
Bek stumbles and Kasey asks if she’s alright and Tiff calls out of course she’s alright, she’s strong!
Meanwhile Luke tells us Hamish is not just struggling mentally and physically… he’s struggling with his pants!
Hamish is struggling to hitch them back up and Shannan’s calling it an excuse. He can keep pushing forward and pull up his pants.
I think Australia is hoping he’s capable of it. We’re not ready to see his arse just yet!
Graham’s pushing hard. He knows they can’t afford to get that 2kg penalty.
As the White girls get out of the pipes they’re caked in so much mud they can barely stand. That must be what the hose is for!
Luke’s powering underneath the net and overtakes Simon and Graham… But then he has to go back and help Hamish through anyway, so that was a lot of wasted effort and Black are still ahead of them!
Red are clambering over some huge spools, the sort you’d use for long lengths of cable. Only three of them but they’re quite tall, especially for the short girls. But Red powers through yet another obstacle and are off to the next before White shows up.
When White arrives the spools are still wet so Bek knows they can’t be too far behind and they’re going to keep pushing to try and catch up.
Back with Black and Simon fits into the pipe easily. Graham, however, is looking to be a very tight fit. Which you really don’t want when trying to crawl through a flooded pipe!
Hamish is trying to get through the pipes with Ryan behind him. Halfway through and Hamish’s pants are still falling down. So Ryan keeps copping an eyeful of bumcrack!
As he comes out the end of the pipe his pants are almost entirely off. That’s a lot of crack!
Red’s next obstacle is a swing into water to swim through. They’ve got lifejackets on so they won’t drown. Neither of them manages to hold the rope long enough to get far into the water and Lisa has a little trouble breathing with the lifejacket on but they’re still in the lead.
But White are edging ever closer!
Black are ahead of Blue, though they’re not ahead by much. Hamish’s short stature is likely to prevent much catching up over the spools.
Red’s up to the next obstacle. Fun bags. Lydia calls them fun bags. Not even joking.
Anyway, they’re like a big vinyl inflatable speedhump they have to jump onto and over. Covered in mud and wet right through it’s not the easiest task they’ve been faced with!
Blue’s up to the swings. Luke has no trouble, gets his lifejacket on, grabs the rope and swings and swims to the far side in the fastest time of any contestants.
Hamish, of course, doesn’t do anywhere near so well. He gets his lifejacket on (amidst a massive cloud of flies – all the contestants have been plagued by them since getting covered in mud) but then stalls. He wants to just slide into the water and Shannan is filthy with him. There’s no dignity in just sliding in. Grab onto the rope and bloody do it!
Hamish is whining like a little bitch and saying he can’t do it. Meanwhile Luke’s now crossed back over the little river lake thing and come to try talking Hamish into it.
Hamish isn’t having a bar of it!
Shannan tells him it’s about him living his life and having a go at things.
What’s he scared of, Shannan asks? Shannan manages to get Hamish to hang onto the rope… but only for a second before he lets it go again and Shannan gets a bit pissed and tells him to get his hands back on the rope.
Hamish says he doesn’t want to!
Why the hell not, boy? You’ve been crawling through mud and grime and jumping over and under things. What’s so fucking hard about swinging off into some water? Kids do that for fun all the time. ARGH. STOP WHINGING!
After another ad break Hamish says he’s not brave. Shannan tells him he’s not going to be rescued by his Mum now. Hamish finally grabs hold of the rope and Shannan pretty much shoves him off into the water. Pretty sure that counts as cheating, Shannan!
Shannan then follows them into the water and powers across the lake rather than going around it.
Hamish admits it felt awesome to swing out over the water. Hooray!
Black arrives at the airbags and Graham has trouble getting up onto it.
Why have none of them realised the idea is to work together? One person lie down on the bag and the other climb up over them. Easy!
Meanwhile Red’s arrived at a slippery slide down into another mud pool. Lydia goes down first but Lisa speeds past and they hit the bottom with a big splash.
Bek goes nuts when she gets to it and slides down very, very fast indeed, screaming all the way and having a ball. Kasey’s a little more reserved but Tiff’s cheering on the sidelines.
Black’s gotten over the funbags but Blue actually negotiate them pretty quickly so Black’s not quite out of sight when they get to the other side.
Red’s at the final obstacle. Big pool of water with mud at the bottom and some bunting strung over the top. Yep, crawl through some more mud and muddy water!
They’re still well in the lead but Tiff and her girls are jogging towards the end. Tiff calls out, “We’re cominggggg! Wooooo!”
Red both get through the mud pit and grab each other’s hands and run right to the finish line. Lydia says they’re quite different people but they’ve found a kinship within their team.
The girls both hug the two non-competing members of their team. Everyone’s muddy!
As White Team crosses the line Tiff calls out “BROWN TEAM!” Their outfits really aren’t suited for slogging through the mud!
Black’s up to the slide and Graham’s a bit worried because of his size he’ll end up going a hundred miles an hour by the end. And he’s right, he makes a huge splash at the end.
Simon’s trip down is a little more leisurely. Commando Steve also jumps onto the slide and nearly collects Simon at the end, contorting himself to narrowly avoid slamming into him but causing Simon to eat a lot of muddy water!
Big surprise, Hamish freaks out a bit at the slide after getting a healthy shove from the top from Shannan.
Shannan obviously saw Steve nearly hit one of his contestants and wisely slides down the middle instead of the sides!
Black reach the final obstacle and Luke knows Graham would struggle in that big mud pool, much more so than Hamish for once. So he thinks they may just reel them back in yet.
And Black are thinking that may just happen!
Blue’s pushing hard as Graham tries to roll his way out of the pool. It’s given some of the other contestants trouble as it’s some very slippery mud on the way out. Graham’s trying to roll out and Steve keeps trying to help him and then remembering they can’t help them like that. Lydia and Bek are also standing around trying to help without helping. Cheering them on.
Blue edge closer and closer!
Next Monday… ARG!
Next Monday we find out who wins the challenge. Or, more correctly, who doesn’t lose, I suppose.
Tiff also gets an insight into her team’s training patterns. And she’s not happy. And she goes to their bedroom to thump loudly on the door and wake them up for a training session!
Then another Weigh-In looms. Blue have Immunity so only Black, White and Red will be fighting it out for that one remaining spot above the Yellow Line…