8×11 – We are ab-seiling. We are ab-seiling!
Previously on The Biggest Loser, CHAOS! Elimination Room explosions with Rosemary screaming at Michelle. The trainers were in the elimination room as the producers tried to make them vote out a team.
The trainers refused and by virtue of the lowest percentage the angry Rosemary and Big Kev got sent home. And nobody was sad about it!
Tonight last year’s winner Margie pays a visit to the show to surprise Michelle and put some of the contestants through their paces. She’s a personal trainer in the real world now, though she’s looking a little rotund herself at the moment. Perhaps it’s muscle though, she was quite the powerhouse last year!
Cher and Anita, still want to be here? Shannan checks in on them first when the trainers turn up. Janet tells the trainers they feel extra special because the trainers stood up for them and wouldn’t vote.
But anyway before training starts, Michelle has a surprise for everyone – Margie! Lots of excited squealing. Michelle says her and Margie have a great relationship. It was an up and down relationship on the show at times and we get some flashbacks, including the famous bit where Margie said she was so hungry she could eat a possum! And the rope swing where she was scared to do it but then screamed “THIS IS AMAZING” on the upswing.
Margie says her and Michelle butted heads a number of times because Margie wanted to go home so much. Michelle says they fought like cats and dogs at times, Margie says Mish still loved her though! Margie tells them that giving up is the easy option. Just keep going, don’t waste the opportunity. If she can change, they can change.
Margie walks out the back again to bring out the big cardboard standee version of herself. Mish says it took Margie a long time to even be able to look at it and Margie says she still can’t look at it. She was so sad then and now she’s so much happier and so much more alive. And it’s true, Margie is positively beaming now. She’s obviously doing well for herself.
Train hard every day. If you’re not in the gym every day there’s something wrong with you!
And now it’s time for Margie to train the new contestants!
All girl power, Mish says. She’s got all the mother-daughter teams and she has Margie with her. It’s all about female empowerment today.
Margie says when you feel like you’re going to be sick or faint or whatever that’s your body trying to push into the next level. Yes, or your blood sugar is low or something else a bit more serious.
Cher’s the weight Margie was when she came on the show, Michelle says. Margie gives a single arm hug awkward hug to Cher. Margie seemed into it but Cher seemed reticent.
Margie reminds Cher that they were the same weight at the start. Cher tells us it’s motivating to know that Margie used to be in their shoes and she’s done it, she came through that process and she’s much better and so on. Cher’s going much harder in the next set of repetitions. She’s realised she can do it now and she really wants to be there. She knows she needs to make the most of it. Mish says she’s been waiting to hear that.
The ladies are all going very hard today. They keep pushing harder and harder and Mish was waiting to see who’d drop first.
And then Katie’s done so much hard work she has to stagger outside and puke, much to Michelle’s delight. I’m sure glad they didn’t show any actual puke for a change. Katie gives thumbs up and gets back in and training again afterwards, too.
Margie says this level of intensity is what they need to be giving every session with their trainer from now. Michelle’s very chuffed with Margie’s impact today. High fives!
Shannan’s got Chris and Mark in his old school gym today. Chris has been a closed book to Shannan so far. He won’t talk about the issues that have troubled him. Shannan’s seen it through his whole career, people hanging on to baggage and it weighs them down. It’s time to let it go!
Chris feels like he hasn’t been the best Dad. Him and Mark’s Mum separated when Mark was very young. Chris moved hundreds of kilometres away and so they didn’t have a lot of contact. Mark was born a twin but the twin died at around two weeks old from a brain aneurysm. Chris can’t talk about it with anyone, not even Mark. Mark’s been able to discuss it with his Mum and sister and everyone else, but not his Dad. Mark’s even got his brother’s first and middle names tattooed on his feet.
Shannan then reveals that after he was born his Mum went through two sets of stillbirths, two sets of twins, five babies lost in all. Which is just… awful. :-( Shannan’s Mum and Dad still think about it and Chris says it was 23 years ago for him and Shannan says it was thirty in his case. So he knows where Chris is coming from.
Chris opens up finally and says he hadn’t been to anyone else’s funeral since they lost Nicholas. But when he gets out of the house he’ll be going to visit Nicholas’ grave. He’s spent so much time with Mark now and he’ll go spend some time with Nicholas. He’ll go with the whole family.
You know if you don’t go visit he’ll still be dead, right? Visiting a rock planted in the ground won’t really change anything.
Anyway, time for The Fridge! Will a team finally take it for themselves? Gerald and Todd get to choose again this week.
Gerald’s a punting man, will he take the bet and open it themselves today? It’s been good twice so far so they think the odds are against them.
After a quick chat the boys decide to take it up themselves, thinking it might be bad and they’d rather have that fall on them, I guess.
Both boys have won a “progress weigh in” this week. They can jump on the scales at any time to see how they’re going. Which is an advantage because they know whether they’re definitely losing weight or doing something wrong!
Now it’s time to head out in the cars. They’re off to Circular Quay. They go past the art museum and Katie suggests they have to paint a masterpiece with only their bodies covered in paint! They finally get to the trainers who’re grinning cheekily. Michelle says they’re not going for a harbour cruise. Surprise!
Michelle says the theme of the week is Supersize Week (further confirming Channel 7 knocked the idea off with their Supersize My Kitchen Rules week) and so today they’re going to be doing something they might normally ask them to do near the end of their time at Camp Biggest Loser.
Up the top of the AMP building is a tiny man 120 metres up from the road. And they’re going to abseil down the sheer face. Mark’s very excited. Gerald’s not at all excited. Robyn’s terrified of heights and tears start welling up!
Shannan says there’s method to their madness, they’re giving them the tools to move forward in their lives. Janet’s terrified and they’re still on the ground.
Michelle says they realise it’s a daunting task so they’re dangling a carrot at the end of the challenge. Letters from their loved ones waiting at the bottom.
Time for the parents to be role models and the kids to be heroes, Michelle tells them.
Kirsten’s super excited to do it but Janet looks to be ready to have a nervous breakdown. Janet says she knows she has to do it but she’s obviously stressed. Kirsten’s obviously just eager to get it done! Kirsten has to be Janet’s rock today which Michelle says will be great for their relationship.
Janet has a GoPro camera on her helmet, so jealous!
Janet’s having a bit of trouble trusting everything, gets the safety guy to check her lines again. She still doesn’t look convinced. Kirsten tells Janet she can do it. Janet loves her daughter!
Kirsten then has a look over the edge and then she kind of freezes a bit. Don’t think she realised quite how big a drop it is. Michelle then sees Kirsten falling apart. Michelle even offers to come with them both but Kirsten says it’s not about anyone else coming with her. Mish is trying to get her to trust that, while she’s scared, it will be worth it when she gets down the bottom.
It’s up to Kirsten, but she’ll regret not doing it. Kirsten says she can’t do it. Kirsten then has to step aside and Michelle decides she’ll go down with Janet. Janet’s okay with that and she finally starts to lean out over the edge while Michelle’s already leaning out and ready to go.
Janet thinks she’ll’ve lost a lot of weight from this workout because her muscles are so tense.
Michelle says she’s the first one down the building even though she was the most scared. So she should be proud!
Kirsten’s proud of her Mum and Michelle says Janet stepped out of the harness a changed woman.
Michelle says Kirsten will still get her reward because Janet did it for them both!
Janet calls out to the crowd to ask if they saw what she did. And she’s 52!
Time for Mark and Chris to step up to the edge. Mark’s straight into it. Though Chris isn’t too far behind. As they start heading downwards Chris says it’s crazy and Mark says it’s living! Mark never would have thought of going abseiling with his Dad, much less off the AMP building.
Because Brett’s wrist is smashed he can’t do it so Mandy will have to go by herself. She had a lot of trouble at the leap of faith, 10 metres into the water.
But Mandy’s feeling extreme today, Shannan says. Mandy goes over the edge with Shannan alongside. Shannan says he’s not sure how they do things in Mandy’s house but in his… BIG HUG! Awww! I bet Shannan gives great hugs!
Richard and Amber are next. Both look very focused and ready to go and both get out and get going without any dramas. Amber’s trusting the safety guys and the Scouts there that are assisting them.
Gerald says his wife would be berating him for doing this. Gerald says to Commando Steve that Steve’s enjoying it and Steve says he likes seeing the fear in people’s faces and seeing them overcome it. Gerald says the hardest part is getting that first step over the edge and he’s right. It’s all easy from there! After he got over the edge the nerves went away, Gerald says.
Halfway down Gerald loses control of the brake and starts going down a bit faster and he’s trying to call for it to stop, stop, stop. The music builds up dramatically and then… ad break! Don’t worry, they have a safety line for exactly this situation. He’ll be fine.
After the ad break the rope is burning Gerald’s hand as he tries to slow down but he’s still panicking. Steve then pops up to say that Gerald might have felt like he was falling out of control but the belayers up the top had him every step of the way. See, told you so!
Gerald says if that doesn’t make you feel alive you may as well crawl in a box and die!
Anita and Cher. Anita’s got a phobia when it comes to heights. Cher’s not too heavy for it? Cool! Shannan tells Anita she has the strength to do it. Anita wants to be brave for Cher so they can do it together. Cher’s not willing to do it either. Anita doesn’t feel like she’s ready to conquer the fear yet. Shannan says if the head shouts loud enough the body has to do it.
Shannan’s also worried that the pair of them keep reinforcing the other’s desire to not do the hard stuff.
They’re both bummed they don’t get their letters but they’re both giving up and getting off the ledge.
Robyn and Katie’s turn. Katie’s trying to keep her Mum calm but Robyn’s terrified. She won’t even go near the edge where the wall is up to her shoulders. Robyn says unless you’ve got the fear yourself it’s hard to understand. Katie’s not too worried for herself she’s just worried about her Mum. Steve tells her she does have the resolve to do this. She can get it done. Let’s go up and get hooked in and just do it.
She goes up the little staircase and the safety officer clips her into the building’s frame so she’s on a safety line and very, very safe. But she doesn’t feel safe. She doesn’t have confidence in herself and doesn’t like herself.
Robyn says to Katie that she’s sorry she got them into this. And as the episode finishes we hear Robyn saying “No!” again.
Will she overcome her fear? Also, they’re going to sit in a circle and read their letters to each other. Snore.
And then the weekly challenge, running a muddy obstacle course with gladiators waiting to hit them with sticks!