The Biggest Loser 4, December 4: “Would You Like Salt-Free Diet Pepperoni On That?”

The trainers tell their teams that the next challenge will involve boxing, and both pre-challenge workouts are oriented in that way, especially power punching. Neil is aware he has yet to win a challenge and is afraid he will become the only one (I assume he means the only finalist) to never win a challenge. When it’s done, Bob says, “Good job. Try and win one now.” Alas, neither Blue Team member can get up off the ground, which I suspect is not ideal for the upcoming challenge!

In the other camp, Bill is extremely restricted by knee pain. That can’t bode well either.

One thing’s for sure – perhaps Nicole isn’t the fiercest beast on record, but all of them have learned to kick and punch with authority.

More than half an hour into the episode, series host Alison Sweeney is finally here. However, she looks so delicious that I completely forgive her! Alison explains the challenge ahead. The players must punch speed bags for three minutes, with the objective of recording the most hits. The catch is that the bags are overhead, and the players must bounce on trampolines to reach them. The player with the fewest hits in each three-minute round is eliminated.

Hollie is concerned her bad ankle will hold her back. I’m concerned that this challenge seems to favor someone who is tall, is light, has leg strength, or some combination of the above.

Alison has one last detail to reveal – the bags are raised higher at the start of every round. The prize is a one-pound pass at the upcoming weigh-in, meaning the winner can deduct one pound from their weight. It doesn’t sound like much, but last week, that was Neil’s margin to avoid the elimination process.

Allison also tells us that the trampolines will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. What, at least six people wished for a used trampoline that has been stretched out of shape by someone heavy and sweaty? Man, it takes all kinds!

The challenge begins with the bags three or four feet overhead. The players don’t actually “punch” hard at the bags, they just reach up and swat the bottom of them. Therefore, most of that pre-challenge training was for naught. There’s a non-trivial degree of cardio ability required to succeed at this challenge, but by now I don’t think anyone is going to be found wanting in that area. Far more important are balance and the ability to keep bouncing in the same spot while looking up at the target.

As Alison rings a boxing bell to signify the end of round one, we learn Julie wins with an amazing 167 hits. Isabeau (141) and Hollie (132) are next. Only four apart are Nicole, Bill, and Neil… and it’s Nicole who’s out, with only (!) 115 hits. That seems like a pretty decent total to Nicole, and I have to agree.

The speed bags are raised about two feet for round two, Isabeau leads Hollie and Julie, with 161, 148, and 133 hits, respectively. Neil falls near the end, costing valuable time, and loses to Bill by a single hit!

In round three, the bags are so high that the players can’t hit the bag on every bounce. Hollie wins with 116 hits, and the other two ladies are in a virtual tie, 72-73. Bill just can’t get the necessary power in his jump due to his sore knee, and he’s done with just 25 hits. Julie heaves a major a sigh of relief that challenge-dominating Bill is eliminated from this event.

Round four is the final round. It features just the three ladies from the Black Team, each of whom have won an earlier round. The bags are now at least the height of Julie above them. As it ends, Alison has great fun ringing the bell about twenty times. Hollie’s height advantage and balance turn out to be decisive, and with 71 hits, she wins the one-pound pass. We see that Julie scored 44 times, but Isabeau had some troubles and only managed 27 hits.

A little later in the day, the trainers come into the dorms to find out what happened. Jillian is pleased for Hollie, but she is also worried about the injuries to Bill and Hollie. Bob is a bit discouraged to hear his two charges were the first two eliminated, and ribs Neil about not winning any challenges to date. Gosh, Bob, maybe not leaving them sucking wind an instant shortly beforehand might improve their chances of success?

In a cameo, Jillian pats herself and her team on the back, saying, “We destroyed the Red Team. There’s two members of the Blue Team left… two weeks left… you do the math!” and laughs. There’s a real fate-tempter, I must say.

Meanwhile, Neil and Nicole are firing a medicine ball back and forth, hard. Sure enough, one gets through her hands and whacks her on the mouth. Damage is minimal, and trooper that she is, she carries on without fuss.

One thing I don’t understand about these “last-chance workouts.” Why is there so much weight training? Shouldn’t they be focusing on cardio and sweating off poundage, instead of building muscle mass? I understand the critical need to build muscle in an exercise program, but I’d be reserving that for the rest of the week.

As the contestants arrive at the weigh-in, as usual we hear them express their thoughts as voiceovers. Everyone is focused on the finals and scared they might not get there.

Alison reprises her usual speech about the two falling below the yellow line being at risk of elimination, and reminds us of Hollie’s one-pound pass.

Below, contestants are listed in the order they were weighed in. In Hollie’s numbers I have excluded the one-pound pass in her “Loss” column, since it isn’t actual weight lost. However, it IS included in her percentage.

NAME	PREV. WEIGHT	CURRENT	TOTAL LOSS	PERCENT
Isabeau	230	225	5	2.17
Bill	222	213	9	4.05
Nicole	212	211	1	0.47
Hollie	201	196	5	2.99
Julie	171	168	3	1.75
Neil	298	288	10	3.36

Alison tells Bill that he beat Erik’s record from last season, when he lost 124 pounds while still on the ranch. Impressive!

After Nicole is weighed, everyone is shocked. Alison tells her that she and Julie have fallen below the yellow line and face elimination. Well, Nicole does… Julie ought to be safe.