After Blaine went home last week, Dane was the first left at the Ranch without a partner, and it was time for him to fend for himself. The rest of the couples could rely on one another to get ahead in the game — but this week, Alison threw a curveball that forced most of them off their usual game. Here's what I mean.

Keys to the Castle: As the players headed to the gym to kick off their week of workouts, Ali surprised them with a bombshell challenge. The gym was padlocked, she explained, and two keys to it waited at the top of a hill. To gain access, the players had to hike up the hill, retrieve one key (out of 130 choices!), and come back down to try it in the locks. The two players who found the right keys would get the gym to themselves and their partners all week, and the rest of the players would have to work out elsewhere. After six trips up and down the hill, Shanon found one of the keys, so the Pink Team would be inside. Mike found the other one after five trips, so the Brown Team got in as well.

Rethinking Things: Since none of my players were going to be in the gym, I decided to create a gym in the living room of the house and moved everything out of the way to create space for a class with me. I had my team doing mountain climbers, squats, and planks — as members of my online program know all too well, I know how to kick butt without all the regular equipment. Bob had half his team outside doing step-ups on benches and shoulder presses with chairs. Meanwhile, the Pink and Brown Teams turned part of the gym — my side — into a lounge with food and chairs so they wouldn't have to leave, and made signs that said "Members Only." Locked out of the gym or not, the players found creative ways to exercise, and things got dirty when Kristin, Mike, Filipe, and Tara played in the mud after the sprinklers went off.

Power in Their Hands: This week's challenge revolved around rowing machines. Each player had his or her own machine, and giant lights were hooked up to each machine to display the intensity at which the players were rowing. In the beginning, all the lights were green, but if the contestants slowed down at all, their lights would turn yellow, and they'd need to speed back up. If the light turned red for one half of a couple, both teammates were out. It came down to the Green Team versus Dane, but eventually Laura couldn't keep up the pace, and Dane won the prize of immunity.

With or Without the Gym: What fun the last-chance workouts were this week! Bob had his team on the beach (except for Ron, who was put back in the pool at the Ranch because of his knees), doing crab walks and running while carrying driftwood on their shoulders. I had my team out on the "jail yard" suffering through boxing, sprints, and leg work, and I also put them in the pool — anything I could dream up to burn major calories outside. At the weigh-in, it was time to see if staying out of the gym had set them back. As it turned out, most of the players burned enough calories to show decent weight loss on the scale — but the Pink Team, who'd stayed inside most of the week, lost just 9 pounds total and fell below the yellow line. Shanon told everyone she wanted to go home, even though she had more weight to lose than her mom Helen. In the elimination room, Shanon debated whether she'd made the right decision, but there was no going back; the other players decided to honor her initial request to go and voted to eliminate her.

Back at home, Shanon has lost 85 pounds since starting at the Ranch. She is training to be in the Roller Derby — a longtime dream that she's finally going for now that she has lost weight.

Next Week: The fate of the couples will change with the flip of a coin, so be sure to tune in next Tuesday AND Wednesday (it's a two-parter!) to find out what happens next.