Sixteen competitors are split into teams of four. Led by the Cadre, four retired military members, the teams face the Evolution, which challenges their team skills. Team Noah wins the Evolution, an obstacle course where a log must be carried through holes in walls, carried over three miles, and placed in a locked hole. The other three teams pick Chris (Tee), Goldie (Rorke), and Jim (Nick). The three must hold a rope weighted with a sandbag. Chris drops the bag first, and rings out.

• ELIMINATED: Chris Krueger

After Chris' departure, the members of Team Tee find themselves one person down. The Evolution involves collecting a raft after climbing over a wall. They must row across a cold lake. Once on the other side, the teams must get a paddle back across the lake, either by opening a locked box, or by bringing the 100-pound lockbox. Team Noah wins again, followed by Team Tee. Tee sends Brooke to the Circus competition, Nick send KJoy, and Rorke sends Haze. Haze sets the record for the fastest time in the Circus. The endurance test is to do ten burpees, then submerge themselves in ice water. After many cycles of doing this, Brooke passes out and is eliminated.

• ELIMINATED: Brooke Van Paris

The teams are challenged to move a full camp and set it up exactly the way they found it. Tee's group, being two members down, finds an advantage because they only have to set up two tents, while the other teams set up four. After packing the equipment into big suitcases, the teams must swim across the lake, build a wheelbarrow, and take all the wheelbarrow parts to the new campsite. Team Noah wins, followed by Team Tee, in the closest finish so far in the season. Tee sends Tony to the Circus, Rorke sends Marc, and Nick sends Cam. The endurance test is to stand on a wooden post, then switch to a higher and narrower post fifteen minutes later. Marc falls off while transitioning to the third and final post, and is eliminated.

• ELIMINATED: Marc Lobliner

The teams must find and remember eight pictures to put on a board. Team Noah wins once again, extending the winning streak to four. In the Circus, Ivette must go because Tony went the previous week. Nick sends Maria, and Rorke sends Haze (who was the only person to previously face the Circus). Ivette arrives first after rolling over and passing Haze. The endurance portion is to hold onto a band of a pole, then switching to a lower band after 20 minutes. Maria is eliminated after slipping while adjusting back to the higher post.

• ELIMINATED: Maria Kang

The teams must show survival skills by setting up a tent, purifying water, and making fire tall enough to ignite two flares. Cena then reveals there are two paths: a longer one with easier steps, and a shorter one with harder, longer steps. Team Nick breaks Team Noah's winning streak, by finishing first. In the Circus, Tony is forced to enter, Rorke chooses Mario, and Noah chooses Lisa. The endurance portion is to run laps between logs in under twenty seconds. The time shortens to 15 seconds after the fifteenth lap, and 10 seconds after the twentieth lap. After lap 25, Lisa is unable to touch the log in under ten seconds. She rings out and leaves.

• ELIMINATED: Lisa Traugott

The Evolution involves the teams using supplies to build bridges across various obstacles strewn across a 60-foot long field without their feet touching the ground. If a member's feet touch the ground, they must restart that portion of the obstacle. Team Noah wins the event and regains their confidence. They win a weightlifting workout with Cena as a reward. For the Circus, Team Tee is forced to send Ivette, Team Rorke sends Goldie, and Team Nick sends Jim. The endurance portion involves squatting to fit inside of a three-foot by five-foot frame while balancing a small cylinder on a plank. The first person to drop the cylinder or leave the frame is eliminated. Eventually, Ivette's cylinder falls, and she rings out and leaves.

• ELIMINATED: Ivette Saucedo

All the teams receive land navigation compasses, and most teams struggle to learn to use them, but Mark from Team Noah has land nav experience and teaches the rest of the team how to use the device. Early the next morning, the teams are all blindfolded and taken to an unknown location in the woods. From there, they must use the compass and gear they are supplied to locate a checkpoint, solve a navigation problem at the checkpoint to get a map, then carry their gear to the finish. In a close finish, Team Noah wins again and is rewarded with massages. Rorke gives his team gifts of custom ammo shells to help inspire them. At the Circus, Tony is forced to go, while Rorke sends Mario and Nick sends KJoy. The endurance challenge involves carrying sandbags uphill and over a set of steps, and they must move at a constant pace. If a contestant stops or slows down too much, they will be eliminated. After over an hour of this endurance, KJoy cannot go any further and she quits, ringing out and going home.

• ELIMINATED: Kimberly Joy "KJoy" Lipson

At base camp, the teams are told the winners of the next Evolution will win visits from their loved ones. The Evolution involves one team member building a barricade with various materials in thirty minutes around a bunker with flags inside it. After thirty minutes, another team member must attempt to breach an opponent's bunker with a pair of pliers and retrieve their flag. Tony, on his own, barely beats out Mario and wins immunity and a visit from his family. Cam and Haze have a date and Nick is concerned that Haze is playing with Cam's emotions. Tony surprises Haze by sacrificing his reward so that she can visit her father instead. For the Circus, Nick chooses Cam, Rorke chooses Goldie, and Noah chooses Mark. Cena reveals that for this Circus, the military Cadre cannot assist. The endurance challenge involves stilts held together at the top with chains and three sets of increasingly smaller footholds on them. The contestants must climb the stilts and switch to the higher and narrower footholds at Cena's signal. After 45 minutes of this endurance, Cam slips and falls, and he is forced to ring out and go home.

• ELIMINATED: Cameron "Cam" Zagami

The Evolution involves obstacles over a five mile course: a tire shuffle, freeing a tire from a puzzle, crawling through a mud pit, and solving another tire puzzle, while each time grabbing a tire and carrying it back to a post at the start/finish line, and teams with multiple members must travel together. Tony wins his second Evolution in a row, guaranteeing him a spot in the finals. The Cadre each bring in a guest military member to give inspirational stories to their teams. Jim is forced to go to the Circus, while Noah sends Mark and Rorke sends Mario, which means by default that Clare and Haze are automatically in the finals, while Mark and Goldie are also automatically in due to being exempt from the Circus this week. The endurance trial involves a ladder that contestants must constantly climb down, under, up, and over within one minute. At the top of the ladder is a button which must be pressed, and the contestants must wait for all other contestants to press the button before the next cycle begins. In a rain-soaked Circus, Mario finishes the course first, but after over 71 rotations, he forgets to hit the button and is eliminated, ringing out and going home. Cena then reveals that the remaining contestants have only 30 minutes to gear up and get ready for the next challenge.

• ELIMINATED: Mario Robinson

The contestants must cross a suspended traverse line hand-over-hand that spans over a 125-foot high waterfall, and for teams with multiple members, the average time of the team will be what counts, with the winning team earning an advantage in the final Circus. Team Noah wins this challenge. Cena explains that the final Circus has been expanded, and he spends some time thanking the remaining contestants before bringing in their family members for a visit. Cena explains that all seven remaining contestants must run the tougher Circus twice, with a fifteen-minute endurance in between the two runs. The endurance involves a rope suspended from a pole with two knots tied into it. After the first run, contestants must hold on via the top knot, and after the second run, they must hold on via the bottom knot. Contestants will be eliminated one after another until one team remains and the remaining members of that team will be the winners. Team Noah's advantage is a one-minute head start in the first run, which they use to gain the advantage in the first endurance. All teams make it through to the second run, and Tony from Team Tee finishes it first, Jim from Team Nick finishes second, Team Noah is third, and Team Rorke finishes fourth. Haze drops out in seventh place, David finishes in sixth, Goldie drops out in fifth and eliminates Team Rorke. Jim drops out next in fourth and eliminates Team Nick. After over 90 minutes of endurance, Tony drops out in third place eliminating Team Tee, and giving the win and the $250,000 prize to both Clare and Mark from Team Noah.

• ELIMINATED: Ashley "Haze" Hazlett, David Neville, Tabatha "Goldie" Chandler, Jim Vaglica, Tony Simmons
• WINNERS: Clare Painter and Mark Bouquin

At the new location known as Camp Grit, John Cena and the new Cadre meet the 17 new competitors. Cena tells them that there are only 16 beds in the cabin, and that one contestant will go home before the team challenges start. The contestants race around a lake to claim one of the beds. The next day, the contestants are hung upside down over a lake, and the first person to give up will be eliminated. After over 30 minutes of the players being repeatedly dunked in the lake, no one gives up, and Cena ends the contest with no one eliminated. On day three, the contestants must spin a beach ball over their heads until the Cadre pick them for a team and only 16 players will be on the teams. Eventually, Heather is not chosen for a team and she is eliminated.

• ELIMINATED: Heather Pincelli

The four teams must complete a relay race where they must pass through a gate and get a flag then plant the flags at the finish line. In addition, when a gate is reached, one of the team members must complete a task of either putting on a shock collar, drinking a liquefied alligator tail, or stripping naked. Team Burk wins the race, but Cena tells them they will not be immune unless the fourth member who did not complete a task has their head shaved. Melanie agrees to have her head shaved and thus Team Burk wins immunity and Burk gets to choose one member of the other three teams for the Elimination Challenge. He chooses Nathalie, George, and Gill. The Elimination Challenge has the contestants hold a bar while standing inside a frame suspended over the lake. Every 15 minutes, the frame will be tilted forward. The first person to drop will be eliminated. Nathalie drops out first, ending her day.

• ELIMINATED: Nathalie Martin

The Team Challenge has the four teams blindfolded and in a canoe race where they must navigate a series of gates while being led by one member designated as team captain who is able to see. Team Grady wins the race and Grady chooses the other three team captains, Gill, Janessa, and Hannah, for the Elimination Challenge. In this challenge, the contestants have a set of four wheels slightly separate from one another which they must constantly keep spinning. The first contestant to have a wheel stop spinning is eliminated. After over an hour of endurance, one of Gill's wheels stops turning and she is eliminated.

• ELIMINATED: Gill Morton

Cena advises the contestants that this week will have a double elimination. The Team Challenge has the members tethered together at the waist by a rope and they must complete a muddy race through a swamp. Team Grady wins the challenge, but Hannah from Team Burke is injured. She receives medical attention and is okay the next day. Grady selects Carla, Shermon, and Will for the Elimination Challenge. This challenge has the contestants balance on a platform while holding a ball over their heads suspended over the lake. When the ball is let go, it will swing into a bell to signal the elimination of that contestant. After an hour, Will loses control of the ball and is eliminated. After three hours, Shermon loses control of the ball and is also eliminated.

• ELIMINATED: Will Westwater and Shermon Braithwaite

The Team Challenge has the members releasing triangle-shaped puzzle pieces that must be placed on stakes to spell out the words love, money, or power. If the winning team spells love, they win a visit from their families, while spelling money wins the team $1,000 each, and spelling power gives the team the ability to move members around. Team Chloe wins by spelling out love, and they earn a visit from their families. Chloe chooses Carla, Herman, and Melanie for the Elimination Challenge. In this challenge, there is an hourglass filled with sand which will slowly drain out. The competitors must repeatedly cross a balance beam and refill the sand using either a small bag or a larger bucket with holes in it. They also have one bucket of sand near the hourglass for a single use. The contestant whose hourglass drains out first is eliminated. Eventually, Melanie's hourglass empties and she is sent home.

• ELIMINATED: Melanie Mahanna

Cena tells the Cadre that they will not be beside their team for the challenge. The challenge tasks each individual to pick whether they would choose to do something for the team (worth more points) or something personally for themselves (worth less points). Team Burk wins and also gets the reward to steal someone from another team, while Carla secures a safety which grants her next week free of elimination. Chris, having won the reward for his team, takes George from Grady's team. Burk sends Janessa, Scarlett, and Herman to the Elimination Challenge, which is a double elimination this week. The challenge is to hold on to an outcrop on a 45° slope with water running down it. Scarlett slides into the water and has to ring out, while an hour later, Janessa does too. Cena then reveals if all of one Cadre's team has rung out, the Cadre too must ring out.

• ELIMINATED: Scarlett Angelina and Janessa Morgan

This week's challenge looks nearly identical to the last Elimination Challenge in that there is a 45° slope with water running down it and a handle at the top, but this time, the Cadre are the ones who will participate. Grady wins the challenge and his team selects Richard, Alison, and Chris for the Elimination Challenge. In this challenge, three floating balls are under ropes, and the contestants must balance on the balls while using the ropes to prevent floating away. The first one to drop will be eliminated. Richard falls quickly and is sent home.

• ELIMINATED: Richard Mallard

For this week's Team Challenge there is a rotating set of four basketball hoops on one end of a court, a pile of colored balls on another, and large bungee cords in the middle. The contestants must run with the bungee attached to them to grab a ball then shoot it into an opponent's colored basket. The first three teams that have five balls in their baskets will go to elimination, which this week is another double elimination. Alison secures the win for Team Chloe. By default, Carla is sent to elimination while Allison selects George and Herman. In this challenge, the competitors are harnessed to an underwater pulley system which supports a box that holds 50% of each competitor's weight. They must hold on to a rope while in the water to support the box. The first two competitors to let go will both be eliminated. Carla drops out first, eliminating Team Riki altogether. After over 50 minutes, George loses his grip and is eliminated.

• ELIMINATED: Carla Mireles and George Foreman IV

With Riki's team being eliminated, Riki becomes the first-ever Cadre to ring out. Cena visits the contestants and shares with them a story with details about his life. For the Team Challenge, Cena quizzes the contestants about details of his story, and they must slide down a ramp into a mud pit to grab a tile with the correct answer, then return it to the start. The first team with four correct answers is safe from another double elimination. Team Grady wins the challenge. All members of the other teams must compete in the Elimination Challenge. This challenge has the contestants balance a weighted ball on a shelf while also balancing themselves on an unstable platform. After ten minutes, they must transition to another platform that is more unstable. The first two contestants to drop their balls will be eliminated. After about 36 minutes, Alison drops her ball, thus also eliminating Team Chloe. A few minutes later, Chris drops his ball and is also eliminated.

• ELIMINATED: Alison Kempkey and Chris Edom

Cena tells the remaining contestants that they are now competing as individuals and their Cadre can no longer assist them. In the first challenge, the contestants have a puzzle where every piece is the face of a former contestant, and they must put them in the order that they were eliminated. Michael solves the puzzle first, and he gets to choose two other people to compete with him in the finals. He chooses Hannah and Gigi to move on, thus eliminating Herman.

• ELIMINATED: Herman Brar

For the final challenge, the contestants are suspended over the lake while holding on to a crossbar. They will be quizzed on facts that occurred during the course of the season, and must answer them by releasing either their left or right hand. Getting a wrong answer results in a penalty of holding the bar with one hand for three minutes. The last competitor to hold on will be the winner. After over an hour, Hannah loses her grip and is eliminated in third place. After over two hours, Cena runs out of trivia questions and forces the two contestants to hold on with one hand for the remainder. Michael loses his grip and is eliminated, making Gigi the winner of season two of American Grit and the $250,000 prize.

• ELIMINATED: Hannah Koen
• RUNNER-UP: Michael Wilson Morgan
• WINNER: Gigi Gustin