Reigning club champion Joel Patfull is coming off the best season of his career, and the 27-year-old hit the ground running in preparation for 2013.
Patfull was among the leaders for most of the 2km time trial before being pipped on the line by teenage midfielder Jack Crisp.
With the retirements of Ben Hudson, Amon Buchanan and Josh Drummond, Patfull is now the sixth oldest on the Lions' list.
But he wanted to show the club's cubs the value of returning in tip-top shape.
"I've been good over the off-season, injury free and no surgeries so I've been able to do most of the program ... so I'm pretty happy with how I've returned," Patfull said.
"I went away and trained really hard. I wanted to come back and be in good shape.
"I didn't want to be complacent coming off a reasonable year so I've done all my training, been pretty good in the off-season and hopefully have shown that I've come back in good nick and looking forward to another good year."
Patfull will join 17 of his teammates on Wednesday travelling to Arizona to undergo a two-week altitude training camp.
About to enter his eighth season at the Lions, the reliable defender said it would be a nice change in stimulus.
"I don't know what to expect," he said.
"The boys have said it's a tough couple of weeks but I'm looking forward to it, it's a good change-up to get away and do something different.
"I've been running around here for the last seven years so I'm looking forward to the change of scenery and a bit of hard work over there. It should be fun."
The travelling party is the Lions' five-year-plus players, aside from captain Jonathan Brown and vice-captain Jed Adcock.
Coach Michael Voss said the Lions believed their young players would benefit just as much by training in Brisbane, while the more seasoned players - with a bigger training base - could search for small improvement at altitude.
Michael Whiting covers Brisbane Lions news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
