For Jesse Lonergan, the difficulty of breathing at high altitude hit him harder than a Karmichael Hunt shirtfront.

“I definitely felt the effects of training at altitude after the first session,” the 18-year-old midfielder told SUNS TV.

“My throat got pretty dry after the first few skills, and I certainly began to feel pretty light headed.”

Meeting at the “Dome”, the main training facility  at the University of Arizona, the Gold Coasters immediately got to work – breaking into different training groups as the boys were taken through a series of endurance tests.

Led by former Australian Olympian and newly-appointed Strength and Conditioning Coach – Mark Ladbrook, the squad rotated between a variety of interval exercises including 8 minute, 7 minute and 6 minute time trials.

Testing their mental barriers and fortitude, the High Performance team upped the ante on the GC SUNS playing list, putting them through a specifically designed endurance course just hours after completing the 31-hour trip from the Gold Coast to Arizona.

Lonergan, who is expected to reap the benefits of training at altitude in what is his first 2XU Arizona High Performance Camp, said the team’s first day in Flagstaff had been made more difficult given the player’s lack of sleep, after a number of players including the Tasmanian found it difficult to adjust to the oxygen-sapping environment last night.

“Yeah many of the boys didn’t get much sleep last night,” Lonergan said.

“Trying to adjust to the high altitude, given we are 7,000 ft. above sea level, is a big difference to the Gold Coast and makes for difficult sleeping up here.”

The bullocking on-baller said the team would be placing a heavy onus on their rest and recovery to ensure their bodies could with the program’s gruelling demands.

“The rest of the day we’ll do some leg and upper body weights, then make sure we do some recovery to ensure we’re ready for day 2 tomorrow morning.”