The sweltering temperature, a 1.2-kilometre shuttle run and gusty winds were hardly the welcome-back present ACT Brumbies players were hoping for when they started pre-season training on Friday.

But hooker Josh Mann-Rea says being smashed in the draining 36-degree heat was the "perfect" beginning to the club's bid to break a 12-year Super Rugby title drought.

The Brumbies were put through a brutal initiation back at training as new athletic performance director Ben Serpell pushed the players to the limit on day one of a new quest.

Some might have been hoping Serpell would give them a reprieve as the temperature soared around Canberra.

Instead, their legs turned to jelly as coach Stephen Larkham watched on after returning from his stint as Wallabies assistant coach at the World Cup.

"This sort of weather is good testing for a bit of mental toughness," Mann-Rea said. "There's no excuses, the heat doesn't matter. My legs turned jelly a bit and I was pretty buggered. But the first day, it was perfect actually.

"You could see what guys are made of. Most [coaches] might have said let's do it tomorrow or next week when it's a bit cooler. But it's a sign of how much we want it."

Brumbies off-season news has been dominated by player movements, with Matt Toomua signing a deal in England, Stephen Moore linked to Ireland and French clubs circling David Pocock.

But the focus turned to fitness improvements as they ramped up training with a day of medicals, running in the heat, a gym session and team bonding and bowling.

Scumhalf Michael Dowsett was the fastest over 1.2 kilometres to put down his marker as he aims to be Nic White's replacement in the No. 9 jersey, while Australian sevens representative Michael Wells was the quickest forward.

The Wallabies' World Cup squad members aren't due back until January 4, leaving just one month before the team's first trial match.

The rest of the Brumbies are laying the foundations for success in Canberra's heat in a bid to stay near the top in a revamped Super Rugby.

Mann-Rea and speedster Robbie Coleman cut lonely figures in rehabilitation for the past two months as they worked their way back from lingering injury problems. So they were itching to finally get back with the rest of the team to start preparations for the 2017 campaign.

Mann-Rea will continue as Moore's offsider while Robbie Abel will be pushing him for the back-up hooker role.

Mann-Rea played through the pain of a labrum tear in his shoulder in the last few months of the Super Rugby season and wants to take the next step in his career.

"I'm pretty pumped, the body is feeling really good," Mann-Rea said. "The pre-season is shorter and more intense now so you've really got to put in the effort to get those gains. It's going to be intense and pretty tough.

"We've got a lot of young guys who have played well in the NRC ... next year is the one to stamp it. We want to make sure we're keeping the same level of last year and improving it."

The Brumbies were knocked out in the semi-finals last season. But after going almost 10 years without playing in the finals, the Brumbies have advanced to the play-offs in the past three consecutive seasons.