Walking through the doors as a new recruit at an AFL club is eye opening and very intimidating. But spare a thought for Cam Richardson who was literally thrown in the deep end after being picked up by North Melbourne during trade week.

The North Ballarat premiership player had very little time to get to know his new teammates at Arden Street before embarking on a three-week intense training camp in Utah with them.

The apprentice plumber had never trained at the highest level before and was forced to adapt on the run with the training program one of the most demanding in the club’s recent history.

Even players with a number of pre-season’s under their belts struggled to handle the immense workload at altitude and it was particularly full-on for Richardson who made the right decision in preparing for the worst in the days leading into the trip.

Cross training, swimming, running, boxing, skills sessions, weights and yoga were all thrown at the 22 year-old and he used his excellent aerobic capacity to his advantage.

Watch the RooTube video above for a special behind the scenes look at North Melbourne in Utah.