On Tuesday Malthouse will join his players on their second annual training camp at Flagstaff, Arizona – the same pre-season destination he used to train Collingwood players over several years.
The Blues' coach has since hired the former Magpies fitness guru David Buttifant, the man who persuaded Malthouse to embark on such training in the first place.
There has been much discussion about the merits of altitude training, with some industry figures claiming players gain little or no season-long benefit.
Leading exercise physiologist Dr Ian Gillam said the camps were not worth the money clubs invested in them.
It was a view generally shared by Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson.
Malthouse was testy when asked for his thoughts on the debate at Visy Park on Monday.
He said the Blues had an altitude room that they used throughout the football year that, combined with the training completed on the Arizona camp, provided "massive benefit.
"We don't do it to waste time, money, effort," he said of the camps.
"We do it because it's very, very good for you. It's proven, very well documentedly (sic) proven. We're not the only code that uses it.
"We'll take those benefits and if someone else rejects it, that's up to them. We're not here for anyone else, we're here for ourselves.
"As far as the scuttlebutt of those who choose not to use it, then condemn it, we have scientific evidence on the contrary.
"I'm not here to explain away why we use it and how we use it; the simple fact is we use it. And it certainly hasn't hurt us in the past."
Malthouse said he planned to use the camp to build fitness, relationships within the group and understanding of the "game rules".
Carlton's boom recruit Dale Thomas didn’t make an appearance on the training track in sweltering conditions on Monday morning, but Malthouse was confident the former Collingwood star would overcome the ankle issues that have dogged him over the past two seasons.
"We wouldn't be picking a player who couldn’t tick the boxes. He's ticked all those that need to be ticked at this stage," he said. "He'll be very, very good for our football club."
Blues captain Marc Murphy and Chris Judd trained only briefly, but Murphy believed he was over the knee problem that troubled him throughout last season, saying he had been running for the past month.
"I'm two or three months ahead of where I was last year.
"Getting a good base is critical, especially when you’re playing in the midfield.
"Missing out on that two or three months prior to Christmas last year definitely hurt me personally. I think I'm getting on top of it. Time will tell."
Entering his second season as skipper, Murphy said he would try to further develop his leadership skills at the camp.
Malthouse said that for a variety of reasons "10 or 12" players would not be going to Arizona. Among them were Matthew Kreuzer and veterans Judd, Andrew Carrazzo and Heath Scotland.
The Blues will return from overseas on December 19.
Twitter: @AFL_BenCollins
