Players also want their allocated time off to be protected, so clubs can't put realor implied pressure on players to train during that time.
These are some of the ideas players are considering to restore balance to their lives.
Many ideas were tabled at Wednesday night's AFLPA board meeting in an effort to increase opportunities for players to pursue other meaningful activities besides football.
AFL players suggested that specific strength and conditioning training phases might only include young players, while players with more experience started their pre-season later in the year.
In the discussion about how pre-season training might be restructured,
players also examined the recently introduced NFL training protocols that
restrict activity through its collective bargaining agreement.
There was a general consensus that the monitoring of players during leave periods and days off remains a major concern.
The AFL has expressed broad support for the concept of shorter pre-seasons as the issue of players' work-life balance has come to the fore during the off-season.
After the Players Wellbeing Summit held in January, AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou admitted he was disturbed to hear that it was becoming increasingly difficult for players to undertake education and engage in meaningful off-field activities while forging an AFL career.
During the AFL Commission's meeting with the captains in the week before the first game, the players floated the idea of all clubs starting pre-season on the same date.
It was suggested that most players would return to training on December 1, while players with 10 years service or more should return in the first week of January. The Commission supported examining the concept further.
America's NFL has recently introduced strict training protocols and AFL players have been keen to examine how those rules have been implemented and the effect they have had on that competition.
AFLPA CEO Matt Finnis said that players were keen to research the issue of a more controlled pre-season training timetable with rigour so that sensible, practical solutions could be reached.
"It is really important that the AFL and the Players' Association adopt a shared leadership position because not everyone is going to agree with a [proposed change] but some things are really important and need strong leadership," Finnis told AFL.com.au.
Some AFL clubs have asked their leadership groups to examine what structure would suit best from a players' perspective to ensure they can present a clear position when their views are canvassed.
The Players Association itself is yet to frame a position but hopes to have a meaningful conversation with the AFL about the issue once delegates gain further feedback from players.
Coaches are aware of the move and are keen to have a say in any discussion around pre-season training. They are concerned that some players might struggle in a less structured off-season and would like some parameters to be put around the physical condition players need to be in when they return to training.
Meanwhile further work is also being done by players on the structure of the AFL season.
Although there was agreement that an earlier start to the season may benefit the game, players remain certain that there should be no extra games added to the number played now.
This means that players would only agree to a longer home and away season if there were fewer pre-season games played.
Geelong champion Jimmy Bartel recently argued for a 17-round season plus finals, which would mean each team playing each other once during the season.
Players remain generally of the view that less is more when it comes to the number of games in an AFL season.
