Olympians, astronauts and special forces in the military have used the training technique for years.

Its exorbitant cost meant it was mostly out of reach for the average person who wanted to lose weight, build muscle and get fit.

In a bid to make this training much cheaper and more accessible, Roman Brady has established a gym in Newcastle West called Air Locker.

The way he describes it, training in his gym is kind of like magic.

"Workouts go for only 36 minutes and you get 30 per cent more fat loss," he said.

"You don't bust yourself and it's not a huge amount of movement. You do less but get more out of it."

The training, which involves the concept of "focus through fatigue", is known to give people "a euphoric high".

"You feel on top of the world," he said.

Roman first came across altitude training while playing high-level footy.

"It was the quick fix to losing weight. You'd go into altitude, do cardio and weights and lose fat like magic," he said.

Rugby league, rugby union and AFL professionals are known to use the training technique. Some travel to mountainous areas, while others use simulated systems.

The Australian Institute of Sport has used the technique for years. It has a purpose-built "altitude house" in Canberra where athletes can live and sleep. Nitrogen gas is pumped into the house to simulate high altitude.

The effects of altitude training came to prominence at the 1968 Mexico Olympics.

"It's always been around, but it's never been commercialised because the altitude unit was too expensive," Roman said.

To build a cost-effective system, he put to use his background in mining and mechanical engineering.

"One of the units we looked at is used in horse racing. Gerry Ryan, who owns Jayco Caravans, trains racehorses at altitude to give them a performance benefit.

"We used his technology and some mining technology."

This enabled him to reduce the cost of an altitude unit from $400,000 to $80,000.

The unit works like ducted air-conditioning. It lowers oxygen in the air by pumping in nitrogen, simulating an altitude of about 3500 metres.

The body has to work harder at altitude.

"Thats why all this magic happens."

As founder and chief executive of Air Locker, Roman is building his business as a franchise.

"I've sold four franchises so far. I'll do another one in Bondi," he said, adding that success in the trendy Sydney suburb would greatly help the business.

The Newcastle gym has been open in Hunter Street for about eight weeks.

Former Newcastle Knights players have been using the gym to prepare to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for the Mark Hughes Foundation. Those training for the climb include Mark Hughes, Paul Harragon, Danny Buderus, Kurt Gidley and former coach Nathan Brown.

The gym is for all types of people.

"We've developed workouts and equipment to suit everyone," he said.

Staff ensure people are working out at the right level.

"When you first get in there, it takes about 10 sessions for the body to adapt to the lower oxygen," he said.

The new season of Channel 7's Bride & Prejudice has kicked off.

A Topics spy told us to keep an eye out for couple Tori and James.

The show promo had this to say about the pair: "Tori and James are from different worlds, but they are madly in love. The couple has been together for five years and engaged for two. It was instant attraction for Tori, 28, when she met tradie James, 34, while he was working on a job across the street from her house. Tori's well-to-do mother Mary-Ann believes love isnt enough and Tori can do far better than bad-boy James. Mary-Ann admits she's clashed with James from day one and can't see what her daughter sees in him."

Our spy tells us that Tori is the daughter of Myall Lakes MP Stephen Bromhead.

"I imagine it's an interesting scenario for a state MP to have family participate in a show like this," our spy said.

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