Hip surgery in January this year and a shoulder injury in early 2011 have hindered his pre-seasons, resulting in restricted game time when it counts.
Last Monday was promising though; the 200cm ruckman ran the Power's 3km time trial in 10 minutes 26 seconds, putting him fifth and in front of some of the club's premier midfielders.
Only Kane Cornes (9.46), Cameron O'Shea (10.01), Brad Ebert (10.19) and Cam Hitchcock (10.25) were faster.
It was a great first-up run and was proof the 23-year-old has given himself the best possible foundation for what looms an important few months.
Lobbe didn't read too much into the performance though, identifying the fact that good time trials mean nothing for football other than a sound fitness base.
"The thing is to turn any aerobic base into footy-specific running is the aim and that's all we'll be trying to do over the next couple of months," Lobbe said this week.
"My running has always been something I've tried to use as an advantage but I probably haven't used it as well as I would have liked over the last couple of years.
"The key for me is getting the majority of the next couple of months in and then carry that through to the season with a good headspace, especially for me after coming off the last few seasons where I didn't get a full pre-season."
With Jarrad Redden and Brent Renouf both restricted to walking the time trial track, which lies a few hundred metres from the club's soon-to-be home in Adelaide Oval, Lobbe was the only genuine ruckman in full training on day one.
It's not ideal, especially considering the Power ranked 15th in the League in 2012 for hit-outs per game.
While he predicted a return to the main group wasn't far away for Redden or Renouf, Lobbe said training hard together as a ruck core was vital for their individual and team development.
"For us it's about pushing each other and competing in the pre-season so that when we hit the regular season we're all in as good as shape as possible," he said.
"We all love competing against each other and pre-season's a great chance to be able to get three solid sessions a week in where you can compete, as opposed to the regular season where you get your games and then you get one main training session.
"If you can get a really solid base of competition in before the season it usually holds you in good stead.
"They'll both be back pretty soon, they're both on modified programs but they'll be out on the main track soon."
Power coach Ken Hinkley and high performance manager Darren Burgess have already said a tough pre-season was in store for the club's players.
Lobbe said Hinkley had told the players the focus would be simple; no bells and whistles - just plain, old hard work.
"For us it's really about working as hard as we possibly can," he said.
"In terms of running and skill training, we just have to lift the intensity every time we train.
"You've got so many chances to do that over pre-season because all you really do is train and then eat and sleep, that's what you do every day."
Harry Thring is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Harry.
