Due to the nature of the possible hazardous types of threat that you as Close Protection Operative and a client can face, it is imperative that you attain and maintain a high level of physical fitness.

If you are unable to cover ground and remove a client to safety when a situation presents itself then you are no use to man or beast and I will go as far as to say that you are not only a danger to yourself but your team and most importantly your client.

It does not have to be a confrontation that you are faced with to be required to produce a large physical effort.

There is always the possibility that your client is a health and fitness fanatic and likes to go a 10 mile run every day, I am afraid that the police will take a very dim view of you when they catch you driving the follow vehicle through a protected park or across the countryside.

Thankfully the vast majority of the Close Protection workforce share a professional attitude and have the motivation and discipline necessary for the job in hand.

What can you do if you are one of those who no matter how hard you try or how much you berate yourself, just cannot keep a training regime going?

Well, help is at hand because with a little imagination you can develop your fitness level and do so, on a consistent basis.

A couple of straight forward common sense practices can help give you an attitude adjustment.

The first is to get involved in a group activity with a local club, such as running, cycling, badminton, tennis, hill walking, swimming, etc.

With a group of like minded others offering you support and giving you friendly ribbing when they feel your efforts are dropping off, is key to keeping you motivated and interested.

And if you take hill walking as an example, you will be so caught up in the sights and sounds of what is going around you that you will not even realise that you are exercising.

Another excellent technique is to kill two birds with one stone and choose your activity around enhancing your resume.

Activities such as rock climbing, snowboarding, skiing and mixed martial arts are absolutely perfect for this.

As far as I am concerned there is no finer work out than that of a quality Mixed Martial Arts session, the effort required is both aerobic and anaerobic and if I shall state the obvious, enhances your fighting skills.

I have deliberately omitted high impact types sports like American football and rugby.

And the reason for this is that I believe these open you up to unnecessary physical damage for no reward.

You may argue that Mixed Martial Arts is listed but at least with the likes of MMA there is an acceptable risk because you are developing one other necessary Close Protection skill.

If you still find yourself unconvinced and unmotivated after trying out these ideas then your decision to be involved in the world of Close Protection should be brought into doubt and maybe you should look at another line of work, after all you owe it to yourself, your team and most importantly your client.