Interview with Celebrity Personal Trainer Ashley Borden

Celebrity Personal Trainer Ashley Borden.
(Photo by Ashley Borden)

Located in the heart of West Hollywood, renowned celebrity fitness trainer Ashley Borden is making waves and a huge splash in the fitness world. With clients such as Christina Aguilera, NY Yankee Nick Swisher, Mandy Moore, Natasha Bedingfield, UFC Fighter Matt Hughes, and Ryan Gosling, this amazingly inspiring fitness guru has been featured on the Today Show, Discovery Health, E!, VH1, MTV, the Tyra Banks Show, and on Rachel Ray and in numerous publications such as Vogue, Elle, Allure, Shape, In Style, and the Los Angeles Times. She is also an advisor for Livestrong.com and Fitness magazine. Borden was also the fitness director for Matt Hughes' Fitness DVD.

Training for over 20 years with over 30,000 hours of personal training under her belt, Ashley Borden is one of the biggest celebrity personal trainers in the world today. In fact, Women's Health named Borden a top "Body Transformer" in 2011, one of only six trainers in the country. The Huffington Post recently declared her one of the top 20 fitness experts worth following on Twitter. She also released not one, but two training DVDs. Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to Ashley about life and fitness.


There is always someone or something that motivates a person to be passionate about something. When I asked Ashley what motivated or influenced her to become involved in the fitness industry, she said "My recovery from my eating disorder. It motivated me (when I first started out). Seeing how many needed to find a balance between training and living. Years later, after experiencing my own physical recovery from an injury, I re-learned a solid foundation of movement patters and muscle releases. My own physical re-education opened my eyes to how many people truly are disconnected from their bodies, both in and out of the gym. I had a new mission in life -- to help as many people, both men and women, as possible."

As one of the best personal trainers on the planet, Ashley is busy, so I asked her to take me through an ordinary day. " I walk my dogs multiple times a day (my two are both rescued), I train at least 5 hours of clients, I train myself once day, sometimes twice a day depending on my schedule, and the workout I did the day before, I answer a million emails, tweet, answer all questions on my Facebook page, YouTube Channel, and Livestrong Woman channel, and schedule my clients. I'm in bed around 11 pm and up at 7 am. My day never stops!"


It seems like there is always some sort of mistake when working out. When I asked Ashley what she thought to be the biggest mistake women make when they attempt to lose weight, she told me - "they avoid lifting heavy weights." When I asked her what her pet-peeves were, she said - "Women that ask me "is lifting weights going to make me bulky?" -- That and people who complain about being out of shape who do absolutely nothing about it."

Ashley Borden.
(Photo by Ashley Borden)

Originality is key, but it is innovation that turns a great personal trainer into an amazing personal trainer. Ashley is amazing for several reasons, but she is known for her creativity in the gym. When I asked her about an original workout that she created, that has proved be effective, she told me - "Rolling Out." I don't know about you, but I am definitely going to try it.


The holidays are approaching and although they tend to be one of the hardest times of the year to start any kind of diet or exercise regime, according to Ashley it is possible to incorporate the two. " Yes! I have never understood the concept of gorging yourself just because it's a holiday. Look at it as a normal meal if you feel like you are out of control, and don't skip meals that day to "make up" for the extra calories you are planning on stuffing yourself with! Eat your normal meals and be sure to break a sweat for at least 20 minutes the day of your holiday feast. You will feel more inclined to make smarter choices and not overeat."


The holidays are surely one of the biggest times of the year. When I asked Ashley if she had any advice for those looking to diet during the holidays, she mentioned - "Don't look at the holidays as a "special" out of control binge food day. Just treat is as another meal where you have more indulgence than normal. Workout more intensely the next 2 days after your holiday meals and you will be back on track no problem."


I asked Ashley to walk me through her skin care regime. She mentions that she starts off by washing her face with a sensitive skin cleanser followed by a sensitive skin face cream. "I wash with a sensitive skin cleanser and use a sensitive skin face cream and under eye cream religiously. I never go to bed without washing my face. I have been putting cream on my body after every shower since I was 14 years old. I always use sunscreen on my face and chest, and keep a scarf in the car to wrap around my neck to protect from sun!" When I asked Ashley about her favorite beauty products and essentials, she told me - "Kai body butter, and Tinted Solar Protection Formula Tizo3 SPF 40."


Aside from health and fitness, Ashley loves animals. In fact, she supports the animal rescue often. She also supports animal fostering and adoption. She is 100% against breeding cats and dogs.


Borden is also a successful author, having co-wrote the book "Your Perfect Fit" with denim designer Paige Adams-Geller (of Paige Denim) in 2008. Her goal is to continue spreading great information that is not only useful, but effective that will benefit everyone.


http://www.ashleyborden.com
http://www.twitter.com/ashleyborden
http://www.youtube.com/user/ashleybordenfitness