A foam roller can release tension and help fire up muscles that are used less frequently, such as the inside of quads.

We judge a celebrity trainer by the bodies of the women she whips into shape, and Ashley Borden is the whip behind the lovely, feminine frames of Reese Witherspoon, Lauren Graham and Christina Aguilera. So when we were invited to participate in a 24-hour version of the three-day Balanced Wellness Retreats that Borden leads at the beautiful Resort at Pelican Hill on Southern California’s Newport Coast, we leapt at the opportunity.

Borden is bubbly, open, smart and generous — and, yes, gorgeous, but you don’t begrudge her that 38-year-old killer body because you know how hard she’s worked for it, both in her rigorous diet and fitness program, and in overcoming a debilitating eating disorder she suffered throughout her teen years. Here’s some of what we learned from her during the event:

1. If you find yourself getting bloated, stay away from brown rice and popcorn. “Anything with a husk can lead to belly bloat,” Borden says.
2. Keep a food diary if you’re trying to change your eating habits. “It’s not just about having an account of what you eat during the day,” Borden says. “The journal is also a place to write down your feelings so you don’t put those on your plate instead.” You don’t need to write Mamet-like descriptions of your day. Try simply jotting down adjectives describing your flow of feelings — impatient, frustrated, elated, contented, tired, jumpy.
3. Add a daily dose of Udo’s Choice 3-6-9 Oil Blend ($30.49) to your diet. A blend of unrefined organic flax, sunflower, sesame and evening primrose oils, 2 tablespoons of Udo’s provides your daily fix of essential fatty acids (which can be especially difficult to obtain if you follow a largely vegetarian diet). Mix the oil with your salad dressing, pour into your cereal or yogurt, or drink it on its own and chase with a sip of juice. Borden claims that Udo’s will do everything from help lean out your muscles to give you “skin that’s like butter,” relief from joint and bone pain, and a better night’s sleep.
4. Beware of “mirror body.” That’s when you work out just the body parts you see when you’re looking straight ahead in the mirror. Instead, Borden recommends “functional strength training,” which means working all the muscles that you use in your everyday life — toting around your toddler, lifting your carry-on to the overhead compartment, whacking that backhand on the tennis court. In other words, don’t neglect muscles like your glutes, hamstrings and posterior deltoid (rear of shoulder).
5. Roll. Borden is passionate about the benefits of rolling out your body over a foam roller (you can find these in various sizes at relaxtheback.com) or a 3-foot length of PVC piping (you can get this cut to measure at your local home-improvement store). Rolling is a kind of do-it-yourself myofascial release, lengthening the muscles and loosening tight knots or adhesions. It’s also pretty painful, and there were plenty of groans as Borden led a dozen or so fitness reporters through a 50-minute session of rolling thighs, buttocks, triceps, hamstrings and quads.

We were, we admit, skeptical about this rolling business ourselves until later in the day when we pulled Borden aside to ask her advice about one of our peskiest body woes: fat knees. We scrunched up our workout pants, pointing out the pockets of pudge, and Borden offered her solution: rolling. “You have to lie on your side, propped up on your forearms, hips stacked, and roll from the top of your hip to just above your kneecap,” she says.

“Then do the military crawl, where you lie facedown, with your legs extended directly behind you. Place the roller under the center of your thighs, crawl forward on your forearms so the roller goes to the top of your thighs, then roll back to just above your kneecaps again.” The aim, she says, “is to hit your quads from all angles. Knee fat collects because the inside of the quad is turned off, and rolling gets those muscles firing again.” (We’re sharing this in some detail because we know from the other reporters straining to overhear our consultation that we’re not the only ones bothered by bulky knees!)

Have you tried rolling?

Tags: Ashley Borden, Christina Aguilera, exercise, food diary, Hamstring, Hospitality/Recreation, Lauren Graham, Muscular system, Newport Coast, oil, Pelican Hill, Reese Witherspoon, Southern California, Strength training, USD, whip