Motherhood Changed How Hilary Swank Trains—Here’s Why

Hilary Swank just turned a relatable parent problem into a pretty solid life/workout strategy. The two-time Oscar winner, now 51, hopped on Instagram on Friday, May 8, to show off her DIY garage gym and talk about how having twins has completely rewired the way she thinks about fitness, discipline, and finding time when there basically isn’t any.

"Motherhood has changed the way I think about discipline. It ’s less about perfection, more about consistency - and letting your kids see you take care of yourself."

The post came with a bunch of photos from her at-home setup and a reality check: her twins, Aya and Ohm, just turned 3 in April, and the window for solo gym sessions has pretty much evaporated. So she stopped trying to carve out mythical "me time" and built a routine that folds the kids right into it.

How she got here

Back in October 2022, Swank announced she was expecting twins with her husband, producer Philip Schneider. She said it was something she’d wanted for a long time and that she could hardly believe she was having not one but two. The twins arrived in April 2023, and if you’ve ever tried to do anything besides clean up spilled snacks while raising toddlers, you know the rest.

The new plan: move together, wherever it fits

Swank says most workouts now happen in the garage, wedged between naps, story time, swim lessons, and the general chaos that comes with tiny humans. She’s also back on set for #Yellowjackets - great news if you’re a fan - but the hours are long, and when she’s home, she wants to be with the kids. The solution: turn the garage into a family space that can grow with them and make movement feel like play.

Extra credit to Schneider here: according to Swank, he designed and built most of the gym himself with help from a couple of handy friends, using as much scrap material as possible. She jokes that she usually hides the power tools from him and is just happy the garage is still standing.

What the workouts actually look like

• A quick power-lift during nap time when that’s all there’s time for.
• Tap-dance sessions inspired by dancer and choreographer Chloe Arnold.
• Climbing, swinging, and general monkey-bar energy with Tumbl Trak gear.
• Scaling a kid-friendly "Everest" with Atomik Climbing Holds as part of a game to find a whale.
• Pretend-firefighter laps up and down a fire pole.
• Rainy-day reading stretched out in a "spider web" nook.

Is it traditional training? Not exactly. Does it count? Absolutely. Swank keeps coming back to the same idea: show up however you can. Perfection is out, consistency is in. And yes, she signs off by thanking Schneider for building the space - and the two small people who keep her moving whether she likes it or not.