Rafael Hidalgo: 20 Minutes of Walking After 70 Can Bring Benefits

For Rafael Hidalgo, becoming more active after the age of 70 does not mean taking lengthy walks or feeling compelled to reach 10,000 steps every day. “If a person over 70 walks for 20 minutes a day, they already gain benefits,” says the Spanish trainer. His approach is to make an achievable duration the starting point for improving fitness, mobility and wellbeing, then gradually increasing the effort in line with each person’s abilities.

Why can just 20 minutes of walking make a difference?

Moving from a sedentary routine to a daily walk immediately raises the total amount of movement accumulated across the week. The heart has to work harder, major leg muscle groups are engaged and the joints repeatedly take part in the movement, providing stimulation that is absent during extended periods of sitting.

Hidalgo presents 20 to 30 minutes as a practical starting benchmark, rather than a threshold below which exercise no longer has an effect. International guidance itself stresses that some physical activity is better than none, advising older people to begin with small amounts where needed.

• Walking increases the daily volume of physical activity;
• It can fit into a routine without any specialist equipment;
• The duration can be extended as fitness improves;
• Short breaks do not cancel out the minutes already completed;
• Consistency is generally more sustainable than occasional, highly intense efforts.

Is it essential to reach 10,000 steps every day?

No. A target of 10,000 steps can encourage some people, but it is not a biological dividing line between gaining benefits and gaining none. For someone who currently moves very little, starting to walk regularly is already progress, even if their daily total remains far below that figure.

How can you increase walking without turning exercise into exhaustion?

Hidalgo’s recommendation is to progress gradually. Once 20 or 30 minutes feels comfortable, some people can slowly move on to longer periods. Intensity should develop alongside fitness too: the aim is not to endure an exhausting walk, but to build up minutes of movement at a safe pace.

For people over 70, modest adjustments can make the habit easier to maintain:

• Begin with a duration that feels comfortable;
• Take breaks if excessive fatigue occurs;
• Increase the time or pace gradually;
• Choose flat, safe routes at first;
• Wear stable footwear suitable for walking;
• Ease off if dizziness, pain or unusual shortness of breath develops.

Is walking alone enough after the age of 70?

Walking matters for aerobic capacity, but it does not address every component needed to maintain independence. Guidance for people aged 65 and over recommends 150 to 300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity per week for substantial benefits, alongside strengthening major muscle groups on at least two days each week. Activities that combine strength and balance are recommended on three or more days to help retain functional ability and prevent falls.

• Walking mainly develops aerobic endurance;
• Strength exercises help maintain muscle;
• Balance training prepares the body for unstable situations;
• Climbing steps and rising from a chair add functional stimulus;
• These forms of activity can be combined over the same week.

After 70, the goal is not to break records but to keep moving

Rafael Hidalgo’s message is particularly relevant for people who see lengthy exercise recommendations and decide that it is already too late to begin. Twenty minutes is neither a compulsory formula nor an amount that will produce the same effect for everyone. Instead, it is an accessible target that can help someone leave sedentary habits behind and create a path towards a progressively more active routine.

As the years pass, the most tangible benefit lies in activities that support independence: walking to a shop, leaving home without fear, keeping up with family, climbing stairs and continuing to manage everyday tasks. For anyone with significant limitations, cardiovascular conditions, recurrent falls or symptoms during exertion, the routine must be adapted to their individual circumstances. For everyone else, beginning with a few minutes and repeating the movement regularly may be far more useful than waiting for the perfect moment to meet a difficult target.