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Use these guidelines to stay safe and make the most of your sandy workout.

There’s nothing quite like feeling the sun on your face and the warm breeze on your skin while stroll along a beach. It may sound simple, but there really is an art to walking on the beach. To reap all the health benefits of beach walking, follow the strategies below from fitness experts who specialize in walking workouts. Their tips will strengthen your muscles and lift your mood — and enable you to exercise on the beach efficiently and safely. Consider this your must-have guide to walking on the sand.

There are lots of health perks of walking anywhere, but here are a few of the additional ones you’ll get from walking on the beach.

Just like any form of exercise, walking on the beach burns calories — it just might not burn more calories than walking elsewhere. “Though you are likely to expend more energy working through sand than walking on a flat surface, you may need to move a little slower in order to propel forward, which likely evens out your total calorie expenditure during your beach walk compared to a walk on the sidewalk or treadmill, for instance,” explains Smith. “Calories burned during a walk shouldn't be the main goal though.”

Walking on the beach is not quite as straightforward has walking on the sidewalk in your neighborhood. Use these guidelines to stay safe and make the most of your waterfront workout.