Feet falling asleep while working out?

adiggs2777
adiggs2777 Posts: 111 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does anyone else have this issue when using a treadmill, elliptical or recumbent bike? After about 15 minutes on the elliptical, my feet fall asleep. Maybe not precisely fall asleep, but they get numb and I can't feel them and its uncomfortable - it starts at my toes and works its way over the entire foot. I would like to put in 30 minutes of cardio on the elliptical but I have to switch machines because of the sensation (once I stop to switch machines, it goes away after a minute, but the same thing eventually happens again regardless of cardio machine). I thought my shoes had gotten worn, so I got new shoes - Nike Alvords. They seem to exacerbate the problem, so I went back to the New Balance 813. My dad thought maybe I was pinching a nerve, but I don't have the issue on normal pavement - only on gym equipment. And going to the gym is really the only way I am going to get any exercise in. I'm not outdoorsy so taking a walk in the park is just not going to happen.
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Replies

  • adiggs2777
    adiggs2777 Posts: 111 Member
    Anyone? *bump*
  • nena49659
    nena49659 Posts: 260 Member
    Possibly bad circulation? I did have this issue walking on the treadmill when I first started.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,972 Member
    Constant compression (unlike walking or running where you lift your feet up) on the feet if one is overweight can cause them to fall asleep. It's like lying on your arm for a half hour. Best way to resolve it is to lift you feet up off the pedals every few minutes to keep circulation going. Totally normal.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    It's pretty common for the elliptical. I have the same problem (pain/tingling) on both the elliptical and when I do certain workout DVDs that involve a lot of jumping around. Try lacing your shoes a little looser to see if that helps. Make sure your body is properly aligned. Engage your abs, shoulders back and down, make sure you're not leaning too far forward (putting forward pressure on feet) - move feet to the front of the footpads and try not using the arms as that may be putting you in a weird postiion. Try to push down through the heel of the foot rather than the ball - I've found on certain machines it helps to increase the incline as this puts your foot in a position so you'll naturally push more with the mid-foot/heel.
  • kinmad4it
    kinmad4it Posts: 185 Member
    Try to keep moving your feet, I know that sounds odd on a piece of equipment where they're not supposed to move.
    Every so often, try to lift your toes up on each rotation. Doing that usually works for me.
    I've also just recently bought some new trainers and my feet don't fall asleep anywhere near as much now, so maybe try some different footwear.
  • KANGOOJUMPS
    KANGOOJUMPS Posts: 6,474 Member
    giggle
    that is amusing.
  • sheclimbsrocks
    sheclimbsrocks Posts: 110 Member
    I have bad circulation in my hands and feet. My feet have fallen asleep while doing the elliptical and stationary bike, but not when I am wearing tight climbing shoes or riding a street bike. Perhaps this happens to me because the gym type activities cause other parts of your body to be stationary (butt planted on the seat, standing in one place), while non-gym activities (climbing / bike riding) involve movement from the whole body.

    What helped for me was loosening the laces on my sneakers. Maybe that will work for you, too.
  • adiggs2777
    adiggs2777 Posts: 111 Member
    giggle
    that is amusing.

    Thanks for laughing at my pain, literally. Least helpful answer, ever!
  • adiggs2777
    adiggs2777 Posts: 111 Member
    It's pretty common for the elliptical. I have the same problem (pain/tingling) on both the elliptical and when I do certain workout DVDs that involve a lot of jumping around. Try lacing your shoes a little looser to see if that helps. Make sure your body is properly aligned. Engage your abs, shoulders back and down, make sure you're not leaning too far forward (putting forward pressure on feet) - move feet to the front of the footpads and try not using the arms as that may be putting you in a weird postiion. Try to push down through the heel of the foot rather than the ball - I've found on certain machines it helps to increase the incline as this puts your foot in a position so you'll naturally push more with the mid-foot/heel.

    Thanks. I will try this. The LifeFitness 95x I usually use does not have an incline function. The Precor machines at my gym do. I will try using one of those next time.
  • MichelleADB
    MichelleADB Posts: 45 Member
    I have this problem on the elliptical too and no matter how I changed my foot position, or how loose I laced my shoes, my feet still went numb. I really believe it was the angle of the footpads. I just ended up giving up on the elliptical and went back to the treadmill. Sorry I can't be of more help, but I wanted to let you know you're not alone!
  • MyaPapaya75
    MyaPapaya75 Posts: 3,143 Member
    shoes can be too tightly laced or tight over all or poor fitting or simply old....also check your socks you might need them to have less elastic....I tend to buy non lacing slip on type athletic shoes..for a much better feel
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    My feet and hands constantly get numb/fall asleep, and I have hypothyroidism. It's a poor circulation thing. If you're overweight, it can be attributed to that. If you're a healthy weight, poor circulation can be a sign of varying health issues you might want to check out (diabetes, thyroid issues, even nerve problems).
  • Nikachelle
    Nikachelle Posts: 66 Member
    I have this on the elliptical. I think it's attributed to the fact that your feet as stuck butting up against the toe curve and your foot keeps pretty much flat the entire time.
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    Try tying your shoes less tightly. It helped me.
  • GTAFrank
    GTAFrank Posts: 730 Member
    Try to keep moving your feet, I know that sounds odd on a piece of equipment where they're not supposed to move.
    Every so often, try to lift your toes up on each rotation. Doing that usually works for me.
    I've also just recently bought some new trainers and my feet don't fall asleep anywhere near as much now, so maybe try some different footwear.

    ^^This. It works! Very common for me with longer workouts on the elliptical.
  • Fullsterkur_woman
    Fullsterkur_woman Posts: 2,712 Member
    I have this on the elliptical. I think it's attributed to the fact that your feet as stuck butting up against the toe curve and your foot keeps pretty much flat the entire time.
    Plus some ellipticals have raised bumps to help provide traction on the foot pads. They seem far more effective at pushing on the ball of my foot and making it numb than providing traction. So I just move my feet around periodically (in addition to lacing the shoes more loosely).
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    I've heard that it can be from shoes laced too tightly.
  • fabafter5
    fabafter5 Posts: 200 Member
    Do you have wide feet? My feet used to do this and I went to the foot doctor to try and find out why. Turned out that my shoes were too narrow even though I got the wide. I ended up having to switch from the NB to Asics which had a wider toe box. I also went up a half size to accommodate swelling. So far so good!
  • dcr5452WECHANGED
    dcr5452WECHANGED Posts: 121 Member
    I experienced this too a while back. I would also get a burning or tingling feeling in my feet and I went and got some of those gel inserts and it went away immediately. I never experienced it with New Balance but when I switched to Nikes which run small, I had to go to a size 13--I'm normally more like a 12. So the fit could have something to do with it. The gel inserts seem to have eliminated any problems in this regard. If you try it, i hope it works as well for you as it did for me.
  • melham
    melham Posts: 233 Member
    You may try adjusting the way your shoes are laced. I have to skip some holes in some of my lace-up shoes because I have very high arches.
  • wildrose53
    wildrose53 Posts: 1,342 Member
    I've been having sever pain in my calves when I work out and my feet are numb. It started with my left leg/foot only but the past couple of weeks, it's been both. I have put sports insoles in my sneakers which helped a bit. I have an appointment with a specialist tomorrow afternoon so I'll let you know what he tells me.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    giggle
    that is amusing.

    LOL! I thought it was funny too because of the title of the thread, I never expected it to be about feet falling asleep :laugh:
    All I kept thinking was, it's like sex, if you're falling asleep, you're doing it wrong :blushing:
    Don't judge me.

    giggle.gif
  • flyingmouse29
    flyingmouse29 Posts: 3 Member
    This happens to me too - even when I am out running. It happened when I was running a 10k and I just pushed through it even though I was afraid I was going to trip over my own feet. Eventually the feeling went away. I have tried different shoes, tying them looser...nothing seems to help.
  • firestorm233
    firestorm233 Posts: 1
    Yes, Yes, Yes, I get that all the time and it's annoying. I push through it and do the 20-30 minutes, but it's not always easy. I can tell you though that it lessened when I started wearing much lighter weight socks and also when I loosened my shoes where I tie them. I loosened them the entire way down the foot the same way that I would've tightened them.

    I think that being over weight that just happens to be one of the issues that I have to contend with until I get some pounds off of me. I've had a physical and blood test done and everything is good, so I think it's just more of a circulation problem and that once we start to loose it should lessen.

    FS233
  • adiggs2777
    adiggs2777 Posts: 111 Member
    Do you have wide feet? My feet used to do this and I went to the foot doctor to try and find out why. Turned out that my shoes were too narrow even though I got the wide. I ended up having to switch from the NB to Asics which had a wider toe box. I also went up a half size to accommodate swelling. So far so good!

    I do have a wide, flat foot. But I also am currently wearing a wide width NB shoe. They worked fine when I had personal training, but the movements she had me doing were entirely different. I will also try lacing them less tightly, then investigate other kicks if that doesn't help

    Someone mentioned going back to the treadmill. I can't! Its so boring it makes me want to cry! LOL! I'm not going to give up on it because its so much more enjoyable than walking on the treadmill (and as a fat girl, I can go significantly faster than my walking speed which makes me happy.. its the little things) I will incorporate all of these suggestions everyone has mentioned.
  • adiggs2777
    adiggs2777 Posts: 111 Member
    giggle
    that is amusing.

    LOL! I thought it was funny too because of the title of the thread, I never expected it to be about feet falling asleep :laugh:
    All I kept thinking was, it's like sex, if you're falling asleep, you're doing it wrong :blushing:
    Don't judge me.

    giggle.gif

    Okay fine. I won't judge you.. this time! :laugh:
  • TabithaMichelle85
    TabithaMichelle85 Posts: 92 Member
    Thank you for this thread... I was starting to think something was wrong with me... Has anyone had problems with their fingers going numb at times too? :-/ Maybe I just have really poor circulation. I feel much better reading this though :-)
  • adiggs2777
    adiggs2777 Posts: 111 Member
    Thank you for this thread... I was starting to think something was wrong with me... Has anyone had problems with their fingers going numb at times too? :-/ Maybe I just have really poor circulation. I feel much better reading this though :-)

    I personally don't have any issues with my hands during workouts, but then again while I am on the machines my hands are tinkering with my phone to change songs and adjust difficulty on the machine (or when on the treadmill change the television station), whereas my feet are literally glued to the elliptical. Funny because I know I have cold fingers a lot of the time,so the circulation isn't the best in them!

    ETA: I go to the gym today, I'll report back if the suggestions helped any!
  • Pixi_Rex
    Pixi_Rex Posts: 1,676 Member
    Yup.

    I talked to my doctor and it can be a number of things from the way you stand on the machine to your shoes being too tight. I relaced my shoes it made a difference, and if I use the elliptical I find if I wiggle my toes in my shoe its not so bad.
  • rieann84
    rieann84 Posts: 511 Member
    I don't get this on the treadmill, but on the elliptical. I try moving my feet around but its awkward and doesn't work. So..I pretty much only do elliptical for 10 minutes at most. I mostly jog or dance at home :)

    I don't have any advice, really. But, you're not alone on this.

    edit: On a somewhat related topic..sometimes while I am standing and doing my makeup, I will have a numb sensation on my right thigh. It freaks me out :(

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