Help with shoes...foot falling asleep on elliptical?

aplhabetacheesecake

you *could* try the elliptical barefoot to rule out if the issues IS or IS NOT your shoes lol

Mathlete22

Mine use to do that when i ran for a while. I was told to buy one size too big. This worked great.

dawnmcneil10

It might sound strange but I use a high foam feeling flip flop with a good solid arch support for the elliptical. I had the problem with the feet falling asleep years ago when I was hitting the elliptical at the gym. I have found I prefer the front cycle style of the elliptical vs the rear cycle style and if I use a front cycle style it doesn't matter what shoes I am wearing. The rear cycle style I do still have footing issues, there's never really a comfortable position which leads me to feel I can do less time.

ValeriePlz

I find that this will happen to me when the resistance is high, because you are constantly pressing your feet down. I alleviate the numbness by either moving my feet around as others have said, rolling my feet more, or lifting my foot a bit higher while I work out.

Apple31415

Same happens to me when i wear my running shoes - anythng with a firm heel and toe box. Nike makes a model of cross trainers called "frees" which are very flexible. When i wear those (and stay aware of changing up my foot position from time to time on the pedals) I avoid that unpleasant foot feeling. Try the Nike "frees" - almost like slippers with traction.

Fit_Fox88

It's just the way the elliptical is. This happens to me all the time and it's one of the reasons I hate the elliptical. I only use it if all the treadmills are taken and the weather isn't ideal for running outside. Like someone else suggested, try lifting your feet every now and then to restore circulation.

tpaceltsfan

Anytime this has happened to me while running, my shoes were tied too tight.

katscoots

Same thing happens to me. I have to concentrate on how I "walk" on the elliptical to avoid it happening. If I do a heel to toe motion - I avoid the numbness and pain. I do revert sometimes - and I can always tell when the numbness starts . I think it comes from being up on your toes and the pressure from that type of motion. I know you probably don't think you do it as much as you probably do. Pay attention to the motion of your feet and try the heel to toe motion before spending big bucks on new shoes that may or may not help. It does help me.

Cathalain

Someone at my gym told me that when he wears those Vibram Finger shoes, it works a lot better for him because it's as close to barefoot on the machine that you can get.

I couldn't wear them - they just LOOK funny. But if trying it barefoot appeals to you, I'd maybe go this route.

BadKittie05

I cannot remember where, but I once read that by making sure that your feet are centered under you, it will help prevent this from happening. I now make a conscious effort to ensure that my feet are aligned below me and to, as others have mentioned, move my feet around when I feel this start to happen. It has helped, but of course has not completely stopped the issue. I actually had a problem with my feet falling asleep while running when I was in BMT for the Air Force so apparently, my feet just get bored with repetative movement :laugh: . But in all seriousness, moving my feet in a different manner, lifting them a bit, rolling them, wiggling my toes, etc, has made a difference. :flowerforyou:

Missjulesdid

I like to do the elliptical for 45-60 minutes at a stretch and my feet going numb was definitely a problem. I was able to greatly reduce the numbness by focusing on the running motion and lifting my own feet rather than just let the machine push them up on the upstrokes. I don't lift off the machine completely but I use my own strength to pick up my legs so that my feet are just barely touching the pedals. Also I do a heel to toe foot strike and lift my heel at the end of the strike really mimicking the walking/running motion (ok so yeah I know you shouldn't actually run with striking your heel first but on the elliptical it seems to work). It's not really a "foot strike" more like a weight shift from my heel to my toe at the appropriate time. It takes a bit of practice but play around with replicating the natural walking motion and hopefully you'll greatly reduce the numbness. Also, I think I get a better workout doing this as I am playing more with balance and using more of my own muscle/energy.

leannems

Agreed with what everyone said - move your feet around (up off the pedal a bit, more forward on the pedal, more backward on the pedal) from time to time will prevent them from going numb. The only thing I didn't see mentioned was to go backwards every now and then to change your stride and put the pressure elsewhere. I do between 30-45 minutes on intervals, 4 lines forward, 2 lines backwards, etc., and have no numbness.

One of my feet does fall asleep while running. It's the foot I under pronate. Lacing my shoes differently helped, but I think getting a really good pair designed for under pronation would probably be the only thing to make it go away while running.

Amanda_Gx6

This happened to me a lot before I read a different thread on here.

Firstly make sure the bottom of your laces aren't tied too tight. this prevents you from moving the ball of your foot and therefore causing it to "fall asleep".
Second you are probably putting far too much pressure on your toes when you are on the elliptical, use your heel/center of your foot, sometimes I lift the balls of my feet just to move them and get the blood flow going.
Lastly if neither of the above work for you try going backwards for 10 minutes, this forces you to apply pressure to your heel instead of the ball of your foot and gives the circulation a chance to come back around getting rid of your pins and needles feeling.

k_nicole87

Every. Single. Time. And My shoes are actually a little too big for me. Only my toes go numb. Weird.

WickedPineapple

I had this problem when I first started on the elliptical as well. I did find when changing shoes from regular gym shoes to a running style that the numbness went away. However, I may have started moving my feet differently or modified my stance as time went on in addition to the new shoes (I've been doing it 3x per week for a year now). It doesn't happen anymore at all.

getdancing2013

Wow! Can't believe all the responses Thanks everyone...

As far as my posture, I tend to sit back because this makes me push with my entire leg instead of putting so much pressure on my knees. I'm worried about moving my feet up and down off the pedals because I fear this will increase the pound/pressure on my knees. I've noticed the bigger the incline, the more they get numb, so maybe go at a lower incline and just go at a higher tension.

Haven't thought about barefoot - it's a gym, so I think they'd frown on that

I need new shoes just because they're old and are starting to get some rips in them, so either way new shoes are in order. But while I get them I'm going to try changing up the lacing and the incline tonight and see how that helps.

Don't know about doing flip-flops - (a) not sure the gym rules on this, and (b) I have bad ankles and flip flops tend to strain my ankles/feet in general just walking around, so I can't imagine it'd feel any better on an elliptical while working out.

Good to see I'm not alone, though...thanks again. :flowerforyou:

getdancing2013

Well, update - I did change the lacing to the straight across, and it took a bit to get used to since it felt like my shoe was going to slip off. However, I did notice less of the numbness and tingling. It was still there a bit, but it was definitely better. I definitely paid attention to my posture, too. Tried lifting my feet and "stomping" down but I was feeling it in my knees, so I went back to keeping the foot on the pedal. Thanks again for all the advice

bc2ct

Try walking instead of using the elliptical... it is a more natural movement and doesn't hold your legs in a weird straddle position.

If you really love the elliptical though there is no real reason to wear shoes at all... it's not like you are going to be stepping on something unexpected, right? You would probably benefit from just doing it in socks

getdancing2013

Try walking instead of using the elliptical... it is a more natural movement and doesn't hold your legs in a weird straddle position.

If you really love the elliptical though there is no real reason to wear shoes at all... it's not like you are going to be stepping on something unexpected, right? You would probably benefit from just doing it in socks

Yeah, this is at the Y and I have to wear shoes

Amanda_Gx6

I would NEVER go barefoot/stocking foot in a gym. YUCK just think of all the fungus and planters warts and bleck, PUKE!!