Tingling toes on the elliptical???

jtfish112

Anyone else ever experience this? Over the years, and at my heaviest and lightest weights, anytime I workout on an elliptical, or similar machine, after about 20 minutes my toes start to fall asleep. It's such a great calorie burn, but this is really annoying! I've never run into anyone who can relate.

jennajava

Are your shoes very snug? I've never had this happen.

IggyL

I'm curious too...happens to me also. I've tried adjsuting my sneakers to be looser and tighter and nothing seems to help.

Jill_newimprovedversion

I've seen this topic come up before- if you don't get any answers, SEARCH that topic and you might find
some good ideas

Natural

happened to me several times, but i can't tell you why. i thought maybe because i was on my toes a lot instead of pressing down with my entire foot. don't know. it comes and goes.

sailorsiren13

Happens every time i get on the elliptical. I have gotten used to it over the years my husband says its because i have poor circulation. I don't know if that is true or not but it is annoying.

amybrauch

It happens to me everytime.

nopeekiepeekie

You're putting too much pressure on the front of your feet. Make sure you're using your whole foot for balance and not just your forefoot. If you lean back and put the pressure on your heels for a few minutes the tingling will go away in your toes.

AmyLRed

It happens to me sometimes in my cardio kickboxing class. I assume it is because i am trying to be "light on my toes" so all my weight is there, and cutting off circulation. Could you be doing the same thing on the elliptical?

Sandeee

Yes, this happens to me and my friends. So if I wear snug shoes, correct fitting this always occurs. I have a pair of trainers 1/2 size larger than I need and there is no tingling.

6mimi

It happens to me too. I actually saw a podiatrist for it. She said it is normal with that machine but did have me to to a nuerologist for testing just in case. I am fine.. I guess it is just the way we put pressure on our feet with that machine. I agree... very annoying.

ssmom

yes...and I don't know why either! I've tried looser shoes and tighter shoes but I think it's form. I tend to bounce a little and put weight on my toes. If I think about it and try putting my weight on my heels the tingling goes away. Best of luck because I know it is VERY annoying!

mamabear272

I've had it happen too. It is usually when I haven't worked out in a while. After a few days it stops.

BrandiLynn8064

I have this happen on the recumbent bike, but I don't know why. It's weird!

plzlbsbegone

This happens to me almost every time! I think that it is because my feet are usually so stationary. When I realize i am doing this and my toes start tingling, I start to stretch and move them and include them more in the motion. With running, your feet are constantly flexing, so try to use those same motions on the elliptical. It's really easy to leave them flat on the platform, but if you move them your feet will feel better! Worked for me!

2bFitNTrim

I get the numb toes too if I'm on the elliptical for more than about 35-40 mins. I've done some reading on the forums here & on google, and all I come up with really is to make sure your shoes aren't too snug and watch your posture. I've tried both suggestions & it seems the posture thing is the key, at least for me. It's tempting for me to want to lean forward a bit, but if I keep my posture strong, my toes are happier.

Will be interested to hear what others suggest.

OkieinMinny

I have had this also - what happens is your feet are planted and not moving around - unlike walking/running when you shift your feet - try shifting your feet, going backward more motion - that has seemed to help me....

Contrary03

I gave the elliptical up because of this reason~ my feet would fall asleep about 15 minutes into my workout. I do the total gym & treadmill now... no problems.

Lindy901

Not saying this is what it is but might give you more info. Try Googling neuroma. I have the same issue. When I walk long distances also, more than 2 miles, I get that and also on the elliptical and recumbent bike. I try to move my foot from front to back on the pedal putting it in different spots. Seems to help some.

prbyjennyd

Happens to me every time like clockwork, but at the 30 minute mark. Thanks for posting, I loved reading the responses.

Bella3119

Yes, it happens to me and I have poor circulation. I think it's bc i put all my weight on the toes. When I make sure I keep my feet flat it doesn't happen.

ninerbuff

The reason it happens is because of the CONSISTENT pressure on the ball of your foot. Since you don't get much of a chance to actually lift your feet off and your whole body weight is mostly on that point, it compresses the nerves in that area and causes your foot to feel like it fell asleep.
You can try occasionally shifting your weight to your heels for a few minutes and lift your toes up off the pedals, then switch back again.

A.C.E. Certified Personal Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

meerkat70

The reason it happens is because of the CONSISTENT pressure on the ball of your foot. Since you don't get much of a chance to actually lift your feet off and your whole body weight is mostly on that point, it compresses the nerves in that area and causes your foot to feel like it fell asleep.
You can try occasionally shifting your weight to your heels for a few minutes and lift your toes up off the pedals, then switch back again.

Yeah, I get this a lot and this helps. If it gets too bad, get off, stroll for 30 seconds or so, and get back on again. But I do what ninerbuff suggests here throughout my elliptical session, shifting about a little, and it doesn't happen so badly anymore.

Also, do check the fit of your shoes. My old asics used to be a bit snug - a better width fitting has helped a lot with this problem, though it didn't make it go away entirely.

jaeone

Yes this happens to me too! I shift my feet and it does help a little. This is the main reason I don't like elliptical!

laurenlind

This used to happen to me all the time, and then I got new shoes and tried being mroe conscious of how I was putting pressure on my feet and it got better. Still happens ocassionally, but not nearly as much.

MzMiller1215

That happens to me all the time! I try to actually lift my feet off the pedals every couple of minutes. I'm not sure why it happens. It's still a good workout, so I keep doing it.

Hungry_Tuna

I knew I wasn't the only one!! What gives? Mine fall asleep too!! I have properly fitted running shoes that I got at a running store (tried on 12 pair, finally walked out with the right ones).

Even my Nike trainer shoes give the same feeling.. and those are great in the gym!

One thing I did to help was redistribute the weight onto the ball of my foot and that seems to be causing less numbness.

lindalee0315

I used to get this all of the time. This sounds weird, but what works is to lift your toes in your shoes periodically and wiggle them a little bit while you work out. Basically, your toes will touch the top of your shoes and just wiggle them for a second or two, do this throughout the workout and you won't have that problem anymore.

redfroggie

So glad I'm not the only one! It is right around the 30 minute mark for me as well. I do try to move my feet a bit and wiggle my toes, but I have terrible coordination and just about kill myself when I do this. I love the elliptical so will put up with it. Great post!

trud72

this used to happen to me when i first started using one but not so much now try tip toeing everytime you push down it should move the blood around in your foot more x

fuhrmeister

Yes, it happens to me all the time too. I bought shoes that are slightly looser in teh toes and I wear thinner socks. It helps a litte bit. But i got so fed up i stopped using teh elliptical and I do inclince intervals on teh treadmil instead burnd great als and has totally shapped my butt.

I use a 3.0 pace through out. I begin at a zero incline and increase every 2 minutes to 12.0 or 14.0 the come back down. I weight 215ish and burn about 250cals in 30min doing this.

Good luck!