Elliptical questions

doingit4myprincesses
doingit4myprincesses Posts: 64 Member
edited September 21 in Fitness and Exercise
I joined the Y a few weeks ago and been doing the stationary bike and treadmill. I have been wanting to do the Elliptical but the few times I have done it I can only do it for about 5 minutes and it causes my left leg a lot of pain and to go numb. Does anyone else have this problem or is it my body getting used to doing it. I wouldn't think it would be much different of a movement from doing the stationary bike. Any tips would be appreciated and feel free to add me if you want!!! :flowerforyou:

Replies

  • robin52077
    robin52077 Posts: 4,383 Member
    it's WAY different than the bike or treadmill. I have all 3 at home. I can use the other 2 for an hour or more but the elliptical shocked me when the first time I couldn't go for more than ten minutes. It's been a couple of months and I finally got to 30 minutes!

    I have no explanation for your pain or numbness, perhaps you should just stick with what is comfortable for you?
  • jusniq
    jusniq Posts: 49
    I had a hard time w/ the elliptical the first time I used it too. Now...I love it. The numbness, the pain in the legs....I only got them the first time i used it, and when i go back to the gym after not going for a while. I say keep going at it....you'll get use to it.
  • gailosborne
    gailosborne Posts: 435
    Hi,
    Start off slowly and work up. I'm not sure about the pain perhaps ask one of the trainers about it. One of my feet sometimes goes a bit numb so I need to move it about every so often, apparently it is common because the elliptical is not a natural movement.
    Sorry to not be much more help but I really enjoy this machine and think its worth sticking with if your leg can cope.

    Best Wishes,
    Gail
  • Nina74
    Nina74 Posts: 470 Member
    Definitely ask one of the trainers.

    I was scared of the elliptical and could barely do 5 mins. My trainer told me to start at 5 mins, add a couple mins each day. Now I'm up to 30 mins at a time, although I do notice that after 20 mins or so my feet can get a bit numb from being in the same place, I tend to just shake out my legs/reposition my feet.
  • Avandel
    Avandel Posts: 283 Member
    The numbness seems to be a common problem, only my right foot used to go numb but after a few months it subsided. When I first started I too could only do 10 mins, now I can do 45 mins with no problem


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  • lharbolt
    lharbolt Posts: 6
    Changing the placement of my feet and not pushing with my toes (keep your feet flat) helps get rid of the numbness for me. I do an hour almost daily on my eliptical and I have found that using your entire foot to get your rotations or switch it up and go backwards helps too. Going backwards also uses different muscles in your legs.
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