So you love your elliptical sessions, but for some reason your toes get numb or tingle. I am asked this question often, so don’t think your the only one. Most of the time it is not a serious issue, but if any abnormal symptoms occur like dizziness or muscle failure - stop.

Typically your feet (especially the balls of the feet) are bearing all the weight of your body when using an elliptical. Treadmills won’t usually effect your feet in this way since they are not stationary. Seated bicycle also won’t trigger this type of discomfort (even though your feet are stationary) because most of your body weight is on your seat.

If you have ever gone skiing with boots that are too tight, you can better understand why this happens. Leaning forward on your toes as you ski causes the feet to slide forward and lodge into the toe box of the boot. Or think of somebody with big burly hands giving you a firm handshake for 45 mins strait. White knuckles and white toes are not that much different.

How about some solutions? Here are a few things to try.

1. Tie your shoe laces a little looser, and back your feet away from the kick plate
2. Try concentrating on standing taller, not leaning forward, and transferring the weight of your body with a heel-to-toe roll like running
3. Cross train. Split your allotted cardio time between several machines rather than just one