Dormant Glutes that overslept for years

[bruntbajs]

Hello all!

I have a mystery for you that three very experienced PTs haven't been able to solve for me. Do you feel you're experienced enough to tackle this? My glutes are dormant but my thighs are explosively growing! I want to activate my glutes and grow the glutes without growing my thighs.

I'm female, 20s, 5'5", and flat butted. 3 different PTs has only made my body worse as my thighs grew 8cm whilst my butt grew 1cm, which gives the impression of even a smaller butt! I've tried glute activation, glute isolation, nothing works.

Prior my involuntary weight loss I'd a VERY pouty butt (pics below), which I never appreciated until I lost it.

Prior weight loss
60kg (132 lbs) and 89-77-101cm (35-30-40in). Thighs: 57cm (22in)

After weight loss
53kg (116.6 lbs) and 80-64-92cm (31-25-36in). Thighs: 47cm (18in).

Today, after weight loss and after 3 months of resistance training
54kg and 80-64-92cm (31-25-36in). Thighs: 55cm! (21.7in)

My intention all along was to grow the glutes WITHOUT growing my thighs. What happened is I grew my thighs without growing my glutes lol. Resistance training for 5 times/week for 3 months with nerv wrecking results. Butt is just as flat but thighs have grown 8cm (3in) in 3 months.

You can imagine the fun in having thighs that are as thick as when I was 10kg heavier, whilst the butt on the other hand is 10cm SMALLER. The proportions are way off. I now have thicker thighs than my boyfriends ... It's not fun being bigger than your BF ...

I believe my glutes are dormant and that I am quad-dominant. Whenever I do my exercises I feel it in the quads and hamstrings, btu never in glutes. I dont do squats nor will I ever do them.

My previous routine took 90min consisted of: 6 sets for each exercises. 13x3 heavier weights + 1 minute x3 with lighter weights. Squats on Smiths machine, lunges, leg curls, leg extension, leg press, Abductor Machine, Leg Curl Butt Blaster (this machine sucks), Smith Machine Glute Kick Backs (also sucks. only works ham), Glute/hip bridges (all kinds of variations), Glute Machine, cable kickbacks 6 sets on each "side" (sides being straight back, pulling forward, to the right, to theleft, so about 100 kickbacks alltogether). Also a few more I don't know the name of. Also Treadmill 15% incline and elliptical.

I did this for three months and that was when I saw the growth in my thighs. I got so disencouraged, so I stopped training all together for a few months.

Now, I've picked up the gym again, but I do a different routine, trying to avoid EVERYTHING that I feel is putting pressure on my quads/hamstrings. No squats. No Lunges. I do glute activation and glute isolation exercises, but this doesn't seem to help either. Honestly I can never sense anything in my glutes, it's like they dont exist! Whenever I do glute isolation exercises (or ANY other ex for that matter) I can only feel the pressure in my quads and hams, and NOTHING in my glutes. I am never ever sore in my glutes after a gym session, sometimes I am very sore in my thighs. When I do the exercises, I touch my butt to feel if it is contracted, it is, it's rock hard, but never sore afterwards. And I have already started noticing a growth in my thighs again which scares me and now I'm thinking about stopping again.

Today's routine is less obsessive containing very few exercises because nothing I try seems to work my glutes. I still do cable kickbacks (cause this is one of the exercises tht I feel least in my thighs), hip/glute bridge with weights and/or Weighted Hip Thrusts (whatever the difference is), back extension, Abductor Machine.

So how do I grow my glutes without growing my hamstrings and quads?

I consider my body type to be skinnyfat, even with a small waist I can still see plenty of covering my tummy.

I see all these girls advertising "butt exercises" and updating their instagram with #squatspro, but they themselves have TINY butts in comparison to their thick thighs lol. I do not want to look like that. I want the curves. I don't want to look like a box. I've tried gaining some weight again (56-57kg) but my butt wouldn't go back to its previous state.

[sarahtee13]

Have you read anything by Bret Contreras? He's known as the "glute guy" and struggled with dormant glutes when he was younger. He addresses the science behind the issue in his Strong Curves ebook which is pretty cheap on Amazon if I remember correctly. There are also a bunch of exercises in there but I think you're already doing some of them.

[sy2502]

I also have big issues with being quad dominant, and it's not just a cosmething thing, muscle imbalance can cause joint problems. The glute muscle is what prevents the knee from caving in toward the inside of the leg, and believe me when I say you want that to happen or your knees will turn into a disaster zone. To give you all an idea, my imbalance was so great that I ended up dislocating my knee cap for no good reason. So after that I have also been working on correcting the imbalance.

For OP, the best so far has been BELOW PARALLEL squats. And I emphasize, BELOW PARALLEL. If you squat to parallel or less, your quads will be doing all the work. Don't believe the crap about it being bad for your knees! Muscle imbalance is what's really bad for your knees, not full squats. For this reason the leg press doesn't cut it, because it limits your range of motion. Another great exercise are split squats. I do them in the Smith Machine (it is good for something!!!) and go very heavy. I also deadlift but I find it activates my hams more than the glutes.

By the way, muscle imbalances are bad in general, so don't neglect the legs just because you want to work your butt, as all muscles in the thighs are crucial for the good health of your joints.

[TorreTornado]

I also have big issues with being quad dominant, and it's not just a cosmething thing, muscle imbalance can cause joint problems. The glute muscle is what prevents the knee from caving in toward the inside of the leg, and believe me when I say you want that to happen or your knees will turn into a disaster zone. To give you all an idea, my imbalance was so great that I ended up dislocating my knee cap for no good reason. So after that I have also been working on correcting the imbalance.

For OP, the best so far has been BELOW PARALLEL squats. And I emphasize, BELOW PARALLEL. If you squat to parallel or less, your quads will be doing all the work. Don't believe the crap about it being bad for your knees! Muscle imbalance is what's really bad for your knees, not full squats. For this reason the leg press doesn't cut it, because it limits your range of motion. Another great exercise are split squats. I do them in the Smith Machine (it is good for something!!!) and go very heavy. I also deadlift but I find it activates my hams more than the glutes.

By the way, muscle imbalances are bad in general, so don't neglect the legs just because you want to work your butt, as all muscles in the thighs are crucial for the good health of your joints.

THIS, I also have dormant glutes with over working quads and for the first time EVER, I squatted lower than parallel and feel some work in my glute. I also asked something similar to this a few weeks ago and another member here suggested doing warm up type things like donkey kicks, side lying clams prior to working out to get the glutes going...

[ElsaParis]

I am by no means an expert and very new to body building myself ( just since January), but my glutes were flat as a pancake before I started my training. I have to say, that the only thing that has worked for me are body weight squats. My glutes only started to pop and leave the great flatlands when I started doing high reps, 150-300 consecutive, bodyweight squats. I did this religiously the entire month of July and it must have done the trick to "activate" them...I have now lowered the reps to 50-100 and still making progress. Good luck!

[bruntbajs]

Have you read anything by Bret Contreras? He's known as the "glute guy" and struggled with dormant glutes when he was younger. He addresses the science behind the issue in his Strong Curves ebook which is pretty cheap on Amazon if I remember correctly. There are also a bunch of exercises in there but I think you're already doing some of them.

I've read a lot by Bret and I am doing all his glute activation exercises, the hip thrust among them, but nothing works. Even during the hip thrust I feel my hamstrings working rather than my glutes. I also do stretches (hip flexor) and foam rolling even though my doctor said not to stretch because I already have issues with hypermobility. I like his articles though, he adresses the issue in which every PT seems to give the same advice to anybody who wants to grow glutes ("do squats"). I think it was his articles that made me realize I am quad dominant.

The glute muscle is what prevents the knee from caving in toward the inside of the leg, and believe me when I say you want that to happen or your knees will turn into a disaster zone. .

Oh yes, I have knee problems since I was a kid. I have knock-knees haha, it looks ridiculous. Whenever I do squats I can feel the pain in my knees. I also have a lot of lower back problems and I think my lower back is extremely weak. I have tried all types of squats, with and without Smith Machine, but it has never once worked. I feel it in my quads, soemtimes even hamstringsm, but never in my glutes. I feel liek I already have strong thighs and needn't to work them anymore, besides they get worked out whenever I do glute exercises already. I understand I can't neglect them alltogether, but I wantt o minimise the stress on the thighs so I can focus on the glutes, cause right now there's a huge muscle imbalance seeing as my glute is a slacker and my legs have to do all the work.

I've also tried glute activation exercises such as donkey kicks, side lying clams, kickbacks, flutter kicks, froggy glute lifts ... you name it.

ElsaParis - wow you managed to activate them within a month?! I've tried for 6 months and nothing!

I want to post pictures to give you an idea but I am not allowed to do so until I've reached 50 points ... Stupid rules

[HeroesFall]

By PT do you mean Physical Trainer or Phyiscal Therapist. By your thighs growing 8cm, I assume the former. I would recommend a visit to an actual PT - Physical Therapist. Explain the situation to them and see if they can assist you. Its more than likely that some of the "unknown," smaller muscles are not properly firing and thus your glutes are remaining dormant. People who are sedentary / sit a lot are prone to poor glute activation. The one thing I've done to teach women muscle activation is very focused, isolated, high rep exercises. What I mean by that is to essentially pre-exhaust the muscle so you feel it burning during your actual worksets. The goal is to be able to feel it working and then the rest follows suit.


Have you tried doing just regular glute squeezes? I know this might sound silly, but can you clench your glutes? If so, do glute holds for periods of like 30 seconds. Practice these a couple times a day. What it does it helps to build that mind-muscle connection. Have you had anyone apply pressure to your glutes while you were exercising? This isn't something for a PT, but say a boyfriend, husband, relative, etc. Placing pressure and actually pushing down on the muscle helps you to feel it moving, again establishing this connection. Kai Greene (obviously not a woman) has some great videos on learning to feel the muscle - although they are sadly scattered amongst his stuff. Check out his "train with Kai" videos on Youtube. I think there's a Leg Day one where he does some glute / muscle activation stuff.


I personally get a good glute workout from SDL's by sticking my butt out as I descend. I know its a hamstring exercise, but I hit the glutes a lot too.. in fact I feel them now after last night's workout. Best of luck to you.

[schnauzer20]

I can vouch for Bret Contreras Strong Curves. He also has a website called Get Glutes. I am following his program and have had great results with it.

[bruntbajs]

By PT do you mean Physical Trainer or Phyiscal Therapist. By your thighs growing 8cm, I assume the former. I would recommend a visit to an actual PT - Physical Therapist. Explain the situation to them and see if they can assist you. Its more than likely that some of the "unknown," smaller muscles are not properly firing and thus your glutes are remaining dormant. People who are sedentary / sit a lot are prone to poor glute activation. The one thing I've done to teach women muscle activation is very focused, isolated, high rep exercises. What I mean by that is to essentially pre-exhaust the muscle so you feel it burning during your actual worksets. The goal is to be able to feel it working and then the rest follows suit.


Have you tried doing just regular glute squeezes? I know this might sound silly, but can you clench your glutes? If so, do glute holds for periods of like 30 seconds. Practice these a couple times a day. What it does it helps to build that mind-muscle connection. Have you had anyone apply pressure to your glutes while you were exercising? This isn't something for a PT, but say a boyfriend, husband, relative, etc. Placing pressure and actually pushing down on the muscle helps you to feel it moving, again establishing this connection. Kai Greene (obviously not a woman) has some great videos on learning to feel the muscle - although they are sadly scattered amongst his stuff. Check out his "train with Kai" videos on Youtube. I think there's a Leg Day one where he does some glute / muscle activation stuff.


I personally get a good glute workout from SDL's by sticking my butt out as I descend. I know its a hamstring exercise, but I hit the glutes a lot too.. in fact I feel them now after last night's workout. Best of luck to you.

Both. Three Personal Trainers who all told me to do squats and whatnot (I left), and one Phyiscal Therapist (but that was for my knee issues, not my glute problems, so we never discussed anything that had with muscle growth to do). I do sit a lot, most of the time, yes. Especially during the winter, sit is all I do. I've tried various activation exercises but nothing seems to work my glutes. I tried both high rep and low rep (see my routine above). During my three months period I did notice that my lower body got more toned, my thighs look a lot more toned, the layer of fat that used to be there is not as thick anymore, however, the circumfence is higher and that bothers me. I'm very obsessive with taking my measurements, that's how I know exactly how many cm I've grown. I also did an um ... I don't know what it's called in english, but you do a body weigh and then you check your body fat index, using a special machine. So the body fat is lower now than it was before, so I can only assume it's muscle and not fat that contributed to the thicker thighs.

Eh, I want slim thighs. Is there anythign I can do to ... well, make them small again? Without having to go on a diet?

[bruntbajs]

Have you tried doing just regular glute squeezes? I know this might sound silly, but can you clench your glutes? If so, do glute holds for periods of like 30 seconds. Practice these a couple times a day. What it does it helps to build that mind-muscle connection. Have you had anyone apply pressure to your glutes while you were exercising? This isn't something for a PT, but say a boyfriend, husband, relative, etc. Placing pressure and actually pushing down on the muscle helps you to feel it moving, again establishing this connection. Kai Greene (obviously not a woman) has some great videos on learning to feel the muscle - although they are sadly scattered amongst his stuff. Check out his "train with Kai" videos on Youtube. I think there's a Leg Day one where he does some glute / muscle activation stuff.

I personally get a good glute workout from SDL's by sticking my butt out as I descend. I know its a hamstring exercise, but I hit the glutes a lot too.. in fact I feel them now after last night's workout. Best of luck to you.

It doesn't sound silly. Here's the thing. When I stand up, I can squeeze the glutes. At the office, I stand up when I work instead of sit (the height of the table is adjustable), so I used to stand up and do kickbacks and just squeeze my glutes. Same thing when I'm at the bus stop or whenever, I squeeze them. I've made it a part of my daily routine. But whenever I'm lying down or sitting, I can't squeeze them. It's almost like there are no glutes there. It's a strange feeling, very difficult to explain.

Actually my last two PTs pressed my bum whilst I was training, just to feel if the glutes were clenched and tense. They said that the glutes were tense, but that the hamstrings and/or quads were even more so. So sure, my glutse do SOME work, but most work is done my hamstrings and quads. I'm not sure if this is what you were referring to by "pressure" though. Maybe you were thinking of something else?

I've also done DL and SDLs, I dont mind doing them as I can feel my lower back working and I have back problems so I do them sometimes (not daily though) but I never feel anything in my backside doing these. Hopefully I will be allowed to post links soon enough, that way I will be able to demonstrate my thoughts and feelings in a better way.

EDIT: I came to think about it ... I used to do the glute exercises 5 days a week. I had no resting day in between. Can this have been a factor to why I wasn't seeing any results? But then again ... My thighs grew so I assume you can workout the same muscle group 5 days in a row and still have them grow.

[sy2502]

At my PT place they taught me a really interesting and easy way to see if you have problems with glute activation: stand on 1 foot and squat down. If the knee of the supporting leg caves in, instead of staying over the ankle, it means the glute isn't activating properly. Easy to try at home

[bruntbajs]

At my PT place they taught me a really interesting and easy way to see if you have problems with glute activation: stand on 1 foot and squat down. If the knee of the supporting leg caves in, instead of staying over the ankle, it means the glute isn't activating properly. Easy to try at home

Wow sounds difficult. I just tried it. How far down should you squat? This is as far as I could go runnersconnect.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/single-leg-squat.jpg
And I've always wondered about this exercise, is this supposed to work your glutes? Cause all I can feel burning like hell are my quads bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2011/got-glutes-workout-3.jpg

Have you read about the leg lowering test? I just tried it and failed ... I couldn't keep my back on the floor, it arched.
"Regardless of your hip posture, another KEY is to have abs that are strong enough to stabilize your spine and maintain optimal position of the hips as the hip flexors and glutes work. To assess your ab strength do the flat back leg lowering drill.

Leg Lowering Test
Lie on your back and raise your legs over your hips, with your knees slightly bent. Press the small of your back into the floor to eliminate the arch in your lower back. Try to keep your back glued to the floor as you take 3 to 5 seconds to lower your legs to the floor. Stop the test as soon as your back arches up off the ground. You should be able to get all the way to the floor. This test assesses the strength of your abs to resist the natural pull into an arched back posture."

I also tried this my hamstrings fired first, then if I continued to raise my leg, I could feel my glutes contracting too.
Now it's time to evaluate your ability to engage your glutes as well as evaluating the muscles best enabling you to do so. First of all, assess your ability to activate your glutes in isolation. Prone Hip Extension. Lie face down on your stomach with your legs straight. Have someone either observe or actually place one hand on your hamstring and the other hand on your glute. Lift your leg up and see which muscle tenses up first.
If your hamstrings fire first you might have problems. You need to re-teach the body how to fire the glutes. A simple way to do that is to actively squeeze your abs as you extend your hip. Next, ask yourself where you get sore when you do squats? If it's primarily the glutes you're on track. If it’s ONLY the quads you may have a problem. I will discuss squatting later in this article.

Uh so I guess I have a problem right ... ?

[HeroesFall]

Wow sounds difficult. I just tried it. How far down should you squat? This is as far as I could go runnersconnect.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/single-leg-squat.jpg
And I've always wondered about this exercise, is this supposed to work your glutes? Cause all I can feel burning like hell are my quads bodybuilding.com/fun/images/2011/got-glutes-workout-3.jpg

Have you read about the leg lowering test? I just tried it and failed ... I couldn't keep my back on the floor, it arched.
"Regardless of your hip posture, another KEY is to have abs that are strong enough to stabilize your spine and maintain optimal position of the hips as the hip flexors and glutes work. To assess your ab strength do the flat back leg lowering drill.

Leg Lowering Test
Lie on your back and raise your legs over your hips, with your knees slightly bent. Press the small of your back into the floor to eliminate the arch in your lower back. Try to keep your back glued to the floor as you take 3 to 5 seconds to lower your legs to the floor. Stop the test as soon as your back arches up off the ground. You should be able to get all the way to the floor. This test assesses the strength of your abs to resist the natural pull into an arched back posture."

I also tried this my hamstrings fired first, then if I continued to raise my leg, I could feel my glutes contracting too.
Now it's time to evaluate your ability to engage your glutes as well as evaluating the muscles best enabling you to do so. First of all, assess your ability to activate your glutes in isolation. Prone Hip Extension. Lie face down on your stomach with your legs straight. Have someone either observe or actually place one hand on your hamstring and the other hand on your glute. Lift your leg up and see which muscle tenses up first.
If your hamstrings fire first you might have problems. You need to re-teach the body how to fire the glutes. A simple way to do that is to actively squeeze your abs as you extend your hip. Next, ask yourself where you get sore when you do squats? If it's primarily the glutes you're on track. If it’s ONLY the quads you may have a problem. I will discuss squatting later in this article.

Uh so I guess I have a problem right ... ?

On the contrary, sounds to me like you're making your way to a solution! ;-)

[Endevorforever]

Did you do any box jumps or jumping of any kind? You mentioned lower back problems, do you have Kyphosis? If you do, you will hate the way you backside looks until you correct this. While I can understand not wanting to gain more size in your quads, is it really that bad? Not everyone can have what Jlo, Beyonce, and Kim K have. And they have large quads too. Maybe you could try hip-hop dancing themed aerobics? I am sure the trainers mentioned fire hydrants and other floor exercises, so I wont. I hope you reach your goals.

[sy2502]

Wow sounds difficult. I just tried it. How far down should you squat?

LOL it's not a test of fitness or how far down you can squat, it's a test of muscle activation. Go as far down as you feel comfortable.

[cirion0000]

What if you can't squat below parallel? I have hip flexibility issues that prevent me from keeping a neutral spine any lower than parallel. OP's problem is something I constantly struggle with (though I'm pretty big back there, which is weird... but I think it's because I'm fat lol... well "fat"... more so than I'd like to be at least), and I think it's a big reason why I have chronic back pain. Glutes never wanna do the work, so the lower back always takes over. I do get sore glutes when I do heavy sumo deadlifts though.

[bruntbajs]

sy2502 - I do understand that, just saying I can't really go that far down which is never a good thing right? If I go further down it's like everythign will just "cave in".

Did you do any box jumps or jumping of any kind? You mentioned lower back problems, do you have Kyphosis? If you do, you will hate the way you backside looks until you correct this. While I can understand not wanting to gain more size in your quads, is it really that bad? Not everyone can have what Jlo, Beyonce, and Kim K have. And they have large quads too. Maybe you could try hip-hop dancing themed aerobics? I am sure the trainers mentioned fire hydrants and other floor exercises, so I wont. I hope you reach your goals.

Yes, one of my PTs had me doing them. Same thing there, quads and hams working, glutes being lazy bitches not doing any work. I hope I don't have Kyphosis, even though I do have a very bad posture. But I used to have a great bum, it was first after my weight loss that it got ... well, less flattering. Prior to my weight loss I didn't really do any gym or working out so that's the paradox. My bum looks worse now when working out than it did when I was 10kg heavier and did nothing lol. Prior to weight loss >>> (add www to the URL) oi59.tinypic.com/333h94o.jpg I understand not everybody can have what they have (though I'm not really into Jlo/Beyonce butt, what I'm after is more like in the link in my previous post), but since I've had it once before, that is what I am coveting. Oh and yes, it is really really bad. The bigger quads the smaller the butt will look like. For me, it's all about the curves and proportions.


Prior to weight loss:
oi59.tinypic.com/333h94o.jpg

My goal:
oi57.tinypic.com/ogz5af.jpg
oi57.tinypic.com/29yqihl.jpg

What I do NOT want to look like:
oi59.tinypic.com/287dkrk.jpg
oi61.tinypic.com/2946uqc.jpg
oi62.tinypic.com/2le6oe8.jpg

Flat butted Victoria Secret Candice, this is similar to my butt today: oi58.tinypic.com/24glpcj.jpg

[megdaig]

It sounds like you held more fat on your glutes and that's what gave you the shape you liked. Just gotta keep hitting the squats and glute isolation exercises and eat to gain.

Have you tried reducing your weights so you can actually try to initiate movement with your glutes? Our egos tend to get in the way and we often lift too heavy to actually accomplish our intended goal. If you have to drop down to the bar and build back it, it's what you gotta do to do things correctly.

[bruntbajs]

It sounds like you held more fat on your glutes and that's what gave you the shape you liked. Just gotta keep hitting the squats and glute isolation exercises and eat to gain.

Have you tried reducing your weights so you can actually try to initiate movement with your glutes? Our egos tend to get in the way and we often lift too heavy to actually accomplish our intended goal. If you have to drop down to the bar and build back it, it's what you gotta do to do things correctly.

Yes, I had a lot more fat before my weight loss, I didn't work out or anythign back then, but I liked how the fat shaped my bum ... Now it's just yuck. I've stopped using weights for most exercises and I only use leight weights (18-25kg) when doing the cable machine. I'm trying to skip the weights all others, such as squats, hip thrusts, deadlifts etc so I can adapt to a proper form before adding a bunch of weights. I also don't do glutes every day any longer liek I used to before, but maybe 2-4 times a week only.

I actually tried to squat correctly today, like really tried, following all guidelines (watched YT videos on how to squat with a perfect form), keeping a good posture, not going in front of knees, squatting below pararell, keeping a straight back, not falling in with my knees, etc etc, but I could feel the burn in my quadriceps and not in the glutes or hamstrings! It's a mystery! Would it help if I posted a video of how I squat? Seriously I do not know what else to do.

I also tried the hip thrust as that should be the no 1 glute activation exercise; it truly worked my hamstrings but glutes? No! It's as if I dont have any tactility above my hamstrings whatsoever. Totally numb.

What if you can't squat below parallel? I have hip flexibility issues that prevent me from keeping a neutral spine any lower than parallel. OP's problem is something I constantly struggle with (though I'm pretty big back there, which is weird... but I think it's because I'm fat lol... well "fat"... more so than I'd like to be at least), and I think it's a big reason why I have chronic back pain. Glutes never wanna do the work, so the lower back always takes over. I do get sore glutes when I do heavy sumo deadlifts though.

I always try to squat below pararell but same oproblem here. My quads get suuuupersore, I can really feel them working, it's the quads that "lift me up" (I posted more about below p. squatting above in this same post)

[megdaig]

Definitely post a technique video. If you can get both a side and front/back angle would be helpful. There are some guys and gals in this forum that are very helpful with form corrections.

The glutes are activated below parallel in the squat. How wide is your stance? Try to go a bit wider than shoulder width and point your toes slightly outward...like a 30 to 45 degree angle so you can really go deep.

[chamelious]

Theres a lot been posted in here and i haven't read it all but just in case no ones said: Squats aren't really the best movement for glute development, though its very trendy at the moment to say that.

If you sit all the time, i'd say theres a good chance you have some degree of anterior pelvic tilt/lower cross syndrome. This is where your quads/hipflexors/lower back become tight, and your glutes/hams/abs become weak. The result is a big curve in your lower back (and often lower back pain), and a curve in your stomach. I have this, a lot, i'm currently working to fix it, and as part of that i've taken squats completely out of my program, as they exasperate the condition for me. Not saying this is whats happening to you, but it might be something worth considering.