Hi, I have been lifting for 5 years now, focusing on compound movements and trying many different programs out of Testosterone Magazine. I have put on lots of muscle and lost some fat, but I have developed a very protrusive butt from the whole process. I think part of the problem is gluteal over-hypertrophy and the other part may be posture or spinal curvature to make it look like it sticks out more. Has anybody else developed this and does anyone have any tips to reduce the size? I hate looking in mirrors at side views of myself because my butt sticks out so much and it looks disproprotionately large compared to the rest of my body. Thanks for any tips.
Uh, dude… are you sure you’re not a chick? Hehe. Look, you should be proud of your “built squat tough” caboose. The girls I know like a man with a substantial backside; I get comments like “damn, you’re hard” and when I get playfully spanked by the girls here at work, I get to smile and say “you’re gonna hurt your hand, biatch!” So no more of that “my butt’s too big” crap. Go squat some more.
I had that problem too. I didn’t really care but it made it difficult to fit into pants and my suits for work. What helped me was to run sprints and bleachers. The sprints also had the added bonus of adding definition to the hamstrings.
Are you the kind of guy who’s been “bulking” forever without a break? I’ve never seen a guy at 8% body fat who’s had a butt too big. Also take into account that you can’t look at male models for guidelines when you’re fucking gigantic (220+). You can’t have arms 6" larger than everyone else while having the same size ass.
Well I wouldn’t say I’m constantly bulking, but I’m not 8% bodyfat either. I’m 6’2, 205lbs, 15% bodyfat right now and working on bringing the bodyfat down right now. I’ll attach a picture to show what I mean. I know it does seem girly to worry about something like this, but the proportions seem off and my butt just grows faster than anything else it seems. Would detraining it by not squatting for a few months help or would working on posture with the Neanderthal No More program perhaps change the side view appearance?
I’ve got the potential to have a really big ass too. It’s big right now, but not unproportional. It was alot bigger when I did wide stance powerlifting squats like Dave Tate suggests. I want to squat big again, but not at that expense. So I guess I’ll have to be content with squatting with a closer stance and using more quad. I don’t know if that’s your problem, but you might give it a try.
Also you might want to have your hormone levels checked. Low testosterone could be responsible for a more female fat distribution pattern.
A lot of it may just be relatively weak hip flexors.
If your hip extensors are strong (from squats, deadlifts etc) but your hip flexors are not as strong them your pelvis is going to tilt forwards, giving the impression of a big butt.
If you bring up your hip flexors and straighten your pelvis then to a large extent your body will appear more balanced (i.e. front and back). I like hanging knee ups for the hip flexors (don’t swing, pause at the top and lower slowly).
I’m no orthopedic, but it looks to me like you might have some kind of postural or spinal abnormality. Like an excessive lordosis of the spine, maybe? Have you ever been to a specialist about it?
I have to be honest here, I’ve listened to many girls talk about men’s body whom they admire and the one thing that they almost all had in common was a miniscule rear-end (really).
I, too, am no M.D. but you could try the following:
Stretch your hip flexors, strengthen your abs and perform reverse hypers. This could possibly help your posture.
2)Posture is more of a habit than anything. Stand sideways next to a mirror and shift your pelvis to a neutral position. This may also help make your ass less prominent (see Ian King’s "Pelvis has Left the Building on t-mag).
Get down to 8% bodyfat or lower. Honestly, as a trainor, so many clients who want to increase their physical appeal could be achieved if they just reduced their bodyfat to these level. The saying that I use often is that low bodyfat is very forgiving.
For you, I’d recommend getting a 4x per day salivary hormone test and bringing the results to a qualified doctor. Too much fat in the can is a result of high estrogen levels. Charles Poliquin sells this very expensive creme that is supposed to target the butt and thighs. Christian Thibadeau used it with success. I believe he also gives other supplement advice in his new German Body Comp book but I haven’t read it yet.
Either way, life is too short to be unhappy. Be comfortable with yourself and make these changes only if it’s what YOU really want.
Iowamavis, years ago when I began bb I had a “small” butt. The girls used to tell me: “Luca your physique is not bad but where is your butt ?” Squat and Deadlift made my butt bigger at least 1.5 inches more than what predicted by Mc Callum’s formula. Having a 18% bodyfat I’m sure that part of this fat is in the butt. My advice is: try 20 minutes interval sprints followed by 20 minutes normal cardio 2 or 3 times per week. In this way you should reduce your butt circumference. Choose a definition diet. See then what happens
at 10-12% bodyfat.
Keep us informed !
Hope that helps !
Luca
I’m no expert either but I agree with
Chris Powers. From the look in your
picture it looks like you could have lordosis. Why don’t you check out the excellent Neanderthal No More series written just recently by Eric C. & Mike
R. I have the same problem and believe
this can help me out. Bigguy
I’m also going to throw in with the guys who recommend checking your posture and reading the Neanderthal No More series. I’m not an expert either, and that’s not the best pic to judge from with the clothes, the crossed arms and the angle. But that does bring to mind the problems discussed in the article.
For what it’s worth, if I stand sideways in the mirror and conciously overarch my back and rotate my pelvis my butt looks WAY big, I can get the same profile as your pic. Yes, I am making an effort to do this, and it feels like I’m being pretty extreme, but it might give you some hope to know that another guy can at least get that effect through purposefully bad posture.
I say email Eric Cressey and Mike Robertson. Mike had a thread “Big Mike’s Strength Forum” going a few days ago- maybe that would be a good place to look. And if you take a set of pics like they recommend in NNM, maybe you can get some comments from them.
I have the same problem, only the rest of my lower body is too big as well. My upper body has nice definition, but in my lower body, I have cellulite! I don’t think that’s natural for males. So anyway, a couple weeks ago, in CT’s semi-guest forum, I addressed this issue, and he said that the fat is unevenly distributed because of high estrogen levels. You can get your endocrinologist to test your hormone levels. There’s a product called “yohimbe” that helps you target those areas when you work out.
