Most gym-goers spend years trying to build a balanced physique.
The Crooked Man has spent almost a year trying to do the exact opposite.
The social media creator, known online as @thecrookedman10, has become one of the internet’s strangest fitness success stories after documenting more than 300 days of training just one trapezius muscle in a deliberate attempt to make one side of his body bigger than the other.
Now, after 320 days of one-sided training, he has shared another update on his transformation — and the results continue to leave viewers equal parts impressed, confused and concerned.
In his latest video, The Crooked Man can be seen performing lopsided bench presses and uneven pull-ups as he continues his unusual mission. A text overlay on the clip reads: “Day 320 training one side,” while showcasing a physique that remains impressively lean despite becoming increasingly asymmetrical.
The challenge began as a tongue-in-cheek response to the rise of “looksmaxxing” content across social media.
While countless influencers offer advice on how to improve symmetry, optimise aesthetics and maximise physical attractiveness, The Crooked Man decided to go in the opposite direction entirely.
Explaining the origins of the challenge, he previously said: “Why does the one trap guy work out one trap? It’s pretty simple. I was scrolling TikToks in my Ferrari, and I kept getting these looksmaxing TikToks.
“And they were like, ‘Do this, do that. You’ll look more attractive. You’ll get more women’. And it’s like, people have that problem? I have the opposite problem.
“I get so many DMS, I don’t even have time to get through them all. So I was like, ‘If I have the opposite problem, then I need the opposite solution. What’s the opposite of looksmaxing? Looksminimizing’.”
That idea soon evolved into a full-scale experiment.
Rather than attempting to improve his appearance, The Crooked Man committed himself to becoming intentionally uneven.
“What was the best way to looksminimize? Become more asymmetrical,” he said. “Work out one trap, it solved my problem. And man, it has worked like a charm.”
Judging by the latest update, few would argue with that assessment.
Photos shared throughout his journey reveal just how dramatic the transformation has become. What started as a relatively normal physique has gradually developed into a visibly lopsided frame, with one shoulder, trap and arm significantly larger than the other.
The trapezius muscle — commonly referred to as the trap — is a large muscle group stretching across the upper back and neck. It is often associated with the thick, powerful look sported by elite strength athletes and professional wrestlers.
Most lifters spend years trying to build both traps evenly through exercises such as shrugs and deadlifts.
The Crooked Man, however, has focused on only one side.
Beyond training a single trap, The Crooked Man has shared videos documenting “Day 30 of working out one leg”, while performing Bulgarian split squats exclusively on one side. He has also posted updates on “100 Days of Mouth Breathing”, further adding to the bizarre collection of experiments that have become central to his online persona.
Not everyone is convinced the project is exactly what it seems, however.
Across Reddit and his comment sections, some users have speculated that the creator may be exaggerating the “looksminimizing” narrative for comedic effect. Others have suggested the entire concept could be a form of performance art designed to parody internet fitness culture and generate engagement.
Some have even theorised that he could be managing scoliosis, with the viral storyline serving as a cover for a pre-existing condition.
Whether any of those theories are true remains unclear.
What is clear is that The Crooked Man has achieved something few creators manage in the overcrowded fitness space: he has become instantly recognisable.
Featured image credit: thecrookedman10 / Instagram
