Doctor Alarms: Uneven Muscle Growth May Lead to Chronic Conditions for Fitness Enthusiast

Ever heard of the phrase “wear your heart on your sleeve”? Well, this guy has literally worn his gym obsession to an extreme, but guess what? He’s got a fever pitch for building not just muscle, but asymmetry! Calling himself ‘The Crooked Man‘, he’s hit the gym with a twist—literally. He’s only working out one side of his body in some sort of “looks minimising” technique, much like some might opt for mullets or parachute pants to minimize their aesthetic appeal.

Now, here’s where it gets intriguing (and a bit kooky). This man, equipped with a left side now larger than a bodybuilder’s left hemisphere, decided this act of rebellion against the popular ‘looksmaxxing’ trend on TikTok would somehow make him more… well, unique, let’s say. Or as he sees it, more attractive in a world of balance. But let’s take a moment to ponder—what’s the price we’re willing to pay for uniqueness? Could it be chronic pain or throwing your back out of whack?

According to Dr Suhail Hussain, the answer is a resounding “Uh, maybe.” He warns that this ride on the asymmetry train could lead some to a one-way ticket to orthopedic disaster. Imagine, developing one muscle group while leaving the other to be the decorative lard that many TikTokers are now growing to detest. But hey, at least we can all agree that the man’s got some gusto for defying the norms, right?

Ultimately, in the pursuit of looks or the subversion of expectations, balance and proportion are key. Even the most shocking marketing campaigns teach us that. But this guy, well, he’s decided to skip the lecture.

If you’re curious about asymmetrical bodybuilding or if you’re considering joining this one-sided muscle party, I’d suggest you take a peek at the gurus of health and fitness. After all, who needs two symmetry when you can have one massive trap and perhaps stumble through life with a new swagger? Learn more here.

A man who has trained only one side of his body could have some long term health impacts, a doctor has warned.

Going by the name of ‘The Crooked Man‘, he’s undertaken something he calls ‘looks minimising’ by only exercising one side of his trapezius muscle.

The left side of his body is now significantly larger and more muscular than the right, and he said he decided to do it after seeing the ‘looksmaxxing’ trend go viral on TikTok, where people do as much as possible to boost their physical appearance.

He decided he’d do the opposite, saying: “What was the best way to looksminimize? Become more asymmetrical.

“Work out one trap, it solved my problem. And man, it has worked like a charm.”

He’s been working out just one muscle in his body, and a doctor has warned it’s not a good idea (Instagram/@thecrookedman10)

However, a doctor has warned that he’s ‘concerned’ about the lad’s approach to bodybuilding.

Dr Suhail Hussain told LADbible that there ‘may be some short-term positives’ to the guy’s approach, but warned that anything good was likely to be ‘outweighed by the risks’.

He said: “As a doctor, I’d be concerned about the clear musculoskeletal imbalance this man is developing.

“Overdeveloping one muscle group, especially to such an extreme degree can lead to a range of health issues: spinal misalignment, joint strain, compensatory injuries in surrounding muscles and even chronic pain.

“The body is designed for symmetry and balance, so distorting that through disproportionate hypertrophy risks long-term orthopaedic problems.”

Dr Hussain said that ‘The Crooked Man’ could benefit in the short-term from ‘increased strength or function in that one muscle’, but the ‘range of health issues’ he spoke about didn’t make the benefits worth it.

He added that any benefits would really not be worth it ‘if the muscle is not being used in a way that justifies its size’, because who really needs one massive trap?

As for the muscle ‘The Crooked Man’ worked out, Dr Hussain warned that there was ‘no real functional benefit to overtraining’ one side of your trapezius muscle ‘as their primary function is one of support and stabilisation of surrounding structures’.

A doctor said he risks ‘spinal misalignment, joint strain, compensatory injuries and chronic pain’ with his approach (Instagram/@thecrookedman10)

Taking this lopsided approach ‘can also affect posture and gait’, he warned, but given the content creator’s goals to indulge in ‘looks minimising’ this seems to be part of the plan.

“Ultimately, balance and proportion are key in both health and aesthetics,” the doctor said.

Given that the lad is now also working out one leg it seems that he’s not going to embrace the idea of balance and proportion just yet.