Fans Notice Caitlin Clark’s Different Physical Appearance at Team USA Camp
Since Indiana Fever superstar guard Caitlin Clark didn't compete in any leagues during the last WNBA offseason, one of the biggest storylines surrounding Clark was how she was spending the winter to help prepare for her second WNBA season after a record-breaking rookie 2024 campaign.
It soon became clear that Clark was focusing on building muscle and strength in the weight room, a fact confirmed by her head coach, Stephanie White. And as the offseason progressed, the physical evidence of Clark's hard work in the weight room became apparent, largely through photos of her more toned arms that often went viral on social media.
The thought was that this added muscle would enable Clark to withstand the physical defense against her that she gets subjected to on the court. However, it ended up having the opposite effect. Clark suffered several soft tissue injuries during the 2025 season, which limited her to 13 regular season games and kept her sidelined through the Fever's unexpected postseason run. Because her emphasis on adding muscle was well-documented, many fans blamed her ensuing injuries on the new muscle.
This reached a point where fans asserted that they wanted Clark to lose this muscle during the current offseason so that she'd have the same frame that allowed her to succeed with the Iowa Hawkeyes and as a rookie with the Fever.
Fans React to Caitlin Clark’s Changed Look at Team USA Camp
Clark arrived at the Team USA training camp in North Carolina on December 11. And a video of her exiting a car amassed over a million views. In the wake of this, there have been plenty of fan comments noting that Clark appears to have shed some of that muscle and slimmed down somewhat this offseason.
"New groin and we’re Iowa skinny again. I got chills," @antivirgosuns in a reply to the aforementioned video. This post has over 570,000 views in less than two days.
New groin and we’re Iowa skinny again. I got chills. pic.twitter.com/H6o91TtREd https://t.co/1aTVYA52Bp
— suns (@antivirgosuns) December 12, 2025
"beautiful scenes," @raIeighsrichie commented.
@DayDreamThis added, "Caitlin isn't bulky fat anymore," on December 12.
"She def lost all that muscle," @kenswift added.
"Skinny Caitlin Clark and the associated speed is back 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥," wrote @mikeaalen112735 along with a photo of Clark as the Team USA training camp.
Skinny Caitlin Clark and the associated speed is back 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/LtkoUIjxmL pic.twitter.com/YIPyJeIV5Q
— Michael (@mikeaalen112735) December 12, 2025
"Yes that is right. She is like her Rookie year. She is fast focused and in true Caitlin form all performance perfect," commented @painted_sweet.
That same @mikeaalen112735 user posted a side-by-side of Clark at the camp compared to a photo of her last offseason and wrote, "Looks like Caitlin Clark told her training staff 'no thank you .' I’m going back to how I was rookie year where I was a top 3 player as a rookie and didn’t miss a game. I was already strong enough."
"I felt this was the case all along. Too much muscle leading to inflexibility," @davepedigo responded.
"She needs her legs and not some popeye arms," added @MiskaSapra_si.
"It is clear that after over 5 years with no injures then adding muscle and being injured most of the season, she needed to revert back to what worked for her in the past," said @CaitlinForThree.
It is clear that after over 5 years with no injures then adding muscle and being injured most of the season, she needed to revert back to what worked for her in the past. https://t.co/LLTQr8qwF7
— CaitlinFor3 (@CaitlinForThree) December 13, 2025
Now these fans must hope and pray this change leads to Clark keeping healthy throughout the 2026 season.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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