Freshman Broncho chases 396 pound bench press world record

Nicholas Borghini

Contributing Writer

UCO freshman Carson Jobe is training to break a bench press world record before his 20th birthday in March 2025.

Jobe must bench press over 396 pounds in the 180-pound weight class to break the record.

With the help of his brother, Jobe based his training program on other successful powerlifters but modified it to be practical for long-term use.

 “I saw that I was 50 pounds off from a world record, and the thought crossed my mind: What if all I did for the next few years was just focus solely on bench press?” Jobe said. “My current program avoids maxing out a lot. People think, ‘it’s kind of counterintuitive,’ but from my experience, I got more results having it planned and specific.”

Jobe started lifting in eighth grade when his brother forced him to go to the gym. He immediately fell in love with training, especially bench press, and later joined his school’s powerlifting team.

As a freshman in high school, Jobe had been eating poorly and lost around 20 pounds. The weight loss put him at 112 pounds and an unhealthy 3% body fat. 

He believes he had athletica nervosa, an eating disorder in which you try to become as lean as possible while overtraining. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Jobe began eating properly and saw serious strength improvements.

By his senior year, Jobe was bench pressing 330 pounds, setting a Kansas state record. Jobe set another state record in July 2023 when he bench pressed 341 pounds at his first USA Powerlifting meet.

Jobe believes that visualizing positivity is key to reaching his goals, allowing him to take risks and not be upset if a setback occurs. 

“Each rep gets you closer to that goal, that’s what I think every time I’m in the gym.”