Introduced in 2012, the Austrian Oak is the second event of the Arnold Classic. The Austrian Oak is a true log of mammoth proportions built by Steve Slater; and in my opinion, the most beautiful piece of Strongman equipment ever made. The log is made from wood, so the weight varies year to year, but typically is around 440-460+lbs.  Last year seemed to be a heavy year, as Zydrunas Savickas was the only athlete able to lockout the Oak overhead. Of course, he did it for 4 reps to rub it in everyone else's face. For those that cannot press the Austrian Oak, they get a chance at the feather log which weighs in at a “light” 375 or so pounds. 1 rep with the Austrian Oak beats any number of reps with the feather log, so a bit of strategy comes into play here.



The athletes will undoubtedly be fatigued following the max deadlift . If the Oak is above their ability, it may be smart to skip attempting the Oak, and reserve their energy for the Feather. Of course, this is the 10 strongest men in the world, and in a group such as this strategy tends to take the back seat to a challenge.

Zydrunas Savickas is the clear favorite, as he always is involving anything overhead. He has only been beaten once on this event, and that was in 2012 by the late Mike Jenkins. It is not often that an athlete almost has a guaranteed 1st place in an event, but Big Z log pressing is as close as you will get to a sure thing in Strongman.

Eddie Hall, well known for his incredible static strength, will be coming off what I assume will be a big deadlift in the prior event, which could affect his performance in the log press. Much to the surprise of the crowd last year, Hall failed his attempt on the Austrian oak. The sheer length and size of this log makes it much more challenging than equal weight of a steel gym log. Hall has a very good shot at being one of the few to hoist the oak above their head, but if he fails on the lift, he will drop a lot of points as his long setup on the clean hurts him when going for multiple reps, which he will need if reduced to the feather log.

Hafthor Bjornssom’s log pressing seems to be going well in training with gym lifts of 200kg/440lbs.  Will that work carry over to being able to press the Oak?

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A rep on the Oak would be huge for The Mountain, but if not he will certainly improve on his 4 reps with the feather from last year.

There must be something in the water in Lithuania as Lalas was able to press the Oak successfully in 2014 the question remains on how healthy he is from his back injury which forced him to sit out last year.

Jerry Pritchett’s pressing strength keeps climbing with this 415lb lift put in training but the Oak is still a bit far off. Expect Pritchett to put up 5-6 reps on the feather log.

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Dimitar Savatinov is one of the best overhead pressers in the world. Dimitar’s training looks much better this year as last year he did not get an invite until a few weeks out. With a whole year to prepare it would be shocking if Dimitar did not get a rep or two on the Austrian Oak, Dimitar has been smart in his training by making sure to train on a wooden log. Never to tip his hand Dimitar posted this 415lb “warm up” before moving on to working sets with 440-445lbs according to his Instagram:

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Mateusz Kieliszkowksi, the 21-year-old Polish Strongman, shocked the world last year taking third overall. The very explosive athlete is probably not up to the challenge of the Austrian Oak yet but I expect him to have the most reps of anyone on the feather log which should still give him good points in the event.

Want more strongman? Check out this interview with Dimitar after he won America's Strongest Man: