Get to know assistant strength and conditioning coach Abe Munayer, including the advice he shares with players.
What got you interested in strength and conditioning coaching:
"It started from my youth. I was obese growing up, I was over 300 pounds before high school. I was twice the weight limit for Pop Warner. When I got to high school it was the first time I was introduced to weights, and it was the first time I got to play football. That first year I lost 60 pounds. That transformed my mind and my body. I got obsessed with training after all it did for me, when I was growing up out of high school. That led me down a path of strength conditioning, especially playing college football. It was the first time you saw your exercise and program on paper. You simply follow it. I got a lot bigger, faster, stronger. I had a healthy obsession with it, and I wanted to study it more after that."
Who has been your inspiration in coaching:
"My cousin (Mitri Shami) kind of gave me some general advice. He was big in nutrition and jujitsu and had some knowledge of football. My parents always encouraged me too, but my cousin gave me a general guideline of what to do in the gym, how to eat, and how to train. I grew up watching the 49ers in San Francisco and one of my biggest idols playing wise was Bryant Young. I tried to emulate his play and he was one of the main athletes I looked up to in terms of football training."
What do you love about coaching:
"I love building relationships with the guys, getting to know them on a personal level and building that brotherhood and bond with a lot of these players from so many different backgrounds and different adversities growing up. Trying to connect with them and build a common background and common relationship. We might have shared some similar paths or stories growing up. It's just rewarding seeing guys win on the field, be successful and winning games, winning championships. It's rewarding because you put so much time into this and it's very demanding, but it's more rewarding than anything else. Just seeing everything fall into place certain times of the year, it's a beautiful experience. It's hard to describe. But the main thing is building relationships with the guys, that's fun. I like joking around with them, staying in touch with them. I stay in touch with a lot of the guys I've trained."
Describe your coaching style:
"I've blended a lot from my mentors and different philosophies I've worked with. My main area in my career was college, so I learned a lot of different approaches and different philosophies going through all the college programs I've worked with. I've always been big on building movement, basing everything off of movement first, and then performing and accelerating performance from there. Movement quality is always first. I came from a powerlifting background, so squat, benching, pulling is probably an integral part of almost every athlete's program. Obviously, you've got to move right, and I learned that the hard way. Move properly first. Movement quality trumps everything else. After that, movement, build strength, and then build your speed, power, and change of direction."
Best advice you have received:
"You wear your resume on your back. I truly believe that because, even interviewing candidates myself, the name of the University or NFL team you may have worked with carries a lot of weight. If a guy or female comes in from a Big Ten or SEC school, NFL fellowships or NFL experience, but then in person was a little different than what I thought I recognized on paper. I've seen some of the best coaches on the planet from high schools and small D-2 no-name colleges that you might've never even heard of. I'm a big firm believer in that. I think that's what Coach Mark (Lovat) saw in me too. I might not have been at the biggest schools in the country, and I may not have had the most NFL coaching or playing experience, but he's seen me in person and I think how you carry yourself and the values you have for yourself and for others, you represent that in your own self and your work ethic and your personality, how you interact with players and coaches. You wear your resume on your back, that's your resume. Your work ethic, how you're performing, how you're treating others."
What advice do you give to players:
"I don't know if it's advice or showing them our service but basically let them know we're willing to work with you, whatever it may be. Just communicate because the last thing we want to do is force a guy to do something that might be detrimental to them. Make sure they know we're servant leaders and we're there to serve them and help them, not force them to do anything, and that's one of the biggest things I learned out of college. College you're more the developmental guy, the accountability coach. You're dictating what to do. Here I'm telling them, we're working together, we're collaborating, we're communicating. I'm not telling you what to do, I want to work with you. Letting them know we're together in this. You've got to make sure we're both on the same page because the last thing I'd want to do is force someone to do something. There's one thing to be uncomfortable or difficult to do, but another thing that could be detrimental to their performance or health. Make sure they know that we're going to work with them and collaborate."
Highlight of coaching career:
"One of the main highlights is I helped develop and coach a previous number one overall pick, Jared Goff at Cal Berkeley. That was rewarding and cool. Winning a national championship with the men's rowing team at Cal as well. My previous stop, I was able to build a whole new weight room from scratch. We built a second brand new facility at San Jose State and basically redeveloping that whole athletic performance facility space. That was pretty rewarding to me."
What is your offseason relaxation/reset:
"I love traveling. I try to go on an international trip almost once a year. I love traveling, learning new cultures, understanding the language, the food, the city life. I love being outdoors. I'm bad at golf, but any excuse to be outside, the beach, hiking, golfing, or going to sporting events. Now it will be spending time going home and seeing family in California and Chicago. That's always been one of my favorite things to do. I'll get away and be a little more present."
More about Abe Munayer:
Prior to joining the Steelers, Abe Munayer had been the Head of Athletic Performance, Olympic Sports at San Jose State since 2021, overseeing all 21 Olympic Sports at the school. His responsibilities also included management of daily operations of the athletic performance facility, as well as overseeing men's basketball and track & field athletic performance. He took part in a strength and conditioning fellowship with the Green Bay Packers in 2021 during Organized Team Activities (OTAs).
Munayer spent four years at the City College of San Francisco at the Director of Strength and Conditioning, where he oversaw the football program in addition to other sports.In addition, he spent time at Stanford University (2017-18) as sports performance coach and the University of California, Berkeley (2014-17) as strength and conditioning coach.
Munayer worked with the Cleveland Browns in the summer of 2014 as part of the Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship. He was a strength and conditioning intern at Stanford in 2014, and got his start at Texas Tech where he was a strength and conditioning intern and graduate research and teaching assistant in 2013.
