Hacks and Hobbies with Junaid Ahmed

5 Big Takeaways

Traditional workouts were never built for busy people – they were designed in 1891 for strongmen with 10+ hours a week to train.

42 minutes a week can outperform 7 hours, when you train with slow, continuous tension to complete muscle fatigue.

If your brain doesn’t change, your results won’t last – most “failures” are really a mismatch between your brain type and your strategy.

Food logs alone can boost results by 30% because they force mindful eating—even before you change a single food.

Simple biohacks—light, sleep, hydration, and real food—beat most fancy gadgets when it comes to consistent energy and long-term health.

Timestamps

00:00 – Why most people don’t need harder workouts, they need a better system

Junaid sets the stage: why “doing more” is making people weaker, not stronger, and why PJ built a method for the busiest people on earth.

03:40 – The hidden time trap of traditional training (and why resolutions die by February)

PJ breaks down the 3+ hours/week gym model, how it fails busy 40–70 year olds, and why expectations vs. results kill motivation.

08:45 – One set to failure: the 3-minute push-up that replaces an entire workout

PJ walks through his TUT + CMF protocol, including the 7-second push-up method you can do at home with zero equipment.

15:20 – Brain types, willpower myths, and why 94% of resolutions fail

How PJ’s brain type test personalizes mindset coaching, why willpower is a losing strategy, and how discipline is really just automated habit.

21:45 – “I’m working out but not losing fat” – rapid troubleshooting

PJ’s two-step fix: food logs and custom swaps, plus why simply tracking food creates 30% better results.

26:50 – Exhausted all the time? The 3 things PJ checks first

Stress, hydration, and processed food: the real energy vampires—and a dead-simple hydration formula to start fixing it today.

31:10 – Biohacking for real people: light, sleep, and tiny upgrades that compound

From grounding pads and blue blockers to morning light routines and screen curfews, PJ’s favorite accessible biohacks for better sleep and sharper focus.

Guest Links – PJ Glassey

Website

crackingyourcode.com (Other)

xgym.com (Company)

pjfit.com (Blog)

(Check the XGym site for PJ’s latest social links, online programs, and resources.)

Episode Snapshot (Quick Reference)

Guest: PJ Glassey – Founder of XGym, creator of a 21-minute, twice-a-week training system for busy professionals.

Core Topics: Time-efficient strength training, brain types & habit formation, nutrition audits, stress & energy, and practical biohacking.

Perfect For: Busy parents, entrepreneurs, and professionals who feel like they’ve “tried everything” and still can’t stay consistent or see long-term results.

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🔗 LI: https://linkedin.com/in/superjunaid

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5 Big Takeaways

Time isn’t the real problem — method is. Traditional training was designed to get people “jacked,” not to make busy people strong, functional, and injury-free.

21 minutes can equal 3.5 hours when you use slow, controlled reps, continuous time under tension, and train to true muscle failure.

Plateaus are a feature of routine, not of your genetics. Your body and brain adapt fast; to keep progressing, you must keep changing the method, not just the exercises.

High achievers secretly fear failing at health. Many start in private so no one sees them quit; PJ explains why building a support “posse” is the antidote.

The safest starting point is smaller than you think. For some, it’s literally just standing up and sitting down slowly — and doing it consistently until the habit becomes part of who you are.

Timestamps

00:00 – Why most people are training wrong

Junaid sets the scene: most of us are doing more and getting less healthy — PJ introduces his “train smarter, not longer” promise.

03:39 – The 21-minute, twice-a-week protocol

PJ explains how one slow, continuous set to true failure can replace hours of traditional sets and reps.

04:17 – The 7–7–7 method and splinter techniques

How 7 seconds up, 7 seconds down, and strategic pulses/holds create brutal efficiency and complete muscle fatigue.

08:46 – One set vs. five: what the research really shows

Why doing more sets doesn’t equal more results once you’ve hit true muscle failure.

09:30 – The moment PJ realized the old model was broken

College, Eugene Sandow, 1891 bodybuilding, and why he decided to build something for “the rest of us.”

15:05 – Adaptation, boredom, and why you plateau

How your nervous system erodes novelty, and why X Gym changes methods every 14 workouts to keep you progressing.

21:53 – The hidden fear high achievers carry about health

PJ unpacks fear of failure, secret attempts at getting fit, and how to create a support system that keeps you accountable.

26:36 – The one exercise PJ wants you to start today

Simple bodyweight sit-to-stands, done slowly and intentionally, as the first step back into fitness.

Guest Links

Website & Programs: https://xgym.com

(Gym, online training, exercise app, brain type test, and resources)

Book: Cracking Your Calorie Code by PJ Glassey (available via xgym.com and major booksellers)

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📖 Home Studio resources: https://homestudiobook.com
🔗 LI: https://linkedin.com/in/superjunaid

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5 Big Takeaways

Responsible AI = augmentation, not replacement – Kaboom’s core principle is simple: keep a human in the loop and use AI to make people superhuman, not obsolete.

Trust starts with security, not slogans – SOC 2, audits, and enterprise-grade security aren’t “nice to have”; they are table stakes for serious AI in revenue teams.

Most AI pilots fail on adoption, not ideas – Without organizational readiness, internal champions, and patience, even the best AI never gets past the shiny demo stage.

Bring AI to where humans live – Adoption skyrockets when AI lives inside existing workflows (email, WhatsApp, microsites), instead of forcing people to “go to the AI.”

Relationships will always stay human – AI should handle the follow-ups, research, and repetition so you can focus on what actually moves the needle: real human relationships.

 

Episode Timestamps

[00:01:19] What “Responsible AI” Actually Means at Kaboom

Anoushka breaks down their one-sentence definition of responsible AI—and why a human-in-the-loop is non-negotiable.

[00:02:54] Security at the Gate: How Enterprises Decide Who to Trust

Ram explains why security and data privacy are day one requirements and how Kaboom built an “uncompromising” security culture.

[00:06:24] The AI Trust Checklist for CIOs & Revenue Leaders

Organizational readiness, internal champions, data access, and why “closed-door” AI makes your system artificially dumb.

[00:09:56] Meeting People Where They Are: The Shortcut You Can’t Take

Anoushka on why Kaboom refuses to ignore existing workflows—even if it slows the deal—and how that earns real trust.

[00:17:52] Live Exercise: Turning a Conference Attendee List into Real Meetings

A step-by-step walk-through of Kaboom’s event intelligence product and how it prioritizes who you should meet now.

[00:20:35] From Business Card Graveyard to Revenue Engine

Junaid shares his embarrassing stack of untouched cards—and Ram shows how AI can triage, score, and draft follow-ups on autopilot.

[00:22:05] What Stays Human Forever—and What AI Should Own

Ram and Junaid draw the line: relationships, deals, and meaning vs. the mundane tasks AI should quietly automate in the background.

[00:24:47] Final Advice: Trust, Revenue, and the Future of PRM

One-sentence guidance for founders and revenue teams on trust, authenticity, and relationship-first growth in the AI era.

Guest Links

Kaboom AI

Website: Kaboom AI (search “Kaboom AI event intelligence & revenue workflows”)

LinkedIn: Kaboom AI (search “Kaboom AI” on LinkedIn)

Anoushka – Co-founder, Kaboom AI

LinkedIn: Search “Anoushka Kaboom AI” on LinkedIn

Ram – Co-founder, Kaboom AI

LinkedIn: Search “Ram Kaboom AI” on LinkedIn

Listener Homework (From the Episode)

Pick one workflow to simplify – events, prospect research, account planning, or follow-ups.

Define the human moments that must always stay human in that workflow.

Use the AI trust checklist when choosing tools:

Boundaries

Traceability

Auditability

Adoption



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5 Big Takeaways

Intergenerational co-founding is a superpower when you combine AI-native speed with decades of enterprise pattern recognition and trust.

Kaboom AI isn’t a “tool” — it’s a revenue operating system, embedding agentic AI into real GTM workflows from prospecting to customer success.

Human-centered AI in sales means augmentation, not replacement — people still buy from people, especially in complex enterprise deals.

Culture is a product you design on purpose, from coffee rituals and humor to psychological safety and truly egalitarian debate.

Family co-founders must set hard boundaries and decision systems — united front to the market, clear domains of ownership, and space to cool off when disagreements get emotional.

Timestamps

00:00 – Why this episode matters: building an AI startup across generations

How Junaid frames the episode around the intergenerational edge in AI startups and introduces Anoushka and Ram’s backgrounds.

02:00 – Why a father–daughter founding team? The real story behind Kaboom AI

Anoushka shares how her post-Yale uncertainty, Ram’s career inflection point, and shared brainstorming converged into co-founding Kaboom together.

04:00 – The AI-native speed advantage: “I already drafted the contract with AI.”

Ram recounts being outpaced by Anoushka’s AI workflows and how her AI-native mindset changes their execution speed and complementarity.

09:30 – What Kaboom AI actually does: from CRM tracking to true revenue intelligence

Ram explains Kaboom as a GTM operating system, using agentic AI to inject intelligence into every revenue touchpoint, not just log activity.

11:30 – Human-centered AI: why people still buy from people

Anoushka breaks down why AI in enterprise sales must empower human sellers instead of trying to replace human-to-human relationships.

15:40 – The “event microsite” assistant: your Chief of Staff for conferences

Anoushka walks through their new event microsite module that tells you who to meet and why at conferences, and Junaid shares how he would’ve used it at Podfest.

19:50 – Culture that scales: from the “pursuit of happiness” to New York coffee rituals

Ram reflects on the culture magic at Surian, while Anoushka describes building Kaboom’s culture around excellence, friendship, and community (plus aggressive coffee-snob exploration).

26:50 – How they divide decisions without killing the relationship

They unpack product vs. sales ownership, vision vs. operations, and how they avoid stepping on each other while both wanting to “do everything.”

35:30 – Handling conflict as family co-founders: from blow-ups to written reflection

Anoushka and Ram share their disagreement playbook: debate, sleep on it, write it down, and come back as co-founders instead of as just father and daughter.

Guest Links

Website: https://kaboom.ai

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com (search “Kaboom AI” to find the company and both co-founders)

(You can also find Anoushka Ram Kumar and Ram Gunnison on LinkedIn by name, and—if you’re in New York—over coffee near Madison Square Park.)

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Key Takeaways

Expertise ≠ Authority: Why being brilliant at what you do is not enough—and how to create visible proof that positions you as the go-to.

The “Uniform Problem”: How books, stages, and platforms function like a new “uniform” that instantly changes how people trust and value you.

The Stage Book Model: How a simple two-day event can become your book, your funnel, your testimonial engine, and your authority flywheel.

Founder Story as a Growth Lever: Why sharing the parts of your story you’re scared of can become your most powerful marketing asset.

From Content Clutter to Authority Assets: What to stop doing right now if you’re grinding out content but not building true market authority.

Timestamps

00:00 – The real problem: not expertise, but invisibility

Junaid opens with why most experts stay hidden and introduces Marley’s concept of “authority assets.”

03:50 – Zone of genius vs. zone of excellence

Marley explains why being “good” at many things keeps you from becoming the name in your industry.

09:45 – The Stage Book: turning a 2‑day event into a perennial book and authority engine

How Marley and her team turn live workshops into books, funnels, and an evergreen sales flywheel.

15:10 – “I already wrote a book… now what?”

The ecosystem authors are missing: book funnels, companion courses, and no-lead-left-behind systems.

18:20 – The fear of the founder story (and why you must share it)

Marley opens up about sharing her divorce publicly and how vulnerability became a story of perseverance.

24:20 – Building your “bag of stories” and storytelling as a skill

How to collect everyday stories, use them to teach, and make your content unforgettable.

29:00 – Stop content clutter: what real authority-building looks like

From green-screen reels to stages and books—what to stop, what to start, and how to think like a titan of your industry.

Guest Links – Marley Jax

Website – Titans of Industry: https://titansofindustry.com

Stage Book Model: https://thestagebook.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/marleyjaxx

YouTube: www.youtube.com/marleyjaxx

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