Some of the planet’s bigger overachievers live in Silicon Valley, so when it comes to efficiency and measurable results — even at the gym — they turn to people like themselves for help.

The go-to fitness gurus for the tech set are an unassuming Polish couple: Jerzy and Aniela Gregorek, weightlifting world record-holders — and stars at helping others improve their strength, flexibility and health.

From their Woodside home, the couple counsel 500 new clients a year with a program they call the Happy Body. Their believers include angel investor Naval Ravikant, Adobe executive Taylor Barada, philanthropists Gib and Susan Myers, and Komal Shah, as well as “4-Hour Workweek” author Tim Ferriss, who has written about the Gregoreks in “Tribe of Mentors” and featured Jerzy Gregorek in a podcast. The couple are developing programs for professional athletes, certifying personal trainers in their method and have plans to open a Happy Body gym.

“One of the cool things about where we live is we’ve got a lot of excellence,” said James Nicholas, a venture capitalist and client. “Here you’ve got two world champions, so when you sync them up with mavens like Tim (Ferriss) or Naval (Ravikant) , it’s interesting watching them connect quickly, because they’re all masters.”

The Gregoreks came to the U.S. in 1986 as political refugees during the anti-communist Solidarity movement, landing in Los Angeles, establishing themselves as coaches and founding the weightlifting team at UCLA. In 2004, they moved north.

Their program is simple, but not easy — or cheap, at $750 for the first two-hour session and $275 an hour thereafter. Their 30-minute set of daily exercises with 18 moves comes in five levels of difficulty, depending on ability. To have a “happy body,” one they define as strong, lean (10 to 13 percent body fat), stress-free and injury-free, they advocate lean protein and vegetables; occasional treats; adequate rest; and time away from work to clear the mind. On their plan, food and drink are not the main sources of pleasure in life.

They live what they preach. Jerzy Gregorek, 62, at 5 foot 6 and 140 pounds, can lift 220 pounds overhead in a clean and jerk, two-move lift, while Aniela, 59, at 5 foot 3 and 114 pounds, can clean and jerk 115 pounds. He holds one world record; she holds six. Some clients, like Nicholas and Myers, have taken up powerlifting with the couple, for fun.

“Almost everybody who comes here says the same thing: ‘I am very successful everywhere else but this; I cannot handle my lifestyle, food and exercise — I don’t know what to do,’” Jerzy Gregorek said. Fitness, the couple believe, is a craft, not something that happens organically.

Because clients are often tripped up by poor choices, Jerzy Gregorek has penned three slim volumes on food, rest and exercise — complete with imaginary conversations to guide one’s internal dialogue away from fatalistic, self-sabotaging behavior.

Instead of squashing one’s emotions, said Aniela Gregorek, “You have to befriend them, whisper to them. They are powerful.”

They aim to create “happy stoics” — people who find joy in making hard choices, or who, as they put it, learn to “like what is not likable.”

Ravikant, an early investor in Twitter and Uber, has sent 20 friends, co-workers and family members to the Gregoreks over the years. He prefers rolling out of bed to do his exercises on a yoga mat to the fuss of going to a gym. He also revels in Jerzy Gregorek’s mantra: “Easy choices, hard life; hard choices, easy life.”

“I told Jerzy he’s either an expensive trainer or a cheap philosopher,” Ravikant joked. “It literally summarizes 80 percent of what we struggle with in life — short-term versus long-term trade-offs.”

Carson Eltoukhy, 37, the wife of a startup executive in Atherton, lost 40 pounds after the birth of her second child in 2013 on the Happy Body plan and 1,200 calories a day (and by eliminating red velvet doughnuts at Chuck’s Donuts in Redwood City, a favorite snack). She has since regained 10 pounds, but is comfortable with her weight.

“It was definitely effective,” she said. “You can do it on your own once you get the hang of what they want to teach. For the calorie restriction, I think it’s unrealistic.”

Mike Snyder, 62, chair of the genomics department at Stanford University, has been with the Gregoreks for 16 months and counting. A slim and avid runner, he’d been troubled by sore knees that he attributed to aging. With specific exercises, he is now stronger, more flexible and has no knee pain, even after the annual touch football game on Thanksgiving with colleagues in his lab.

He called the program transformative.“My wife says I look great — for me, that matters the most.”

Three tips for better fitness and living from Jerzy Gregorek

1. Fall in love with a lifestyle program that has the power to make you better over time. No quick affairs.

2. Use well-timed relaxation techniques to nip exhaustion in the bud.

3. Surround yourself with mentors, whether in person or through a book or podcast. It takes a village to upgrade your mind.

Happy Body www.thehappybody.com