Quicker workouts, less time in the gym, and barely breaking a sweat — that all sounds great, but could this approach really lead to results? A few geeky guys are proving that yes, it can.

At GeekFit, a Redmond-based personal training studio located in Overlake Business Park, a non-traditional method to working out is breaking all the rules that conventional wisdom has set about exercise. GeekFit workouts take a “less is more” and “work smarter, not harder” approach to workouts. The trainers recommend one intense-yet-short session per week so that time in the gym is as beneficial as possible.

Opened in October 2010, GeekFit was co-founded by Chris Tremonte and Lowell Meyer. The two Microsoft co-workers were part of a Healthy Solutions group with a few other nutrition enthusiasts. They researched cutting-edge exercise regimes and nutritional information that lead them to the GeekFit philosophy. A group of 15 to 20 co-workers began working out together and the co-founders soon decided to get their own space.

“The GeekFit program is designed to fit into your life without becoming a hobby,” Tremonte said. “It’s fun and effective but you don’t need to come in five times a week to benefit. This is a really high-return, low-risk, low-time commitment way of working out.”

The GeekFit workout revolves around slow, smooth muscle movements on five different exercise machines. The individual aims to continue these controlled repetitions for 80-120 seconds and hold for as long as possible before releasing the weight. Most clients do the same workout, but adjustments to the level of difficulty and movements on each machine are made to cater to different body types and health goals.

“We want people to feel like they’re getting a lot out of it and to understand what they’re doing and why,” Tremonte said. “I think the easiest way to stick with an exercise program is to know that it’s working and to feel that it’s working, so if we can give them something that’s working it’s much easier to stick with.”

Fayyaz Poonawala has been working out at GeekFit for nearly two years. His old weight-loss regime involved multiple sets and high reps followed by cardio. He found that longer and increased exercise did not help his health goals and required too much time.

“I was seeing a lot of benefit within two or three weeks of doing (the GeekFit) program, and if you see the time spent on it versus the benefit, it’s a huge timesaver,” he said.

Poonawala has been able to stay healthy and enjoy outdoor activities because of less time spent in the gym.

“In terms of my glucose levels, cholesterol, doing GeekFit and nothing else has kept all that the same, so I was able to save around two hours a week and still maintain the same health without having to change other variables,” he said.

Poonawala now leaves the gym feeling rejuvenated and energized. “It helps my sense of well being,” he said. “When I come out of a workout, I feel a good solid burn and that I had a very strenuous workout. I feel happy that it’s only a short period of time and the benefits are longer lasting.”

The GeekFit guys also have a nutritional philosophy to pair with their high-intensity workouts. They advocate for a paleo/primal diet that focuses on eating foods that people have been eating since caveman times. This diet suggests that our bodies may not be adapted to refined and processed foods, so we should eat foods in which our bodies are well-adapted — more animal fats, meats, vegetables, and less grains, sugars and other modern introductions into the food supply.

“Most people put in some significant amount of effort to try to be healthy and those who see themselves as society’s vision of unhealthy is not because they’re not trying, it’s because they’re doing the wrong stuff,” Tremonte said. “If we can get them to do the right stuff and direct just a fraction of the effort they’re putting in now into a smarter program, they’re going to have much better results.”

Co-owner Aaron Schmidt comes from a nutrition background and found that there are better ways to improve health than the “eat less exercise more” routine that is so ingrained in people’s minds. He used to be a gym junkie and switched to the GeekFit program after his old workouts plateaued. Schmidt now spends about 20 minutes a week rather than four hours in the gym, and has never felt stronger.

“We found a way of exercising that we think is superior and more efficient, which we want to share with people,” he said. “I feel great when our clients feel great. That’s the whole reason why we do it, to help people out.”

Schmidt said that they want to provide a comfortable environment for clients who may be intimidated by traditional gyms. All workouts are one-on-one with enthusiastic trainers who are clearly passionate about the subject.

“We all have a different background and bring the benefits of having discovered this and not being fully taught from the ground up,” he said. “We bring a different perspective to the gym from what we learn elsewhere and translate that to personal training, and have a critical eye for what’s really necessary versus what’s conventional wisdom that doesn’t work.”Poonawala recommends GeekFit to anyone who is skeptical of the shorter workout approach — he guarantees anyone will feel a burn.

“It’s good pain,” he said.

Tremonte feels fantastic when he sees clients succeed, especially when it’s someone who’s struggled with their weight, or never had much interest in exercise. He said that so many people try to improve their health but are just doing it the wrong way, and that they should not feel weak for failing to stick with a program that won’t work.

“Our vision is the more people we impact here, the more this kind of new gospel of nutrition and exercise can get out there and eventually we can be part of positive social change,” Tremonte said. “If we get enough people onto a program that works, I think we can change the world.”

Stay tuned for the first-ever GeekFit Fest on Jan. 7, 2013 that will include an open house, lectures, food, music and more.

Lauren Becherer is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.