Discover how Basecamp Fitness uses science-backed HIIT interval styles to build strength, burn fat, and improve endurance. Learn which formats support your goals and how to train 3–5 days per week for long-term results.
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High intensity interval training is more than just a trend; it is a science-backed method to use a variety of movements and splits designed to help you reach your goals faster. This is why Basecamp programs with intention, not randomness. At Basecamp Fitness, variety is at the core of every hiit workout we design. By featuring weekly splits focused on different intervals. Every session can supplement your specific fitness aspirations. Whether you are a seasoned athlete or just starting to move again, these workouts are crafted to fit your unique needs.
Our workouts feature interval styles (60/10, 90/15, 110/10, or 40/20) so you can get acquainted with our formats built with intention across the variety of our core 35-minute experience. Each interval style is intentionally designed to target specific adaptations, whether that’s endurance, fat loss, power, or strength.
But what you may not know or understand is the purpose of those interval splits, the benefits, the approach for planning your working experience. Keep reading.
Basecamp Fitness uses specialized interval styles to target different energy systems and muscle fibers. An effective training plan must be intentional rather than random to ensure continued progress and prevent plateaus. This variety ensures that your body never stops adapting and your strength continues to grow week after week. By rotating these demands, you can maximize your time while improving overall strength and cardiovascular health.
The primary benefit of a hiit workout with weights is the ability to build muscle and burn fat simultaneously through a high level of intensity. Using weights like kettlebells and dumbbells provides the resistance needed to build lean muscle and improve joint stability. These compound movements are designed to be modifiable so anyone can execute them safely and effectively. This intentional programming ensures that every session drives progress toward a stronger, more capable body.
Our coach-led instruction provides guidance with a blend of air bike cardio and strength exercises focusing each class on muscle target areas:
Full body: High-energy movements that engage all major muscle groups for maximum calorie burn.
Lower body: Targeted exercises like squats and lunges to build power in the glutes and legs.
Upper body: Resistance training focused on the chest, back, and arms for functional strength.
Cardio/Core: Intense bike intervals paired with stabilization work to strengthen the midsection.
To truly master your fitness, it is essential to understand how different timing structures change the way your body responds to a workout. We utilize specific interval styles—60/10, 90/15, and 40/20—to help you build everything from long-term endurance to explosive power.
The 60/10 format is the original Basecamp style, featuring 60-second rounds with 10 seconds to transition. This hiit workout is built to develop aerobic endurance and mental stamina by teaching you to maintain effort for extended durations.
This class was built to develop aerobic endurance and sustained power output. A longer 60-second work period teaches members how to hold effort for extended durations while maintaining good movement mechanics. The short 10-second recovery creates just enough rest to reset without fully recovering, meaning the cardio system stays elevated and challenged. It’s designed to improve cardiovascular capacity, work capacity, and mental stamina; ideal for those who need more engine.
Members looking to lose fat or improve conditioning benefit hugely from 60/10 because longer sustained efforts lead to higher overall calorie burn and improved aerobic efficiency.
This format also helps beginners build a foundation and teaches consistent pacing; a skill that improves performance across all workouts.
This format targets:
• Muscular endurance and sustained power
• Movement stability
• Increased cardiovascular performance
60/10 is recommended for members who want:
• General fitness for improved overall capacity and steady conditioning gains
• Physical performance improvements for functional fitness
For those needing more grit, the 90/15 interval pushes you past the typical 60-second comfort zone to improve muscular endurance. With a longer effort interval, the body is forced to rely on both aerobic and anaerobic pathways, improving stamina and physical resilience. The short 15-second rest means you must master breathing control and sustainable effort to maintain high output.
This format is ideal for developing the mental and physical engine required for long-term fitness gains.
This format targets:
• Increased muscular endurance
• Aerobic and anaerobic energy
• Breathing control and pacing efficiency
• Mental stamina
90/15 is the go-to recommendation for members who want:
• Fat loss by burning a high number of calories through extended work durations
• General fitness for improved overall capacity and steady conditioning gains
• Performance improvements by building the resilience needed to push through intense formats
For those focused on anaerobic power, the 40/20 interval encourages working harder per burst with a 20-second recovery. The 40-second push is long enough to drive the heart rate up, while the 20-second rest provides just enough recovery to repeatedly hit high intensity. This format is a premier fat-loss accelerator, as the high-intensity bursts elevate your metabolism during the session and for hours afterward.
This format targets:
• Anaerobic power
• Metabolic conditioning
• Cardiovascular recovery efficiency
40/20 is the go-to recommendation for members who want:
• Fat loss building lean muscle by increasing metabolic rate
• Improved cardiovascular output for increased endurance
Strength+ was created to give members time to lift heavier, increase muscle tension, and focus on technique without being rushed by cardio segments. Longer floor intervals paired with true recovery windows allow for progressive overload: the foundation of muscle growth.
If your goal is muscle hypertrophy, the Strength+ is our most effective interval for learning how to train at high effort safely.
This format targets:
• Strength gains
• Muscle hypertrophy
• Improved movement quality
• Joint stability and control
Strength+ is essential for:
• Building lean muscle by increasing metabolic rate and promoting fat loss
• Changing body shape by improving muscle definition
• Improving performance by developing better physical movement
Embracing a hiit workout with weights through intentional variety is the key to long-term progress. By exposing your body to different training styles, you ensure that your fitness remains complete and well-rounded. Whether you are chasing fat loss, strength, or endurance, the balance of these formats will lead to fewer plateaus. At Basecamp Fitness, we believe this variety is the reason the workout works, leading to a more capable body inside and outside the gym.
To see real progress in your fitness, you do not need to live in the gym every single day. A hiit workout with weights is most effective when performed 3 to 5 days per week, allowing for high intensity during sessions and vital recovery between them. At Basecamp Fitness, our variety-driven programming is designed to fit into a busy life while delivering elite results. These schedules ensure that every minute you spend training is intentional and effective.
You don’t have to love every interval style equally, but you should use them all. That balance is what leads to long-term progress, fewer plateaus, reduced injury risk, and a stronger, more capable body both inside and outside the gym.
Choosing the right frequency for your hiit workout depends on your primary objectives and your body's ability to recover. Whether you are focused on leaning out or building significant strength, consistency within a 3-5 day window is the "sweet spot" for most athletes. By rotating through our signature interval styles, you challenge different energy systems while preventing physical burnout. These plans are modifiable to ensure they work for your specific lifestyle and fitness level.
By rotating interval styles throughout the week, we ensure you’re developing strength, stamina, power, and resilience, not just chasing one outcome at the expense of another.
Your body is incredibly smart and will quickly adapt if you perform the exact same hiit workout every day. By limiting your high-intensity sessions to 3-5 days and rotating formats, you force your body to stay in a state of constant adaptation. This variety is what prevents progress from slowing down and keeps your fitness journey exciting. Each Basecamp format strengthens the others, creating a well-rounded athlete who is both strong and conditioned.
Even if fat loss is your primary goal, strength training plays a critical role by increasing lean muscle and metabolism.
If endurance is your focus, higher-intensity formats improve your ability to recover and push harder when it counts.
And if strength is your priority, conditioning-based intervals enhance work capacity and cardiovascular health, allowing you to lift better and longer.
Recovery is just as important as the intensity you bring to the floor. Without adequate rest, your muscles cannot repair, and your central nervous system may become overtaxed. High-intensity training is a powerful tool, but it requires a balance of downtime to ensure you can perform at your peak during every session. This strategic approach leads to long-term progress, fewer plateaus, and a significantly reduced risk of injury.
Committing to a hiit workout routine with weights is the most sustainable way to reach your peak fitness. This balance of work and rest ensures that you can bring maximum intensity to every single session.
After breaking down the different interval styles Basecamp Fitness has to offer, you may already have one or two formats that feel perfectly aligned with your current goals; and that’s a great thing.
That said, the best results don’t come from doing only what you’re best at or what feels most comfortable. They come from exposing your body to all these training styles over time. Start your journey today and experience how a strategic approach to training can change your body and your life.
Basecamp Fitness uses intentional HIIT interval training to help members build strength, burn fat, and improve endurance without burnout. This guide breaks down signature formats like 60/10, 90/15, 40/20, and Strength+ so you understand how each interval targets different energy systems. Learn how to structure 3–5 training days per week for sustainable progress and fewer plateaus.
This guide breaks down why understanding calories and macros is key to body composition change, and how consistent nutrition supports your Basecamp training results.
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