You don't need to buy heavier weights to build muscle, try this trainer's five exercise hacks first

Outgrown your light dumbbells? Before you invest in heavier weights, there are a few muscle-building tricks you can use to make your workouts more challenging. For example, looping a light resistance band around your dumbbells.

More ways to train harder with the weights you already own are demonstrated in this informative workout video by fitness instructor Fiona Judd. Judd, who runs the FitFionaJ app, says that while she advocates increasing the load to build muscle if you have the space and budget for more free weights, you can also try her five tips first to keep challenging yourself with lighter weights.

Fiona Judd’s muscle-building tips

Some techniques require extra equipment, although nothing as expensive as new dumbbells. Judd uses an exercise ball to change the angle of her chosen exercise, and a long looped resistance band to add extra resistance.

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While Judd uses a biceps curl to demonstrate each technique, they can applied to almost any exercise.

When we add a pause or pulse during an exercise, it forces the muscles to work harder to maintain stability and hold that position. And when we change the speed of a move, for example, instead of completing a biceps curl as quickly as possible we take three seconds to lower and one second to lift (a 3:1 tempo), it has the same effect, creating tension in the muscle or muscles for a longer time, leading to more growth.

Changing the angle of the exercise can recruit different parts of the muscle, while adding a resistance band intensifies and increases the load, which not only helps to make workouts more challenging but can also get you through those annoying plateaus when your body has got used to the same exercises and weights.

The harder your muscles are working, the bigger and stronger they will grow, the more calories you will burn—even at rest—and your bone density will increase, which is something we should all be prioritizing post-40.