There are all sorts of good back exercises but when you're facing time constraints, you want to get the most from your efforts. For that reason, I've spotlighted 3 of the best movements out of the dozens, possibly hundreds of back exercises that could potentially be performed.

Good Back Exercises

Movement #1 - Wide Grip Pull Ups

Wide grip pull ups - while difficult to perform - are an excellent exercise. With this exercise, you're targeting most of the muscles of the upper back - particularly the latissimus dorsi. But don't worry about the anatomical terms, all that matters is that you incorporate the exercise into your workouts and just know that doing so will be well worth your time.

If you have difficultly performing the exercise - which you most likely will - then used the assisted pull up machine in your gym and if you don't have access to an assisted machine, just get your training partner to spot and assist you by your feet while you're performing the movement.

Movement #2 - Rows

Rows are awesome and there's many variations that you can do. You can use any of the many multi-angle row machines, you can use dumbbells, a barbell - all sorts of stuff. I personally find that dumbbell rows are the most effective. There's a few tricks to performing the exercise that most people don't know about.

First, you want to pull your shoulder(s) back before bending your arm (scapular retraction) as doing so will isolate the upper back before the biceps (front of your arm) start assisting with the movement. When performing dumbbell rows, you also want to allow the dumbbell to drift forward so you get a nice stretch and a more efficient/complete contraction. In other words, don't just go straight up and down.

Movement #3 - Low Back Extensions

About 80 percent of worlds population will suffer with back pain at some point in their lives. That statistic just reinforces the importance of this exercise as low back extensions will help you strengthen your lower back and thus, reduce the chance of back pain.

There are a lot of progressions for this exercise. Here is a brief rundown..

- Hands across chest (easiest)
- Fingertips on the side of your head with elbows down
- Fingertips on the back of your head with your elbows up
- Arms straight outwards
- Holding a barbell