The skater gliding gracefully on one leg has it. So do the grandfather splitting wood, the schoolgirl hopping on a pogo stick and the yogi performing a headstand.

Good balance is both a gift of genetics and an athletic skill that can be improved through training. "Many people think you either have good balance or you don't, but that's not true," says Peter Kormann, head coach of the 1996 U.S. Olympic men's gymnastics team. "With training and practice, nearly anyone can improve their balance."

At a time when athletes will try nearly anything to boost performance, balance training has become increasingly popular in a variety of sports, from skiing to golf. Balance workouts also are booming among seniors, as new studies show that strength and balance exercises can help older adults reduce their risk of serious falls.

Poor balance more than doubles a senior's risk of being injured in a fall, reported a 1997 study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. University of New Mexico researchers followed more than 300 men and women over age 60 for three years and found that the ability to balance on one leg for five seconds is a good predictor of whether or not an elderly person is likely to sustain an injurious fall.

Midlife Decline
"Balance starts to decline when we're in our forties," writes Tufts University physiologist Miriam Nelson in her book, "Strong Women Stay Young" (Bantam Books, 1997). "This happens so slowly that it's almost imperceptible."