NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - Road runners and cyclists may  dread moving their exercise routines indoors as winter  approaches but fitness experts say it could be an opportunity to  fine-tune a familiar routine or a chance to discover new skills.

Jessica Matthews, a California-based yoga instructor and  exercise physiologist with the American Council on Exercise,  said road cyclists, racers and runners trickle into yoga  classes.

"The cold weather might have forced them indoors but they  discovered something," said Matthews, adding that a change in  the weather can offer be a chance to supplement their workout  with cross-training, group fitness classes or even workout DVDs.

"Runners and cyclists often spend little time on strength  training," Matthews explained. "But we know it is a critical  component to enhance what you do and do it safely."

Outdoor runners who shun indoor training, she added, could  be missing an opportunity to fine-tune their regimen on a  treadmill.

"Many hear the word treadmill and say, 'No,'" she said. "But  with a treadmill you have at your fingertips the ability to  tailor, customize and vary your workout every single day: to  focus on speed, or to add intervals, or hills."

And your route is not limited to your neighborhood.

Suzanne Bowen, a Panama City Beach, Florida-based fitness  expert, has always trained indoors.

"Whether dealing with heat or cold, you have to find  something you like to do indoors, something you're comfortable  with," said Bowen, the creator of online streaming fitness  classes and the "Tighten Tone and Stretch" fitness DVD.

For exercisers married to their outdoor routines who feel  forced inside, Gregory Chertok, a New Jersey-based sport and  exercise psychology consultant for the American College of  Sports Medicine, suggests a gradual approach.

"They may want to dedicate one or two of their workouts per  week to indoors, in order to slowly adjust," he said. "It takes  some of the trauma away."

He said perspective management, or the ability to view  events as neither good nor bad but neutral, is among the most  powerful tools in both general and sports psychotherapy.

When we're forced to engage in new workouts, Chertok  explained, the muscles are surprised and effectiveness is  enhanced. "Physiologically the body responds," he said.

In the social setting of a gym, he added the lone outdoor  runner can limber up his social skills.

"There are great benefits to solitary exercise: it's  meditative. It's a chance to ruminate and an opportunity for  alone time," he said. "But there are also benefits of working  out in a social setting."

Chertok said adopting a flexible lifestyle in sports or  exercise can lead to benefits in other areas.

"The skill of emotional flexibility is very transferable,"  he added.     (Editing by Patricia Reaney)