Spring-break fever has arrived, and students have hit the treadmills and weight rooms to make sure they look good in their swimsuits.”It is chaotic — it looks like a sea of people,” said Trisha Vennink, sport science and personal trainer at the Lied Recreation Center.Rec center employees said the turnout at the facilities has increased dramatically since the fall semester.”There is about a 40-percent increase in people from last semester,” said Rec personal trainer Mike Plathe, senior in exercise and sport science.Many people are raiding the Rec to burn a few last-minute calories before they trade their long underwear for a bikini and the beach.Kelly Petersen, sophomore in liberal arts and sciences, said she been going to the Rec more often to tone up for spring break in the Dominican Republic.”I just want to be able to look decent in a swimsuit,” she said.Josh Dewey, exercise specialist at the ISU Student Wellness Center, said any exercise is good. “If you do aerobic exercise, you’re going to burn calories, and yeah, you’re going to loose a few pounds,” said Dewey, graduate student in health and human performance.Combining aerobic exercise and strength training yields maximum benefits, he said. Aerobic activity burns more calories, but the sore muscles that come from strength training provide immediate feedback and motivate exercisers. Muscle is also metabolically active, burning extra calories.”If [losing a few pounds] is the look you want, you can get it,” Dewey said.It is important to be careful during the first few weeks of exercise and to avoid dangerous diets, he said. Vennink, senior in exercise and sport science, said some students come to the Rec with unrealistic expectations.”Everyone thinks they can get in shape in two-and-a-half months,” she said. “This is not a realistic goal.”If the crowds that the Rec are hindering a workout, Dewey said to explore other exercise options, such as going to the Friley Hall weight room, or running the track at State Gym.Playing team sports, such as basketball, also can be a good change of pace, Dewey said. They burn “many more calories than riding a bike for thirty minutes,” he said.The flurry of fitness-seeking students dies down after spring break, Dewey said. “I look around and know that half of the people won’t be here in a couple of weeks,” Vennink said.Decreased crowds at the Rec means most people stop exercising after dropping a few pounds for spring break, and they gain all of the weight back, Dewey said.For some, he said, this doesn’t matter — as long as they look good on the beach in March.