Waterford - Yulonda Wilbur was looking for a way to improve her health when she stopped by the Planet Fitness gym in Waterford to sign up for a membership package Friday.

"I let it go far too long," said Wilbur, a Waterford resident, adding that she has Type 2 diabetes and felt she needed to work out more.

January and February are the busiest months for the seven Planet Fitness locations in southern and eastern Connecticut, according to regional manager Mike Shapiro.

In addition, Work Out World gym in New London, Gabriele's Martial Arts centers in Waterford, Groton and East Lyme, and yoga studios Blissworks in New London and Center for Healing Therapies in Waterford, all report a similar uptick in customers with the changing of the calendar year.

At Center for Healing Therapies, the period of greatest growth for number of visits for yoga, massage, therapy and other services starts in December and continues through March - before eventually declining in April, according to center co-owner Amy Martin.

From November 2013 to March 2014, the number of visits to the center per month increased from 261 to 475. That number dropped to 375 in April 2014, according to Martin. November and December 2014 saw 400 and 560 visits respectively, she said.

"Everybody says at the beginning of the year that they're going to take care of themselves," Martin said.

Center yoga instructor Bernie Marchand said New Year's resolutions are a factor in the increases the center sees in January. She also said many visitors to the center may not have resolutions, but rather may keep in mind general ideas about how they would like to improve their mental and physical health.

Blissworks owner Tricia McAvoy said she typically sees about a 20 percent boost in traffic in September and January, months in which customers tend to review and make changes to their schedules.

"I just have to answer more phone calls this time of year because more people are calling and making inquiries," McAvoy said.

She said she typically sees a lot of new faces in January, but last January what she saw more of were Blissworks studio users who were returning after an absence.

Work Out World receptionist Ashley Kane said January is so busy that at times customers face a backup at the New London gym, where she has been employed for about a year and worked out for the past five years.

"It's a lot more packed. Sometimes it's even hard to get on a treadmill or something like that," said Kane, 17, who added that she is the granddaughter of the gym's owners. She said her grandparents also own franchises in Waterford, Groton and Pawcatuck.

The increase in customers can mean a little additional work for some fitness-related businesses.

Shapiro said Planet Fitness tends to rely more heavily on overnight cleaning staff during January and February, months when day staff may not have as much time as normal to continuously clean. McAvoy said she needs more help from students to deal with things like dust that gets tracked in.

But the crowd is welcome, and business owners and managers said they are offering special promotions such as free sample classes, discounted membership registrations and other discounts to attract first-time visitors.

As McAvoy said, she has plenty of space to welcome new people.

t.townsend@theday.com

Twitter: @ConnecticuTess