LGBT Wellness Roundup: Dec. 12
Each week HuffPost Gay Voices, in a partnership with blogger Scout, LGBT HealthLink and researcher Michael G. Bare, brings you a round up of some of the biggest LGBT wellness stories from the past seven days. For more LGBT Wellness visit our page dedicated to the topic here.

www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/14/lgbt-wellness-dec-12_n_6317720.html?utm_hp_ref=gay-voices&ir=Gay+Voices

Favorite Moments of 2014: “God Called Us to Love Each Other”

A Bible study and Sunday school teacher from the Deep South and mother of an openly gay son, Mary Jane Kennedy, has taken the helm as this year’s top mom for equality.
HRC.org

www.hrc.org/blog/entry/favorite-moments-of-2014-god-called-us-to-love-each-other?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

Tide Gets Personal in New Commercial Featuring Gay Couple Bickering About Laundry: VIDEO

Kyler Geoffroy

www.towleroad.com/2014/12/tide-gets-personal-in-new-commercial-featuring-gay-couple-bickering-about-laundry-video.html

Google+ Now Lets You Define Your Gender

The social networking outlet of the tech giant is the latest to let users define their gender identity however feels right to them.

read more

Sunnivie Brydum

www.advocate.com/business/technology/2014/12/14/google-now-lets-you-define-your-gender

Shape Up! The Top Three Benefits of Group Strength Training

There are a plethora of fitness choices these days to choose from: personal training, spinning, pilates, yoga, treadmill solo races, Crossfit…the list goes on. While each type has its own set of benefits, resistance-based group fitness may be just what the doctor ordered. The hot doctor, natch. Or the hot nurse if that’s your thing.

Here are the top three reasons:

1. Spice up your life…in the weight room!

Where else can you try a new lift with the safety and security of having a certified professional instruct you? Or have your workout deejayed? At The Phoenix Effect, each instructor programs workouts that fit all levels, challenges even the most seasoned athletes, and plays the hottest dance s around. Studies show that having new experiences is the most effective way to get happier, so throw some weights in there and it’s also the most cost-effective way to get hotter! Win win, right?

2. Be held accountable

Let’s face it: getting fit is a journey, not an overnight transformation. Classes serve as a constant reminder that you are not in this alone. Why fly solo when you can have a fun, supportive posse go along with you? Knowing that there is a 6 a.m. class on Tuesday that you and your buddies have signed up for means that you’ll be more likely to go. Telling yourself that you’ll wake up early and “work out on your own” before the sun comes up may actually translate to hitting that alarm and going back to bed. After all, no one will know, right? So, repeat after me: group fitness holds you accountable. They’ll know when you go and they’ll know when you don’t. And they will call you out on it, for sure.

3. Join a community

Physical results require maintenance, but the friendships and the feeling of belonging will far outlast your “pump.” Have you ever thought, “Wow, I wish I had a gym buddy!” Well, now’s your chance to have 20. The Phoenix Effect is constantly conducting some form of challenge for our athletes whether it’s body fat percentage or attendance based where the winners (male and female) will win up to a month’s worth of free classes. We also take pride in assembling teams for charity initiatives such as AIDS Life Cycle or the Reebok Spartan Race. Look into these opportunities with your group fitness program. We have personally witnessed incredible friendships grow and prosper that simply would not have happened had it not been for the class. And that, my friends, is worth its weight in gold.

To wrap up, strength-based group fitness isn’t for everyone. It does require dedication and a commitment to yourself and to others. However, if you’d prefer to plateau, get bored, burned out, risk injury, and not meet any new friends, by all means, stick to what you know and hit the gym. But give group fitness a shot. What have you got to lose? Besides love handles. See you soon!

Jeremy Kinser

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/gnbAxbp6eyc/shape-up-the-top-three-benefits-of-group-strength-training-20141214

Ladies read your Grindr messages

Female comics sit down to read messages men have sent each other on Grindr, GROWLr and Scruff. Have you ever been sent messages like these?

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liamj

www.gaystarnews.com/article/ladies-read-your-grindr-messages141214

Hot To Horrifying: 15 Guys Share Their First Gay Hookup Stories

There’s really nothing like that very first time. Awkward fumbling and nervous excitement takes you on a path which forks to either ecstatic pleasure or embarrassing failure. Luckily, most of us get lots of chances to try, try again.

For better or for worse, everyone remembers their first time.

Here to take you back to those formative years are fifteen Whispers about that first time hooking up with a guy.

Enjoy: 

For more confidential stories, check out Whisper.

Dan Tracer

feedproxy.google.com/~r/queerty2/~3/bTij2EWvyVI/hot-to-horrifying-15-guys-share-their-first-gay-hookup-stories-20141214