starting out

hey,
am looking to buy a weight bench and weights (obvs) have about £200-£250 which  bench and weights would you choose (if you was starting out again)
 
this will probs be answered above  what sorta  weight should i look to buy and what weight is gurd for starting ?
 
also noticed alot of the starter routines inc dipps and chin ups   can these be replaced with anything till ive built some upper body strength up ?
 
and lastly would  mountainbiking  be  a gurd way of cardio  my average bike ride are from 10-25miles over maily offroad surfaces up and down hills?

As a beginner something like this

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3274943/Trail/searchtext>WEIGHTS+BENCH.htm


with a BB and 70or so kgs of different weights and two dbs,


Pull ups are awesome for back, arm gains and strength, you can get a bar for cheap:http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/3003341/Trail/searchtext>BAR.htm


And yes mountain biking is good cardio.    

Personally I would take that money and spend it on a good gym membership and some bulking supplements from BSN or other such brand.

You can get a good work out form home gyms but you get such a variety of options from a franchised gym!

i am looking into a membership to the on site gym at work. but i think it more shyness that id prefer to workout at  home till ive built up a little.

you mention bulking suplplements wouldnt i be better losing my moobs and belly first or would this help ?

Honestly wouldn't worry about starting in the gym mate. Everyone had to start somewhere and no ones botherd what weight you lift or what size you are.
I was a little nervous at first but once you've been in a few times it will feel good

yeah i'd go for the gym option you'll get some good advice from the guys down there and to start off with there's always quiet times in the gym so go when its quite untill you get used to it...

mate I hope I'm not being assumptive if I assume you're a beginner, if so I would predicate the weights you need to buy on information on what you want to be training.

This article and others on htis site are fantastic, I wish I had them when I started out.

http://articles.muscletalk.co.uk/article-beginners-first-stop.aspx

cheers for the info  been to have a look at the gym on site i work at.
the gym is unmanned basically key card entry  go in and out as you please dont know if this is a good thing or not?

also the membership is £100 per year unlimted use does that sound about right ?

 

Very cheap membership. Loads of unmanned gyms are popping up all over the country haha, seems fine to me. If your a beginner and starting a routine like Rippetoe's then all they need to have is a squat rack, bench, barbell and weights, dip and pull up bar. You can always work around it if they don't have one or two of the above.

£100 membership!!  

You can certainly train from home and make good progress with very basic equipment. I started out at home and still train that way.
 
Although, equipment is'nt cheap and some people struggle to keep motivated at home, plus.... £100 for a years gym membership is very good.
 
As others have said, don't worry about what people think. I should think every new person in the gym feels the same, then in next to no time they'll wonder what they ever worried about in the first place.
 
Just keep things simple. Basic lifts using free weights will get you a long way. Personally i would'nt worry about supplements at this stage, just focus on get a basic diet plan set out.
 
 

thanks to all who gave info.
sold one of my mountain bikes (had 3.didnt see why i need all) so thats a cash injection so gonna order my bench and weights and also get the gym membership too

just  need to figure diet i have sumit in mind  witch ill post in the dieting section

thanks again for all the help