Joining a gym

[Playmaker7]

I've been working out for a few years now, however I've beening using a Bowflex Sport and the Bowflex Select Tech Dumbells. Now I'm about to join a gym so I can upgrade my routine. I really want to focus on squats, deadlifts, and flat bench press at the gym with free weights, and leave everything else to my bowflex at my house. I'm not really sure what weight I should start at with the squats, dead lifts, and flat bench. I max out my bowflex with all exercises, but theres a difference between the resistence amount and the weight lifting amount.

So basically I'm just wondering how I should start. I have a lot of muscle on me. Should I just start low and kind of guess and check with the amount of weight I should be using?

Stats
Wt:174
Ht: 5'7''
Age: 17

[HSfootball16]

id do that. pick it up, and check how easy it is, maybe do a few reps, just feel it out. guess low and bring it up incramentaly.

[Kane]

I would start out super low because there is a world of difference between some machines and their free-weight counter parts. If you put the max resistance on a bowflex for benching and can't do it, then you just wont move the stack....if you pile 4 plates a side on a barbell, you won't be able to push it because that fucker is gonna push you through the bench. Big difference in feeling out your potential.

I would start out real low, make sure your form is good and increase the weight depending on how comfortable you feel with it. The big thing is to increase it safely, if you can do 350lbs on bench with a bowflex and 135 on a barbell is easy then dont jump up to something like 250 right after. Take a few days and feel out what you can do, use a spotter or the safety catches once you start reaching your maxes though.