I’m a 22-year-old male, 183 cm and 89 kg. I’ve lived a pretty sedentary lifestyle my whole life and recently joined a gym. The problem is that I feel extremely weak, especially in my arms.
I can’t do a single push-up, and even exercises like bench press or incline bench press feel insanely difficult. Sometimes even lifting just the empty barbell is a struggle. I tried dumbbell press too, but my arms shake a lot and give out very quickly. For many exercises, I end up using 2.5 kg dumbbells.
What frustrates me most is that during chest, back, or shoulder exercises, it feels like my arms fail long before the target muscles do. It makes me feel weak and honestly pretty discouraged, to the point where I don’t feel like continuing sometimes.
Is this normal for someone coming from a completely inactive lifestyle? How long does it usually take for beginners like this to build basic strength and stability?