Saying “I’m struggling” out loud takes more strength than any gym PR.

Admitting you are not okay costs something specific: the version of yourself everybody has been dealing with, the one who handles things. Saying it means setting that down in front of a witness, which is why people who can lift enormous weight find the sentence harder than the set. Nothing about your strength is actually on the line, though it can feel that way from inside.

If it is true right now, pick one person and use the plain words rather than the joke version. Saying you do not know how to start works fine as a start.