Front brake is nearly impossible to squeeze, and and the brakes also wont release I'm having trouble with the brakes on a bike I just bought from someone used. The front brakes are pretty much impossible to squeeze with my hand, (and I played college tennis I have pretty decent grip strength) and basically nothing happens no matter how hard you squeeze. Also if you can squeeze the brakes hard enough they don't release, they stay stuck up against the wheels. I don't know much about bikes but I'm happy to answer follow up questions I have tried adjusting the cable longer and shorter, and I've tried adjusting the brake pads as well. Please help!
I assume your bike has rim brakes, not disc brakes. It is most likely that the brake cables and brake housings have rusted. This creates a lot of friction inside them, making it hard to affect the brake arms by pressing the levers, or reverse.

If this is the case, you should replace the cables and housings with new ones. It is cheap to do. Their regular replacement is in fact a part of bicycle (bi-)yearly maintenance check-lists.

Given that the housings are in such a bad condition, I would also pay attention (and money, to a bike mechanic) to other consumables on the bicycle to make sure nothing is excessively worn or plain broken and thus creates safety risks. Check shifter cables/housings (most likely as rusted as the brakes), brake pads, chain, tires.