Does resveratrol block the benefits of exercise?

Short answer

With hard training, it did. Over 8 weeks, those taking it gained less aerobic fitness and lost the blood pressure and cholesterol improvements exercise brought. It only added benefit in a study of 30 people aged 65 to 80 and a wrist-exercise study of 16 people.

Does resveratrol block the benefits of exercise?
A supplement hoped to be 'exercise in a pill' — does it actually get in the way?
Resveratrol is a compound found in grape skins. In mouse studies it mimicked the effects of exercise, earning it the nickname 'exercise pill'. But there are also claims that taking it with exercise cuts the benefits. We checked trials that gave it to people alongside training.
First, can it replace exercise?
On its own, muscle metabolism did not improve
When inactive people took 250 mg a day for 8 weeks, nothing improved in their muscles' energy metabolism. Over the same period, those doing high-intensity training raised their muscles' energy-factory enzymes about 1.3 times and endurance about 1.2 times. It was no exercise-mimicking pill.
What about taking it with exercise?
The gain in aerobic fitness was 45% smaller
27 people did high-intensity training for 8 weeks while taking 250 mg a day or a placebo. The rise in maximal oxygen uptake (aerobic fitness) was 45% bigger in the placebo group. Blood pressure fell by 4.8 only in the placebo group.
The health benefits of exercise disappeared too
Improvements in cholesterol and triglycerides were wiped out
In the same study, the improvements exercise brought to bad cholesterol, the cholesterol ratio and triglycerides disappeared in the resveratrol group. Muscle tests showed resveratrol also blocked the drop exercise caused in an oxidative damage marker (about 20%) and an inflammatory signal (about 40%).
Young people doing intervals, too
Peak power barely went up
16 people did high-intensity interval training 3 times a week for 4 weeks while taking 150 mg a day or a placebo. Peak power in a 30-second all-out sprint rose from 747 to 809 W with placebo, but only from 679 to 691 W with resveratrol. The muscle gene signals that training switches on were also smaller with resveratrol.
The studies where it helped were different
Strength in people aged 65 to 80, and a single wrist muscle
In 30 people aged 65 to 80 who trained for 12 weeks on 500 mg a day, knee strength rose 8% and power 14%, while the placebo group did not improve. In 16 people who lightly trained only one wrist muscle for 4 weeks, the muscle's energy capacity rose more: 40% versus 10%.
Bottom line: if you train hard, there is nothing to gain
Pooled studies also point to smaller training gains
An analysis pooling two studies of resveratrol plus exercise also leaned toward smaller training gains. With whole-body high-intensity training, aerobic fitness, peak power and the blood pressure and cholesterol improvements all came out smaller. If you want the benefits of exercise, training without resveratrol works.