Abstract
Objective As a pivotal demographic in society, college students play a key role in shaping future social development. Investigating exercise motivation, positive emotions, and physical exercise commitment is crucial for enabling timely identification of issues, enhancing their enthusiasm for physical activity, and providing both theoretical and practical insights to foster motivation, improve affective experiences, and increase commitment in exercise. Methods Using cluster sampling, 504 college students from five universities in Henan Province were surveyed. A chain mediation model was constructed, with exercise motivation and positive emotions as sequential mediators, to explore the underlying mechanisms linking trait mindfulness to exercise commitment. Results Significant differences in exercise commitment were observed across gender, major, and levels of trait mindfulness ( p < 0.01). Trait mindfulness, exercise commitment, exercise motivation, and positive emotions were all significantly correlated with each other (p <0.01). Trait mindfulness significantly and positively predicted exercise commitment (β = 0.34, t = 8.43, p < 0.001), exercise motivation (β = 0.31, t = 7.18, p < 0.001), and positive emotions (β = 0.23, t = 5.39, p < 0.001). The indirect effect of trait mindfulness on exercise commitment through the sequential path of exercise motivation and positive emotions was significant, with a 95% confidence interval of [0.014, 0.067]. Conclusion Exercise motivation and positive emotions exert a significant chain mediation effect between trait mindfulness and exercise commitment. While trait mindfulness serves as a foundational factor, exercise motivation and affective experiences during physical activity are the key proximal drivers.