The Path and Enhancement Strategies for Optimizing Exercise to Promote Both Physical and Mental Health

While numerous studies have confirmed the benefits of exercise for physical and mental health, there remains a lack of systematic exploration of how to integrate the dynamic interaction between body and mind to develop actionable enhancement strategies. This conceptual article draws on biopsychosocial perspectives and, through logical analysis integrated with existing evidence, aims to develop a unified framework for the co-promotion of physical and mental health through exercise. This study identifies the basic conditions underlying such co-promotion – holistic engagement, mind–body reciprocity, stimulus–response adaptation, and capability development. And an integrated conceptual pathway model is proposed to articulate the bidirectional interactions between physiological (P-pathway) and psychological (M-pathway) processes. Focusing on the path of promoting mental health, five enhancement strategies were proposed, including “exercise + mindfulness,” “exercise + self-efficacy enhancement,” “exercise + executive function development,” “exercise + emotion regulation,” and “exercise + positive interpersonal experience”. This framework serves as a theoretical and practical guide whose strategies can be flexibly applied according to individual health needs to enhance the quality and effectiveness of exercise programs.