“I've Never Had Anyone Listen to My Story Like That”: Understanding the Social Validity of Biographical Mapping As an Intake Process in the Context of Personalized Exercise Programming

Personalized exercise programming requires more than physiologically sound prescriptions; it depends on understanding individual’ histories, meanings, and lived experiences with physical activity. Biographical mapping (bioMAP) is a participatory narrative and visual method, which offers an approach for understanding personally meaningful experiences related to physical activity across the lifespan. This study explored adults’ perceptions of the goals, procedures, and effects of bioMAP when contextualized as an intake activity preceding personalized exercise programming. Twenty-four individuals (67% women, aged 34 ± 10 years) completed a one-on-one bioMAP session wherein they identified significant life events and drew developmental curves for well-being, enjoyment, exercise volume, and exercise intensity across a timeline. The bioMAP session served to provide relevant guiding information for co-creating a personalized exercise program, which was then trialed for two weeks. Afterwards, participants participated in semi-structured interviews to understand the social validity of the bioMAP process, and data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes captured participant experiences: (1) struggles with recounting exercise histories; (2) navigating vulnerability as it enabled deeper insights; (3) interviewer practices that created psychological safety and validation; and (4) connecting the dots, where participants identified meaningful patterns that informed exercise choices and future perspectives. Findings provide preliminary evidence for the feasibility and social validity of bioMAP in the context of exercise programming, while also highlighting areas for refinement, such as streamlining procedures and strengthening facilitation. By eliciting rich, personally relevant insights into exercise-related experiences, continued research is warranted to understand bioMAP as a foundation to guide personalized exercise programming.