"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.

Participants experienced struggles with recounting their exercise histories during the bioMAP process.

• This was identified as one of four major themes from reflexive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews.
• Participants found it challenging to recall and articulate their physical activity histories across the lifespan.
• The bioMAP session required participants to identify significant life events and draw developmental curves for well-being, enjoyment, exercise volume, and exercise intensity across a timeline.

Vulnerability emerged as a significant element of the bioMAP process that enabled deeper insights for participants.

• Navigating vulnerability as it enabled deeper insights was identified as the second of four themes.
• Participants experienced emotional exposure when sharing personal exercise histories but found this facilitated meaningful reflection.
• The participatory narrative and visual method appeared to prompt personal disclosures that went beyond surface-level exercise history.

Interviewer practices were identified as critical to creating psychological safety and validation during bioMAP sessions.

• This was the third of four themes identified through reflexive thematic analysis.
• The title quote 'I've never had anyone listen to my story like that' illustrates participant experience of feeling heard during the process.
• The findings highlighted the importance of facilitator skill, and areas for refinement in facilitation were noted as a limitation.

Participants were able to 'connect the dots' by identifying meaningful patterns in their exercise histories that informed exercise choices and future perspectives.

• This fourth theme captured participants identifying personally relevant patterns across their lifespan exercise experiences.
• These insights served to inform co-creation of a personalized exercise program.
• Participants reported that recognizing these patterns had implications for their future exercise perspectives.

The bioMAP intake process demonstrated preliminary feasibility and social validity in the context of personalized exercise programming.

• Twenty-four individuals participated (67% women, aged 34 ± 10 years).
• Participants completed a one-on-one bioMAP session followed by a two-week trial of a co-created personalized exercise program.
• Semi-structured interviews were conducted after the two-week trial and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.
• Areas for refinement were identified, including streamlining procedures and strengthening facilitation.

The bioMAP method involves participants identifying significant life events and drawing developmental curves for multiple constructs across a lifespan timeline.

• The four developmental curves drawn covered well-being, enjoyment, exercise volume, and exercise intensity.
• BioMAP is described as 'a participatory narrative and visual method' for understanding personally meaningful experiences related to physical activity across the lifespan.
• The session was contextualized as an intake activity preceding personalized exercise programming.
• The bioMAP session provided 'relevant guiding information for co-creating a personalized exercise program.'