Introduction As modern competitive sports are becoming increasingly professional, commercialized and socialized, training methods must also change. Many old concepts of training and competition have gradually disappeared. This situation has set a higher standard for the training of athletes in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games. This paper analyzes some issues before and after the preparation of elite Chinese athletes. It aims to assist athletes in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games as well as future training programs. Methods This study employed a review of literature, interviews of experts and logic analysis approaches. Results Coaches may employ two main types of training methods: experienced-based training and researchbased training. Experience-based training methods can be regarded as training activities which are dominated by perceptual cognition and are based on previous experiences of the coach. Researchbased training is based on rational cognition and is guided by scientific theories, technologies and methods. The degree to which coaches understand and accept modern scientific training methods is a factor which greatly influences the application of scientific training methods. Currently, in some situations, the experience acquired over years still plays a major role, however, training is becoming increasingly objective, rational and scientific. As the competition in sports evolves and the skill-level of athletes rises, the traditional period-based training theory often conflicts with training practices, and is now being challenged. A new periodical training theory put forth by Tschiene and other German scholars is used to guide training in China. The relationship between training and competition was also examined. Traditionally, training is regarded as an accumulative process and competition is regarded as a consumptive process. In a situation where competitive sports are becoming more professional and competition systems are constantly changing, people begin to adopt competition as part of training. Therefore, training and competition should be organized and integrated to optimize the effectiveness of training. Training strategies are diverse and a number of styles can be identified such as specialized, real, and personalized training and "the principle of high-load difficult, strict and close-to-real-game training" (DSCB principle). The training of modern elite athletes focuses mainly on simulating real competition situations. Training should be more consistent with competition and more personalized. Moreover, novel training measures and approaches can be employed together with the creative application of the DSCB principle to achieve a high quality and efficient system of training. Conclusions To better prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games, China`s training principles must be updated, and the DSCB principle must be employed creatively to develop training programs which are more specialized, personalized and closer to real competition, in order to improve their effectiveness.
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