Just want to find out what you consider a "proper" bench press.

In my younger days I would let the bar hit my chest and explode up. After years of this, several personal trainers I spoke to suggested that I only lower the bar until my arms were about parallel to the floor, meaning the bar would be about 2-3 inches from my chest. By going lower, the emphasis would be shifted from the pecs to my shoulders during that portion of the movement - increasing my chances of shoulder injury and decreasing the effectiveness of the exercise.

I'm fine with doing this because I also think that this form shows that you have full control of the weight and can push the weight up without the help of momentum off the chest. However, I hear other people talk shit in the gym when they see people using this form with a lot of weight. They think they are "cheating" - especially if you're one of those guys with stocky type arms or a big barrel body because it appears the arms are barely bending.

If you saw a guy stopping the bar just above the chest with heavy weight, do you think he's "cheating?"