Bench press woes

[mdouglass]

I've been lifting every other day (for the first time in my life) since August and have improved dramatically in all exercises that I do until recently. I started at 75lbs and now have plateaued at 165lbs on the bench press. I was increasing about 5-10lbs every week but now 165 is always a struggle. Is it normal to plateau at such a low weight? How can I get around this? I'd really like to be able to bench 225 at some point.

I really love the bench press -- it is probably my 2nd favorite exercise I do next to pull-ups. Is proper form to have the bar go all the way down to my chest? I try this but sometimes towards the end of my set I notice that I start to go back up with the bar 4" or so from my chest. Without a spotter it seems like I have to do this. Is it better to do proper form on a lower weight than do half-proper-half-cheat on a higher weight?

Also, what is the right number of sets/reps if I want to improve in this exercise? Right now I do 2 sets of 8 reps towards the beginnings and ends of my routine.

Thanks