Don't really know that I gave tips so much as something to chew on.

As for the squats and such, I would suggest you read up on some WSBB squatting "how to" articles. I think that most people would be much better off learning how to squat in a powerlifting style than squatting "intuitively" since most people are pretty hosed up in their natural form. Same thing goes for bench pressing and dead lifting as well. For whatever reason the path of least resistance on these exercises seems to be the path of least mechanical advantage and worst joint positioning.