There are several theories of working-out and exercising out there and the goal is to find what works for you. I went to a personal training conference recently and learned a few new ideas and squatting is one of them. 
Most theories state that you should keep your back straight (or spine aligned) and knees over your ankles. I feel that when you do perform a squat this way the pressure is greatest on the back. It’s definitely hard to keep your knees over your ankles and keep your back straight. I strongly believe that when performing “the perfect squat,” your lower body and upper body share the weight and pressure. The back and the shins should be parallel ( / / ). So, yes your knees should be “sticking out” over your feet, but remember to keep them parallel with the back. I also feel that squatting should be taken seriously cause it can cause so many problems or injuries if not performed correctly. Personally, I do not squat. I take advantage of the leg press and other machines for the smaller leg muscles. Lunges should also be performed like the squat, but please be very careful while performing these movements.
See how his back and shins are very close to being parallel. Please keep your feet pointed straight ahead and hip or shoulder width apart.
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Hey Matt – so glad to see you are getting great use of the PhysicalFitnet videos in your blog. If you only have one video (like in today’s post) – you don’t have to create a “videolist”, just click on “get the code” for the single video and you can embed a larger image (since its only 1) – it looks better. Would appreciate any feedback that you have for us to improve this. Sheryl
I am trying to figure out how you would do this – “keep your back straight (or spine aligned) and knees over your ankles”.
Like you said, spine and shins parallel
The above theory sounds like the dreaded Smith machine squat to me