Looking at a mirror while lifting weights is typically discouraged for 3 reasons:
1. As you've already noticed, you obviously can't see all angles, so whatever you are seeing can be very deceptive.
2. If the mirror isn't directly in front of you, you'd have to turn your head to see it. This means you are no longer using proper form for the lift and potentially putting your neck/spine at risk, especially during squats.
3. A key aspect of free weight training is to develop an awareness of where you body is in space. You need to learn to "feel" if your back is in a proper arch, if you're squatting below parallel and so on. If you always rely on mirrors, you'll have trouble developing this sense and maintaining proper form will become very difficult. They can be useful to give you the bio feedback to develop the initial sense, but after some time, you should stop using them completely.
If you are rolling up onto your toes, there are a number of possible culprits:
1. As SC indicated, you might lack flexibility. Tight hamstrings are the most likely culprit, and usually if you have those, you'll have tight glutes, hip flexors and lower back as well. Stretch these for 15 minutes per day and you should see improvement.
2. As you lower into a squat, you need to actively push your knees out (that is, push them away from each other) so that, when viewed from the top, your thigh is directly over your foot. At first, you'll need to do this very deliberately, as most people's knees will actually try to move closer together instead. However, pushing them out will let you get into a deeper, more comfortable squat, make it easier to stay on your heels, and make it easier to engage the posterior chain. Note that this is another area you may lack flexibility: try the squat stretch (as explained in Starting Strength and in this this stronglifts article) - if you feel a burning sensation on the inside of your thighs, or fatigue easily in this position, then you definitely need to practice it more. Use your elbows to push your knees out and work hard to keep a proper back arch while you do it.
3. It's possible that you are starting your squat by just unlocking your knees and dropping downwards. The proper way to start a squat is to actively push your hips backwards. The key here is that you shouldn't just be loosening muscles and dropping down, but instead should descend in a controlled manner while maintaining tightness in all your muscles. If you just collapse downwards, you'll probably end up with improper form. Moreover, it is your hips moving backwards, not your knees bending, that initiates the squat.
4. It's also possible that after reaching the bottom of the squat, you start the motion out of the hole by trying to unbend your knees. The proper way to get out of the whole is to drive up with your glutes. It sounds a bit weird, but you need to start the motion by actively squeezing your glutes - you should actually feel your butt cheeks tighten. This will allow you to engage your posterior chain properly (especially the hamstrings) and will start to lift you out of the hole. Try this a few times with no weight and you'll see how different it feels. If you have trouble engaging your glutes and posterior chain, do the exercises mentioned in this stronglifts article.
5. You need to focus on staying on your heels. A mental cue that helps some people is to be able to curl your toes up while squatting. You won't actually want to do this with real weight on a squat - your feet should stay flat - but doing it with very light weight or no weight will give you the proper feel for staying on your heels.
It's a lot to take in, but the squat isn't an easy lift. I'd recommend practicing air squats (ie, squats with no weight) in your spare time. You can do them at home and safely observe yourself in front of a mirror from multiple angles. You could also get a piece of PVC pipe or a broomstick to simulate a bar on your back without any actual weight. Also, finding someone to take a picture or video tape you at home might be easier than at the gym. Until you can get into a proper air squat - hips joint below knee joint, heels on the floor, proper back arch - you have no business doing weighted squats.
1. As you've already noticed, you obviously can't see all angles, so whatever you are seeing can be very deceptive.
2. If the mirror isn't directly in front of you, you'd have to turn your head to see it. This means you are no longer using proper form for the lift and potentially putting your neck/spine at risk, especially during squats.
3. A key aspect of free weight training is to develop an awareness of where you body is in space. You need to learn to "feel" if your back is in a proper arch, if you're squatting below parallel and so on. If you always rely on mirrors, you'll have trouble developing this sense and maintaining proper form will become very difficult. They can be useful to give you the bio feedback to develop the initial sense, but after some time, you should stop using them completely.
If you are rolling up onto your toes, there are a number of possible culprits:
1. As SC indicated, you might lack flexibility. Tight hamstrings are the most likely culprit, and usually if you have those, you'll have tight glutes, hip flexors and lower back as well. Stretch these for 15 minutes per day and you should see improvement.
2. As you lower into a squat, you need to actively push your knees out (that is, push them away from each other) so that, when viewed from the top, your thigh is directly over your foot. At first, you'll need to do this very deliberately, as most people's knees will actually try to move closer together instead. However, pushing them out will let you get into a deeper, more comfortable squat, make it easier to stay on your heels, and make it easier to engage the posterior chain. Note that this is another area you may lack flexibility: try the squat stretch (as explained in Starting Strength and in this this stronglifts article) - if you feel a burning sensation on the inside of your thighs, or fatigue easily in this position, then you definitely need to practice it more. Use your elbows to push your knees out and work hard to keep a proper back arch while you do it.
3. It's possible that you are starting your squat by just unlocking your knees and dropping downwards. The proper way to start a squat is to actively push your hips backwards. The key here is that you shouldn't just be loosening muscles and dropping down, but instead should descend in a controlled manner while maintaining tightness in all your muscles. If you just collapse downwards, you'll probably end up with improper form. Moreover, it is your hips moving backwards, not your knees bending, that initiates the squat.
4. It's also possible that after reaching the bottom of the squat, you start the motion out of the hole by trying to unbend your knees. The proper way to get out of the whole is to drive up with your glutes. It sounds a bit weird, but you need to start the motion by actively squeezing your glutes - you should actually feel your butt cheeks tighten. This will allow you to engage your posterior chain properly (especially the hamstrings) and will start to lift you out of the hole. Try this a few times with no weight and you'll see how different it feels. If you have trouble engaging your glutes and posterior chain, do the exercises mentioned in this stronglifts article.
5. You need to focus on staying on your heels. A mental cue that helps some people is to be able to curl your toes up while squatting. You won't actually want to do this with real weight on a squat - your feet should stay flat - but doing it with very light weight or no weight will give you the proper feel for staying on your heels.
It's a lot to take in, but the squat isn't an easy lift. I'd recommend practicing air squats (ie, squats with no weight) in your spare time. You can do them at home and safely observe yourself in front of a mirror from multiple angles. You could also get a piece of PVC pipe or a broomstick to simulate a bar on your back without any actual weight. Also, finding someone to take a picture or video tape you at home might be easier than at the gym. Until you can get into a proper air squat - hips joint below knee joint, heels on the floor, proper back arch - you have no business doing weighted squats.
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