I know this is a pretty common problem with squatting and almost certainly has to do with poor form, so I was just wondering if anyone could give me any tips on this issue.

I started SS about 6 weeks ago and that is the extent of my squatting experience, so I'm sure my form is still far from perfect, but I don't think it's really that bad. For the past week or so my right knee has been bothering my a little bit and after today's set of squats it was worse than it ever has been. Although I was able to get all my reps in, afterwords there was a very distinct pain in my knee, so much that I could barely even stand on it at times.

My question is twofold, one, should I continue squatting as scheduled on Friday, and two, and most importantly, what can I do to prevent this from happening in the future, what specific things should I be focusing on during my squats to keep my knees healthy. My left knee feels 100% fine FWIW, it's only the right one.

Sadly I can't uploaded any form videos because I don't have a camera, so this is the best I can do. Thanks for the help in advance though.

I wouldn't squat as long as my knees hurt badly. You are probably doing something terribly wrong and I wouldn't want to make it worse. Go see a doctor. Then try to find someone competent in your gym to have a look at your form. You probably cave in with your knees (stance too wide?) or something like that.

That's the thing I've had two friends who lift fairly often check my form and they both said it looked good... although that was with lower weight. I'm sure as I continue to increase the weight my form is faltering a little bit.

The pain was mostly right after my sets too... right now a couple hours after lifting it feels slightly irritated, but it doesn't hurt or anything.

There's no way to know what's causing this w/out a video and/or a degree in orthopedic medicine. That said, I would skip Friday's squats and just do the other two lifts. Missing a lift now and then is not a big deal in the grand scheme, but blowing your knee out/tearing a ligament would put you out of lifting commission for a long time.

ice and anti inflammatorys will help. i highly doubt theres any risk to blowing your knee out/tearing a ligament as that requires twisting motion, or forcing your knee in a direction it doesnt go, see any football injury.

its likely tendinitis, which is basically a catchall for inflammation. is it in the front? does it hurt to fully bend or extend?

also could be bursitis. is very swollen and seem full of fluid?

obv seeing a dr would be best, but if you ice the hell out of it, esp after squats and take an over the counter anti inflammatory it will likely stop hurting in a day or 2. if not, def see a dr.

my knees hurt if i don't warm up properly

First things first, do you have the book? No? Go buy it now.

Second, it sounds like maybe you are putting more load on the right knee. Are you consciously thinking about forcing your knees out to the side? I find that helps me stay tighter and more balanced in the hole.

Third, perhaps you are not sitting back as much and instead are "in your knees" too much.

Fourth, Perhaps the weight shifts forward at the bottom and this puts your COG over your toes, which in turn puts more load onto your knees vs your hips.

I have modest knee pain about half the time I do squats, and it seems to closely correlate with form errors.

A common one I used to have but think I have fixed is knees sliding forward at the bottom. You have to deliberately sit back and press knees out. For some people this does not come naturally.

Another thing is starting with an assymetrical stance. I don't know if this happens to other people, but for some reason if I set up my squat without checking my feet they will often be turned out to different degrees.

Basically make sure your feet are right before you descend the first time. Any time I feel myself correcting a foot position by turning my foot out while descending, I get knee pain in that leg. Strangely the knee is not big on twisting under heavy loads.

So make sure your knees are tracking with your feet before you descend. Incidentally this usually makes your feet turn out a little wider than feels natural, imo.