The other area you can improve recovery and overall capacity with is performance enhancing drugs. That’s something I don’t really know too much about, but that’s the way I’ve heard it described - you heal faster, stronger.
You're right and I'm so glad that thought hadn't even crossed my mind! Before this year, I planned to hop on testosterone through one of those "pill mill clinics" that advertise on facebook that operate in a legally gray area. But now I realize that if I took performance enhancing drugs (i.e. "gear" or TRT) then I would regret it, maybe not immediately but 5 or 10 or 20 years from now.
Aside - last I read, ice baths are counterproductive to muscle growth because they reduce the inflamation that signals to growth. They’re useful for competitive scenarios where recovery is prime, but they don’t help with improvment. By all means keep doing it if you enjoy it. My strong preference is for a sauna!
Indeed they are. I do them once per month now and in the middle of my de-load week. But when I first started, I did them weekly to build them into my identity as justified by the famous book "Atomic Habits" since an identity-based motivation lasts forever and doesn't drain mental resources compared to white-knuckling it.