Regarding protein supplements for recovery, protein synthesis in muscle increases by about 20% a couple of hours after resistance exercise but is double at 24 hrs. Moreover, it takes higher concentrations of circulating amino acids to stimulate protein synthesis in muscle than in the liver, which will rapidly clear them. All of this gets less efficient as we age, and the threshold for turning on muscle protein synthesis gets even higher. What I’ve heard from my favorite sources lately is a recommendation to make sure protein intake is adequate at meals and not to worry about getting that shake in within an hour after working out.