Adding to Bert's post, nature has provided us with one of the most perfect foods for post workout carb balance. It is the banana, one of the few fruits with a good deal of starch.
The balance of fructose and starch is as good for us as any prepared combination on the market. There is no glucose, but amylase in the mouth converts some of the starch to glucose, giving instant recovery, the fructose and starch are then broken down and released over the next 20 to 30 minutes virtually all going into glycogen stores in muscle and liver tissue, minimal if any going to fat store due to delayed release.
There will be a few declaring you need aminos straight after workout, because protein will take 2 hours to be in the system. However the body will be prepared for the delay and flushing our waste in that time so eating a natural protien, or drinking a shake if you want, will fit perfectly with your bodies schedule for repair and growth. This must be due to us evolving for millions of years without amino acid tablets.
Of the two carbs are more time sensitive, the body will work with protein as it gets it, but sooner is good. Carbs are much time sensitive and conversion to glycogen is far more effective post workout and will provide more readily available energy when you are next training.
Pre-workout, depends on the workout. If you are running a marathon, you don't want something that will rush through your system or sit on your stomach, causing you to have to stop, and will need masses of energy to complete the event. Weight-training can give time for pauses but if going heavy will cause regurgitation.
Personally I don't worry much on this one, I know the energy is there and unless going for serious duration there will be enough on hand to feed my muscles throughout. This doesn't mean I couldn't do better by considering this more.